
Breeding Home Page		Dry Bean Breeding Program
Description History Project Leader Project Staff Students and Interns Breeding for Disease Resistance Released Varieties and Germplasm 2007 Trials Dry Bean Performance Testing Dry Bean Production Guide Northarvest Bean Grower Association		General Description of the Dry Bean Breeding Program The main objective of the dry bean breeding program at North Dakota State University is to develop high yielding, high quality bean genotypes adapted to the Northern Great Plains. This involves many characteristics of dry beans and different disciplines of research (e.g. genetics, pathology, physiology, nutrition etc.). The first priority is to improve pinto and navy market classes, but also black, great northern, red and kidney market classes which are also an important part of our breeding program. A modified pedigree breeding method is used, which allows continual evaluation and selection of desirable families and/or lines. Therefore, activities and procedures remain relatively similar from year to year, providing consistency in development and evaluation of new genetic materials in a step-wise manner (see more details of this process at Breeding Dry Beans for the Northern Plains). During the winter of each year, we perform approximately 300 unique hybridizations in the greenhouse. More than 40 percent of all crosses are focused on pintos. The remaining crosses involve the navy, black, dark and light red kidney, small red, great northern, and pink market classes. Crosses involve adapted cultivars grown in the Northern Plains, breeding lines developed at NDSU, and germplasm possessing desirable traits from other breeding programs. Unadapted germplasm lines from other sources are evaluated for desirable traits and introgressed into adapted material. Each year, the breeding program evaluates material from around the world as possible sources of resistance to white mold, rust, root rot, anthracnose, virus, and bacterial blights, among others. Breeding lines are tested and selected in different environments and evaluated for disease resistance under natural pressure in the field and in the greenhouse. After the early stages of selection, good promising lines are put in preliminary yield trials (PYT) across several locations, which allow practicing another round of selection, this time based on replicated data. Selected promising lines are then included in the advanced yield trials (AYT), also planted in several locations during two or three years. Then, elite lines that perform well in the AYT are entered into variety trials (VT) for three years. The aid of off-season or winter nurseries makes the process more efficient in terms of time, particularly at the early generations, in which one of the main objectives is to reach homozygozity (lines with homogeneous performance). During 2007, a total of 1118 early-generation lines were sent to our winter nursery at Puerto Rico. There was no seed sent to New Zealand for increase this year. The amount of F1 seed produced in the most recent crossing block was very low and therefore, we were able to plant it in the greenhouse and save some money. Although more expensive than the Puerto Rico site, New Zealand has many advantages over the Puerto Rico nursery in that disease-free seed is produced, and the seed returned from this site has been of extremely high quality and quantity. The time required to develop and release a variety after the initial cross is made is usually 10-12 years, although it may be reduced considerably if off-season nurseries are used. Only through long term commitment and funding for this activity is possible to integrate several traits and genes of interest and thus, obtain new varieties that will increase productivity of bean growers and to the region in general. A breeding program is the only one able to put together all the research from geneticists, pathologists, physiologists, entomologists, etc, into a concrete and visible product: an improved variety. The breeding project is using laboratory procedures in an attempt to identify and routinely use molecular markers associated with several genes of interest such as white mold resistance. Breeders could then select for the presence of the associated marker for the desired trait. The dry bean breeding project has shared laboratory space with the barley and oat breeding projects. Work at other laboratories has identified markers associated with three rust resistance genes, anthracnose resistance genes, and BCMV resistance genes, among others. Efforts are focused on white mold resistance introgressed into pinto bean, rust resistance, root rot resistance, anthracnose, and quality traits. As additional markers are identified, it may be possible to select for a number of traits simultaneously using DNA obtained from leaf tissue. We have developed populations to identify markers associated with genetic resistance for white mold and root rot from the core collection evaluation in collaboration with Plant Pathology Dept. We also routinely use molecular markers to evaluate for the presence of genes resistant to bean common mosaic virus and rust. A new Ph.D. student will focus his research on Association Mapping. We hope to continue doing this for other traits as long as it shows an advantage either in costs or in efficiency within the project (time and/or space). The dry bean breeding program at NDSU has grown considerably since originating in 1980. Each year, several hundred unique hybridizations are made to develop improved genotypes in each of nine market classes. In addition, successful collaboration with scientists in several departments at NDSU and scientists at other institutions and universities in the U.S., offer unique opportunities to expand the knowledge base of bean genetics and have an impact on production. Financial support and long term commitment from Northarvest Bean Growers Association has been crucial for the ongoing success of this project.

