Plump full seed stay viable longer and grow more vigorously. For this reason, you should indeed cull your saved seed. This is especially true with beans.

DarJones

Ditto on Fusion's comments, regarding storage life. Additionally, culling for shrunken or deformed seed reduces the chance of passing diseases on to future years... or to those with whom you might share seed.

Good enough feedback for me. I suppose it is more important to make sure the strongest and healthiest seeds make up next years crop -- even if that limits your potential number of plants.

And, of course, only the best for trades for sure!

I cull almost all of the time.

However, when one of my F2 experiments throws out a 10" high bush plant (growing among half-runners),and produces only two pods (with one pod likely stolen by a squirrel), leaving me three harvested beans (one of which is small and shriveled), I'm not culling. :)

Gary