Performance of mesoamerican beans in a low nitrogen soil

Authors: BEAVER, JAMES - University Of Puerto Rico; Porch, Timothy - Tim; LORENZO VAZQUEZ, GIOVANNI - University Of Puerto Rico; GONZALEZ, A - University Of Puerto Rico; ESTEVEZ DE JENSEN, C - University Of Puerto Rico

Submitted to: Bean Improvement Cooperative Annual Report
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2019
Publication Date: 4/1/2019
Citation: Beaver, J.S., Porch, T.G., Lorenzo Vazquez, G., Gonzalez, A., Estevez De Jensen, C. 2019. Performance of mesoamerican beans in a low nitrogen soil. Bean Improvement Cooperative Annual Report. 62:91-92.

Interpretive Summary: Small-scale farmers in Central America and the Caribbean often plant beans in soils having poor fertility and have little access to fertilizer. The performance of 27 Mesoamerican common bean lines from the Bean Adaptation to Stress Environment 120 trial was evaluated in a soil with low nitrogen content over a period of four years at Isabela, Puerto Rico. Soil phosphorus was also low in the 2016 and 2018 trials and all the trials were exposed to moderately high temperatures during flowering and pod filling. Although the trials were not fertilized, they were inoculated with a mixture of strains of nitrogen fixing bacteria. Several bean lines produced seed yields significantly higher than the checks ‘ICA Pijao’ and BAT 477. TARS MST-1 had the highest mean seed yield of 1,528 kg/ha. The small red breeding line BIOF 2-106 from the Zamorano bean breeding program in Honduras was ranked second in mean seed yield of 1,490 kg/ha. The black bean breeding line B 12724 from Michigan State University produced a mean yield of 1,479 kg/ha. This line had the most consistent performance by producing seed yields > 1,300 kg/ha in all planting dates. The black bean line PR1418-15, which produced a mean yield of 1,458 kg/ha, had been selected in Puerto Rico for root rot resistance. ‘Bella’ was the highest yielding white bean in the trial producing a mean seed yield of 1,351 kg/ha. The highest yielding lines in these trials have been used as parents to develop breeding populations for the Central America and Caribbean region.

Technical Abstract: Small-scale farmers in Central America and the Caribbean (CA/C) often plant beans in soils having poor fertility and have little access to fertilizer. The performance of 27 Mesoamerican bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) lines from the Bean Adaptation to Stress Environment (BASE) 120 trial was evaluated in a soil with low N content over a period of four years at Isabela, Puerto Rico. Soil P was also low in the 2016 and 2018 trials and all the trials were exposed to moderately high temperatures during flowering and pod filling. Although the trials were not fertilized, they were inoculated with a mixture of strains of Rhizobium tropici and Rhizobium etli. Several bean lines produced seed yields significantly higher than the checks ‘ICA Pijao’ and BAT 477. TARS MST-1 had the highest mean seed yield (1,528 kg/ha). The small red breeding line BIOF 2-106 from the Zamorano bean breeding program in Honduras was ranked second in mean seed yield (1,490 kg/ha). The black bean breeding line B 12724 from Michigan State University produced a mean yield of 1,479 kg/ha. This line had the most consistent performance by producing seed yields > 1,300 kg/ha in all planting dates. The black bean line PR1418-15, which produced a mean yield of 1,458 kg/ha, had been selected in Puerto Rico for root rot resistance. ‘Bella’ was the highest yielding white bean in the trial producing a mean seed yield of 1,351 kg/ha. The highest yielding lines in the BASE 120 trials planted at the Isabela Substation have been used as parents to develop breeding populations for CA/C.