Release of ‘Sakila 20’ and ‘SUA Kalima’ Superior Andean Common Bean Cultivars for Tanzanian Production Environments

Authors: NCHIMBI, SUSAN - Sokoine University Of Agriculture; Miklas, Phillip - Phil; FOURIE, DEIDRE - Agricultural Research Council Of South Africa; KILANGO, MICHAEL - Agricultural Research Institute - Naliendele; Porch, Timothy - Tim

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/9/2020
Publication Date: 7/23/2020
Citation: Nchimbi, S., Miklas, P.N., Fourie, D., Kilango, M., Porch, T.G. 2020. Release of ‘Sakila 20’ and ‘SUA Kalima’ Superior Andean Common Bean Cultivars for Tanzanian Production Environments. Journal of Plant Registrations. 14:234-241.

Interpretive Summary: Dry bean is the most consumed edible legume in the world. Dry bean originates from northern South America (Andean beans) through Central America and Mexico (Mesoamerican beans). Andean beans are large seeded like the kidney beans grown in the U.S. and large: yellow, red, red mottled, and purple-speckled beans produced worldwide. It can be difficult for breeders to improve large seeded beans because they lack stress tolerance and have limited genetic variability. A world-wide collaborative breeding effort to improve large-seeded dry beans under the Norman Borlaug Cooperative Research Initiative (NBCRI) Grain Legumes Project (http://arsftfbean.uprm.edu/bean/) was initiated in 2012 with the generation and extensive evaluation of a diverse international collection of Andean bean germplasm. Evaluations of this collection were conducted in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Central America. The extensive multi-year x location evaluations of this collection in on-station and on-farm trials in Tanzania resulted in the identification of two superior and locally adapted accessions. These two accessions will be released as the new cultivars SUA Kalima (large red mottled) and Sakila 20 (large purple specked). Tanzania is the largest common bean producer in Africa, however, the production environment is primarily small-scale and low-input. The exceptional performance for these new cultivars under unfavorable conditions will help subsistence farmers in Tanzania and perhaps neighboring countries as well boost yields leading to increased income and food security. Furthermore, these new cultivars will contribute to subsequent breeding successes because they broaden the genetic base for large seeded beans grown in Tanzania.

Technical Abstract: An international breeding effort was initiated with the evaluation of a diverse set of large-seeded Andean common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), the Andean Diversity Panel, in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several entries in the panel have been selected for release based upon high performance across multiple location x year trials in Tanzania—conducted both on-station and on-farm. ‘Sakila 20’, tested as ADP-190, has a commercial Kablanketi (light purple speckled) seed type and ‘SUA Kalima’, tested as ADP-447, has a commercial Calima (red mottled) seed type. Both cultivars exhibited yield stability, vigorous growth under low fertility conditions, angular leaf spot resistance, moderate common bacterial blight resistance, and SUA Kalima also possessed rust resistance. These cultivars were tested, selected, and increased cooperatively by Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), the Tanzanian Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of South Africa.