Breeding Common Bean to Maximize Culinary Quality and Field Performance

Conventional cultivars of Phaseolus belong to two major classes, dry beans vs. green beans, and each of these classes includes several market categories. These categories, however, represent only a paltry fraction of the available genetic diversity available for these species. For example, in the US, cultivars of dry beans mainly fall into the pinto, navy, small black, pink, and red kidney types, but other market classes are not represented. The organic industry has identified a business opportunity by focusing on alternative market categories, which often have more vivid seed colors and patterns than existing cultivars. Since 2015, the SCOPE common bean team has worked to develop varieties that combine the high-value culinary properties of heirloom beans with the agronomic qualities of modern varieties. By the 2018 field season, the SCOPE common bean team focused on a replicated multi-location trial of advanced generation materials that had been promising in the 2017 and (in some cases) 2016 field seasons. Ten advanced generation breeding lines, five heirlooms, and three control varieties developed at Michigan State University and UC Davis were grown in three replicates at each of three field sites. Primary target traits for these trials were yield, bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) resistance, and seed color. Early season growth rate is important for weed competitiveness in common bean, and this was evaluated using a small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS, or drone). Outreach BCMV resistanceThis project has been discussed at several venues in 2017-18. The common bean and pepper team leads led a UC Davis guest lecture for PLS 15 (Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture) in May 2018, in which the leads discussed the urgent role for plant breeding in agricultural sustainability. One of the breeding lines was tasted by a panel of chefs at a farm in San Diego, where it was evaluated favorably and out-performed several other heirlooms in flavor. The program has also been a major part of a PBS special “A Growing Passion” on high-value varieties of dry bean. The program’s webpage can be found here. The team lead met with a film crew on three separate occasions to shoot footage for the show, including two days of filming at a southern California field site and an additional day in the greenhouse and laboratory at UC Davis. Information on the project has also been published in the Davis Enterprise (https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/ucd/ucd-students-breed-beans-for-organic-farming/) and UC Davis News page (https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-davis-students-breed-beans-organic-farming/). An article on the project has been featured in an article of “Organic Farmer” magazine. These forms of outreach will help inform farmers and the general public of the role of agricultural research in agriculture today.