Release of tepary bean cultivar ‘USDA Fortuna’ with improved disease and insect resistance, seed size, and culinary quality

Authors: Porch, Timothy - Tim; ROSAS, JUAN - Zamorano, Panamerican School Of Agriculture; Cichy, Karen; GODOY LUTZ, GRACIELA - Dominican Institute For Agricultural And Forestry Research; RODRIGUEZ, IVETH - Zamorano, Panamerican School Of Agriculture; COLBERT, RAPHAEL - Zamorano, Panamerican School Of Agriculture; DEMOSTHENE, GASNER - Service National Semencier; HERNANDEZ, JUAN - Instituto Nacional Innovacion Y Transferencia En Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA); BEAVER, JAMES - University Of Puerto Rico

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/16/2023
Publication Date: 10/3/2023
Citation: Porch, T.G., Rosas, J.C., Cichy, K.A., Godoy Lutz, G., Rodriguez, I., Colbert, R.W., Demosthene, G., Hernandez, J.C., Beaver, J. 2023. Release of tepary bean cultivar ‘USDA Fortuna’ with improved disease and insect resistance, seed size, and culinary quality. Journal of Plant Registrations. 18(1):42-51. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20322.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20322

Interpretive Summary: Tepary bean is a viable and nutritious alternative to common bean in areas with excessively high temperatures and/or chronic drought. Tepary bean is a traditional crop of the Tohono O'odham Indians of the Sonoran Desert in the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, and other Indigenous peoples of the U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Despite its potential for broad applications for reduced water-input agriculture or for hot, semi-arid, marginal production zones, tepary bean remains an orphan crop. ‘USDA Fortuna’ is an improved tepary bean cultivar with enhanced seed size, seed quality, tolerance to Bean golden yellow mosaic virus, and resistance to local strains of rust in Puerto Rico. Fortuna is a high-yielding tepary bean with an attractive black speckled seed color and a quick cooking time. It has leafhopper pest resistance, common bacterial blight resistance, and moderate resistance to powdery mildew. This cultivar was developed cooperatively by the USDA-ARS, the University of Puerto Rico, Zamorano University, the Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF) of the Dominican Republic, Quisqueya University of Haiti, the National Seed Service of Haiti, Instituto Nacional de Innovación y Transferencia en Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) of Costa Rica and Iowa State University. USDA Fortuna has the potential to provide high quality plant-based protein to farmers and consumers in areas with limited water or rainfall and high ambient temperatures.

Technical Abstract: Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) is a viable and nutritious alternative to common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in areas with excessively high temperatures and/or chronic drought. Tepary bean is a traditional crop of the Tohono O'odham Indians of the Sonoran Desert in the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, and other Indigenous peoples of the U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Despite its potential for broad applications for reduced water-input agriculture or for hot, semi-arid, marginal production zones, tepary bean remains an orphan crop. ‘USDA Fortuna’ (Reg. No. GP-____, PI 698459) is an improved tepary bean cultivar with enhanced seed size, seed quality, tolerance to Bean golden yellow mosaic virus, and resistance to local strains of rust in Puerto Rico. Fortuna is a high-yielding tepary bean with an attractive black speckled seed color and a quick cooking time. It has leafhopper pest resistance, common bacterial blight resistance, and moderate resistance to powdery mildew. This cultivar was developed cooperatively by the USDA-ARS, the University of Puerto Rico, Zamorano University, the Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF) of the Dominican Republic, Quisqueya University of Haiti, the National Seed Service of Haiti, Instituto Nacional de Innovación y Transferencia en Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) of Costa Rica and Iowa State University.