Dry Bean Breeding Program

History

Project Leader

Project Staff

Students and Interns

Breeding for Disease Resistance

Released Varieties and Germplasm

2007 Trials

Dry Bean Performance Testing

Dry Bean Production Guide

Northarvest Bean Grower Association

General Description of the Dry Bean Breeding Program

The main objective of the dry bean breeding program at North Dakota State University is to develop high yielding, high quality bean genotypes adapted to the Northern Great Plains. This involves many characteristics of dry beans and different disciplines of research (e.g. genetics, pathology, physiology, nutrition etc.). The first priority is to improve pinto and navy market classes, but also black, great northern, red and kidney market classes which are also an important part of our breeding program. A modified pedigree breeding method is used, which allows continual evaluation and selection of desirable families and/or lines. Therefore, activities and procedures remain relatively similar from year to year, providing consistency in development and evaluation of new genetic materials in a step-wise manner (see more details of this process at Breeding Dry Beans for the Northern Plains). During the winter of each year, we perform approximately 300 unique hybridizations in the greenhouse. More than 40 percent of all crosses are focused on pintos. The remaining crosses involve the navy, black, dark and light red kidney, small red, great northern, and pink market classes. Crosses involve adapted cultivars grown in the Northern Plains, breeding lines developed at NDSU, and germplasm possessing desirable traits from other breeding programs. Unadapted germplasm lines from other sources are evaluated for desirable traits and introgressed into adapted material. Each year, the breeding program evaluates material from around the world as possible sources of resistance to white mold, rust, root rot, anthracnose, virus, and bacterial blights, among others.

Breeding lines are tested and selected in different environments and evaluated for disease resistance under natural pressure in the field and in the greenhouse. After the early stages of selection, good promising lines are put in preliminary yield trials (PYT) across several locations, which allow practicing another round of selection, this time based on replicated data. Selected promising lines are then included in the advanced yield trials (AYT), also planted in several locations during two or three years. Then, elite lines that perform well in the AYT are entered into variety trials (VT) for three years.

The aid of off-season or winter nurseries makes the process more efficient in terms of time, particularly at the early generations, in which one of the main objectives is to reach homozygozity (lines with homogeneous performance). During 2007, a total of 1118 early-generation lines were sent to our winter nursery at Puerto Rico. There was no seed sent to New Zealand for increase this year. The amount of F1 seed produced in the most recent crossing block was very low and therefore, we were able to plant it in the greenhouse and save some money. Although more expensive than the Puerto Rico site, New Zealand has many advantages over the Puerto Rico nursery in that disease-free seed is produced, and the seed returned from this site has been of extremely high quality and quantity. The time required to develop and release a variety after the initial cross is made is usually 10-12 years, although it may be reduced considerably if off-season nurseries are used. Only through long term commitment and funding for this activity is possible to integrate several traits and genes of interest and thus, obtain new varieties that will increase productivity of bean growers and to the region in general. A breeding program is the only one able to put together all the research from geneticists, pathologists, physiologists, entomologists, etc, into a concrete and visible product: an improved variety.

The breeding project is using laboratory procedures in an attempt to identify and routinely use molecular markers associated with several genes of interest such as white mold resistance. Breeders could then select for the presence of the associated marker for the desired trait. The dry bean breeding project has shared laboratory space with the barley and oat breeding projects. Work at other laboratories has identified markers associated with three rust resistance genes, anthracnose resistance genes, and BCMV resistance genes, among others. Efforts are focused on white mold resistance introgressed into pinto bean, rust resistance, root rot resistance, anthracnose, and quality traits. As additional markers are identified, it may be possible to select for a number of traits simultaneously using DNA obtained from leaf tissue. We have developed populations to identify markers associated with genetic resistance for white mold and root rot from the core collection evaluation in collaboration with Plant Pathology Dept. We also routinely use molecular markers to evaluate for the presence of genes resistant to bean common mosaic virus and rust. A new Ph.D. student will focus his research on Association Mapping. We hope to continue doing this for other traits as long as it shows an advantage either in costs or in efficiency within the project (time and/or space).

The dry bean breeding program at NDSU has grown considerably since originating in 1980. Each year, several hundred unique hybridizations are made to develop improved genotypes in each of nine market classes. In addition, successful collaboration with scientists in several departments at NDSU and scientists at other institutions and universities in the U.S., offer unique opportunities to expand the knowledge base of bean genetics and have an impact on production. Financial support and long term commitment from Northarvest Bean Growers Association has been crucial for the ongoing success of this project.