To investigate the effects of population density and foliar spraying of fulvic acid on starch formation and processing characteristics of kidney bean in northwestern Heilongjiang Province,a two-factor split-zone design was used,with three population densities in the main zone of 200 000 plant·hm-2(D1,sparse planting treat-ment),230 000 plant·hm-2(D2,local conventional density),and 260 000 plant·hm-2(D3,dense planting treatment)and five fulvic acid concentrations in the secondary zone of clear water(C0),0.37(C1),0.45(C2),1.12 kg·hm-2(C3)and 1.50 kg·hm-2(C4).The starch of kidney bean seeds after maturity was extracted by al-kaline leaching method,and the group effects on the formation of starch quality of kidney bean and the regulation effects of foliar fertilizer were investigated by determining the solubility,expansion,freeze-thaw stability,pasting characteristics,transparency,content of straight-chain amylose,and the physicochemical properties of the starch.The results showed that the crude starch content and the proportion of straight-chain starch in kidney bean kernels significantly affected the processing characteristics of starch.In 2021 and 2022,the amylose content of kidney bean increased with the increase of population density,from 45.7%and 47.7%to 59.0%and 50.7%,respectively.At the same time,the content of straight-chain amylose all peaked under the high-density(260 000 plant·hm-2)treatments,at 36.3%and 28.4%,respectively.Foliar spraying of fulvic acid promoted the accumulation of kidney bean grain starch,increased the total grain starch content,and increased the proportion of straight-chain starch in the grains under the medium and low-density populations(200 000 and 230 000 plant·hm-2),with a range of in-creases of 8.4%to 17.0%,16.4%to 35.6%,and 6.1%to 19.3%,8.4%to 12.8%,in 2021 and 2022,respective-ly,but reduced the proportion of straight-chain starch in the high-density population(260 000 plant·hm-2),with a range of 5.7%to 13.6%and 4.3%to 15.0%in 2021 and 2022,respectively.In a comprehensive analysis,the cultivation density of 260 000 plant·hm-2 in northwestern Heilongjiang was favorable to the formation of starch quality of the kernel,while the spraying of fulvic acid at 1.50 kg·hm-2 during the flowering stage of kidney bean had a certain promotional effect on the processing quality of starch.