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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #320733
Title: Registration of four winter-hardy faba bean germplasm lines for use in winter pulse and cover crop development

Author
item LANDRY, E - Washington State University
item LAFFERTY, J - DeCagon Devices, Inc
item Coyne, Clarice - Clare
item PAN, W - Washington State University
item Hu, Jinguo

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/9/2015
Publication Date: 8/21/2015
Citation: Landry, E.J., Lafferty, J.E., Coyne, C.J., Pan, W.L., Hu, J. 2015. Registration of four winter-hardy faba bean germplasm lines for use in winter pulse and cover crop development. Journal of Plant Registrations. 9:367–370.

Interpretive Summary: Faba bean is a versatile crop grown for food, feed, vegetable, or cover crop purposes in many countries. Faba bean has been noted for its high biological nitrogen fixation capacity and biomass production among the major cool-season food legumes and can play an important role in sustainable agriculture. We developed four winter-hardy faba bean germplasm lines, WH-1 (PI 674326), WH-2 (PI 674327), WH-3 (PI 674328), and WH-4 (PI 674329) after six consecutive seasons of overwintering selection at three farms in two locations; Pullman and Central Ferry, WA. The winter hardiness of the registered lines was comparable to European materials. These four lines are potential reservoirs of useful diversity accessible for the development of a winter annual legume cover crop in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and other regions up to USDA plant hardiness zone 6b.

Technical Abstract: Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a versatile crop grown for food, feed, vegetable, or cover crop purposes in many countries. In response to the growing demand for winter annual legumes for cover crop development in the United States, we developed four winter-hardy faba bean germplasm lines, WH-1 (Reg. No. GP-3, PI 674326), WH-2 (Reg. No. GP-4, PI 674327), WH-3 (Reg. No. GP-5, PI 674328), and WH-4 (Reg. No. GP-6, PI 674329) at the USDA-ARS, Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, Pullman, WA, after six consecutive seasons of overwintering selection at three farms in two locations; Pullman and Central Ferry, WA. These four accessions were identified after the initial screening of 175 accessions from the USDA faba bean germplasm during the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 winter seasons. In the following years, these populations were compared with several winter-type cultivars and breeding lines from Europe. During the final testing season, in 2013– 2014, selected and original accessions were compared. The average increase in percentage survival was 84% across the four accessions. Furthermore, the winter hardiness of the selected accessions was comparable to European materials. These four lines are potential reservoirs of useful diversity accessible for the development of a winter annual legume cover crop in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and other regions up to USDA plant hardiness zone 6b.