Dry bean breeding research in Nebraska

By Dr. Carlos A. Urrea, Dry Bean Breeding specialist
Panhandle Research and Extension Center

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Dry Bean Breeding Program started in 1961, when Dermot Coyne (Plant Breeder) visited a field of great northern beans (cultivar Nebraska #1) at Scottsbluff and made selections for bacterial blight.

One of the first lines developed was Nebraska 1 Sel. No. 27, a line widely used in U.S. bean growing regions as a source of common bacterial blight. The University of Idaho Agricultural Research Station and the USDA introduced great northern UI No. 59 and 1140 in 1960. Both cultivars were susceptible to common bacterial blight and bacterial wilt.

The Nebraska dry bean breeding program has contributed to the private and public sector with several lines released as germplasm with resistance to various diseases impacting bean growers in the Midwest and in the Dominican Republic, where USAID supported a collaborative bean improvement project.

Coyne’s first releases, the great northern cultivars Tara, Jules, and Harris, are common bacterial blight resistant germplasm. Starlight, a bright white seeded great northern released in 1991, has the Ur-3 rust resistant gene and good avoidance of white mold. Emerson, which has a large bright white seed coat, was released in 1971 and has resistance to bacterial wilt, halo blight, brown spot, and bean common mosaic. The pinto cultivar Chase, released in 1993, has resistance to halo blight, bacterial brown spot, rust, moderate resistance to common bacterial blight, moderate avoidance of white mold, and resistance to potato leafhopper injury.

Richard Perrin, an agricultural economist, estimated the value of Chase, during its five year commercial life in the U.S. at $5 million. In cooperation with the University of Puerto Rico and the Secretary of Agriculture in the Dominican Republic, through the USAID/Bean/Cowpea CRSP, the UNL breeding program released Arroyo Loro, PC50, Anacaona, Negro Sureño, JB-17B, Arroyo Loro Negro, CIAS-95, and Saladin-97. In honor of Coyne’s contributions, a new variety DPC-40 using Coyne’s initials has been released this year.

Coyne’s career studies into the genetics of resistance to the bacterial blight pathogen in common beans culminated in major impacts on bean production in Nebraska as well as Africa and the Americas. He published pioneering work on the effect that photoperiod and temperature had on plant response to bacterial blight. He made the crucial discovery that bean pods and leaves react differently to both the common blight and halo blight pathogens, which means that selection for resistance must be made in both pods and leaves. Dermot Coyne advised and guided 43 graduate students.

Transition

Coyne retired in 2001, and Plant Pathologist Jim Steadman advanced and intercrossed elite lines from many American bean breeding programs. The germplasm developed over the years have been important to the current bean breeding program.

Present

Because of the difficulty of maintaining a large, effective breeding program at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln 400 miles away, the dry bean breeding position was moved in 2005 from Lincoln to Scottsbluff, aided by a recommendation from Dermot Coyne and with support from the Nebraska Dry Bean Industry. This placed the bean breeder specialist near the center of dry bean production in western Nebraska.

Dry bean production is scattered across 26 counties in western Nebraska, with 11 counties in the Panhandle accounting for the largest share of the crop. Scotts Bluff, Box Butte, and Morrill counties, account for nearly half of Nebraska’s dry bean production. Carlos A. Urrea joined the program in April 2005.
Objectives of the Nebraska Dry Bean Breeding Program are:

1) to develop and select improved high-yielding great northern, pinto, light red kidney, cranberry, black, and small red bean cultivars/germplasm for western Nebraska with multiple disease resistance. This includes selecting for plants that have upright plant architecture, earliness (95 days), and high quality seed;

2) to develop disease resistance. Exotic dry bean germplasm is screened for resistance to the most limiting diseases in the Panhandle (common bacterial blight, rust, bean common mosaic, and white mold). Material found resistant through these screens is then recombined with our elite bean lines through crosses to develop lines with disease resistance;

3) to introgress drought tolerance into Nebraska elite germplasm; and

4) to collect data to help with the release of great northern and pinto dry bean germplasm/cultivars. In addition, we are screening breeding lines for molecular DNA markers.

Projects Completed or in Progress

Recently, the Nebraska dry bean breeding program has released two germplasm accessions, ABCP-8 and ABC-Weihing (pinto and great northern, respectively) with enhanced common bacterial blight resistance. Both accessions have been used by public and private breeders not only in the USA but in Mexico. In 2008, a great northern cultivar named Coyne was released, named in honor of Dermot P. Coyne. This cultivar was bred specifically for adaptation to the common bean growing conditions of Nebraska and for enhanced resistance to common bacterial blight, a major disease of common bean, and for improved resistance to common bean rust. Coyne has high yield potential, broad adaptation to western Nebraska, good seed quality and resistance to bean common mosaic virus. Seed increase is under way.

The program is also working on identification of bacterial wilt resistance in common bean germplasm. Study of the genetics and mapping the genes for bacterial wilt resistance are in progress. Chickpea trials under chemical and non chemical control to assess yield effects due to Ascochyta blight incidence are also being investigated. Several bulks selected for Ascochyta blight resistance are showing promising results for eventual variety development.

The University of Nebraska dry bean breeding program has been collaborating with Colorado, North Dakota, and Michigan through the Mid-West Regional Performance Nursery (MRPN), and recently with Idaho, Washington, and Colorado through the Western Regional Bean Trial (WRBT). Collaboration with Tim Porch (USDA-TARS-PR) and Steve Beebe [International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)] on drought studies has also been implemented.

Contributions to western Nebraska economy

ProVita Inc., which sells most of the seed used by Nebraska growers, has seen the following results with their varieties (varieties patented in the last 5 years) which incorporated public developed germplasm: Varieties incorporating germplasm developed at the University of Nebraska are planted on 42,000 acres, and varieties incorporating germplasm developed at both Michigan State University and the University of Nebraska are planted on 150,000 acres. These acres are responsible for gross revenue of about $99 million, based on average yields and process as of early 2010.
 

Dr. Carlos Urrea, dry bean breeding specialist, speaks to a group of high-school students in the greenhouse.

Use of DNA for parental analysis: DNA samples, shown here in an amplified view, are separated and stained so markers are visible as bands. Every lane is a DNA sample from a different bean plant. Lane 2 and 3 are the female (P1) and maile (P2) used for the hybrid cross. Individuals from lane 4 to 10 are progenies from the cross of P1 x P2. Lane 4 to 10 carry the second band from the bottom (*) as the male (P2).

Seed increase, disease screening, and developing of new hybrid combinations are carried out in the greenhouse at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center.