Fava bean
Vicia faba
FabaceaeCompanion plants for fava beans
The best companion plants for fava beans are cabbage, potatoes, broccoli, radishes and carrots. None of the plants we track is a clear bad neighbour. Of the 12 plants we have data on, 6 are good neighbours, 0 are bad ones and 5 are contested. 11 of these verdicts rest on field trials or research papers; the rest come from traditional companion-planting charts.
- 6 good
- 0 to avoid
- 5 contested
- 11 tested in trials or papers
Neighbours of fava beans at a glance
Inner rings are backed by trials or papers, outer rings by charts only. Pick a plant to see its sources.
The interactive map needs JavaScript. Every plant on it is listed below with its evidence.
Good companion plants for fava beans
Biggest harvest gain first, then the plants tested without a yield count. Each row links to the full evidence for the pair.
| Plant | What trials found with fava beans | Tested by | Garden charts |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cabbage |
117% more harvest from the same space | Field trial5 studies | Not listed |
 Lettuce |
28% more harvest from the same space | Field trial1 study | Not listed |
 Potato |
Less disease | Field trial3 studies | Not listed |
 Broccoli |
Lures pests away | Field trial1 study | Not listed |
 Radish |
Better soil and nutrient uptake | Field trial1 study | Not listed |
 Carrot |
Bigger combined harvest | Field trial1 study | Not listed |
Harvest from the same space compares a bed with both crops against the same area split into single-crop beds, counting the harvest of both crops (the land equivalent ratio in yield trials).
What not to plant with fava beans
No plant in our data is a clear bad neighbour for fava beans.
Relatives that share pests and diseases
| Plant | What trials found with fava beans | Tested by | Garden charts |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bean |
No trial foundSame family (Fabaceae): shares pests and diseases | Not tested | Not listed |
Contested pairings
The sources disagree, or the charts say one thing and the trials another. Open a pair before you plant it.
| Plant | What trials found with fava beans | Tested by | Garden charts |
|---|---|---|---|
 Pea |
38% more harvest from the same spaceSame family (Fabaceae): shares pests and diseases | Field trial6 studies | Not listed |
 Sweet corn |
Bigger combined harvest and better soil and nutrient uptakeCompetes for light and waterMixed results on harvest and pests | Field trial13 studies | Not listed |
 Turnip |
Draws in pest-eating insects and better soil and nutrient uptakeMixed results on pests | Field trial4 studies | Not listed |
 Garlic |
Less diseaseMixed results on harvest | Field trial2 studies | Not listed |
 Onion |
Mixed results on harvest | Field trial1 study | Not listed |
Sources
32 sources behind the verdicts on this page.
Show all 32 sources
Crop Rotation in the Vegetable Garden (Steil · 2025 · Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Yard and Garden)
Quantifying the relative importance of disease-suppressive mechanisms in species mixtures: a case study of late blight in strip-intercropped potato. (Brandon M · 2026 · Journal of experimental botany)
Biomass formation and yield performance in diverse multicrops and their potential for biofuel use in short-growing boreal climate conditions. (Balandaitė J · 2026 · Scientific reports)
Effect of faba bean-garlic intercropping on low-molecular-weight organic acids, yield components, and profitability under different spatial arrangements. (Hamoda A · 2026 · Scientific reports)
Disease-suppressive mechanisms in contrasting potato-based strip-cropping systems. (Homulle Z · 2025 · Eur J Plant Pathol.)
Interaction Between Maize, Intercrops and Weeds in Continuing Relay Cropping System (Švereikaitė A · 2025 · Preprints.org)
Competition for light drives yield components in strip intercropping in the Netherlands (Wang Z · 2025 · Field Crops Research.)
Biological nitrogen fixation and intra- and interspecific competition in two vegetable/legume intercropping systems and their relationship to crop yield (Sánchez-Navarro · 2024)
The potential of strip cropping to suppress potato late blight (Homulle Z · 2024 · Field Crops Research.)
Intercropping maize (Zea mays L.) and field beans (Vicia faba L.) for forage, increases protein production. (Sowiński J. · 2024 · Scientific reports)
Competition for light and nitrogen with an earlier-sown species negatively affects leaf traits and leaf photosynthetic capacity of maize in relay intercropping (Dong B · 2024 · European Journal of Agronomy.)
Intercropping Maize-Faba Bean Reduced Yield and Economic Losses Caused by <i>Busseola fusca</i> (Fuller) in Semiarid Area. (Gidey T · 2024 · Scientifica)
Yield loss of inferior crop species and its physiological mechanism in a semiarid cereal-legume intercropping system (Wang W · 2024 · European Journal of Agronomy.)
Intercropping Maize with Faba Bean Improves Yield, Income, and Soil Fertility in Semiarid Environment. (Gidey T · 2024 · Scientifica)
Prospects of maize-faba bean intercropping in monocropping highlands of Ethiopia. (Dinsa GF · 2024 · agriRxiv)
Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria rather than arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi drive maize/faba bean intercropping advantages (Liu Y · 2024 · Research Square)
Soil microbial community are more sensitive to ecological regions than cropping systems in alpine annual grassland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. (Luo F · 2024 · Frontiers in microbiology)
Intercropping as a Strategy for Weed Management in Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) (Villegas-Fernández ÁM · 2024 · Preprints.org)
Trait-based cropping of brassicaceous plants: Effects on ecosystem services and crop yield (Ruhanen HM · 2023 · Biological control : theory and applications in pest management)
Intercropping systems between broccoli and fava bean can enhance overall crop production and improve soil fertility (Marcos-Pérez · 2023)
Effects of planting density and variety on productivity of maize-faba bean intercropping system. (Nurgi N · 2023 · Heliyon)
Temporal complementarity drives species combinability in strip intercropping in the Netherlands (Wang Z · 2023 · Field Crops Research.)
Effect of spatial arrangement of faba bean variety intercropping with maize on yield and yield components of the crops (Nurgi N · 2023 · Heliyon)
Crop Diversification to Control Rust in Faba Bean Caused by Uromyces viciae-fabae. (Villegas-Fernández ÁM · 2023 · Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland))
Intercropping shifts the balance between generalist arthropod predators and oilseed pests towards natural pest control (Järvinen A · 2023 · Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.)
Intercropping of insect-pollinated crops supports a characteristic pollinator assemblage (Järvinen A · 2022 · Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.)
Response of faba bean to intercropping, biological and chemical control against broomrape and root rot diseases. (El-Mehy AA · 2022 · Saudi journal of biological sciences)
Cover crop crucifer-legume mixtures provide effective nitrate catch crop and nitrogen green manure ecosystem services (Couëdel A · 2018 · Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.)
Evaluation of vegetable–faba bean (Vicia faba L.) intercropping under Latvian agro‐ecological conditions (Lepse L · 2017 · Journal of the science of food and agriculture.)
Root exudates drive interspecific facilitation by enhancing nodulation and N2 fixation. (Li B · 2016 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)
Manipulating the attractiveness and suitability of hosts for diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). (Badenes-Perez FR · 2005 · Journal of economic entomology)
What grows well with your fava beans?
Share what worked next to your fava beans and what did not, or ask other growers a question. Reader notes are not checked by us and do not change the verdicts on this page.