Selection of Commercial and Heirloom Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris
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Selection of commercial and heirloom common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for organic production in Minnesota A Thesis SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Hannah Rae Swegarden IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE Advisers: Drs. Thomas E. Michaels and Craig C. Sheaffer MAY 2015 © Hannah Rae Swegarden 2015 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Well, you just can’t be an island out here,” he said. One of my first days at the University of Minnesota, a scientist, unbeknown to me at the time, made it clear that my success at the U of M would be dependent on two things: personal initiative and support from the academic community. As my time at the university comes to an end, I reflect on how grateful I am to have had the support of so many energetic minds. I must, first and foremost, thank my co-advisers, Drs. Thomas Michaels and Craig Sheaffer for their continued support and willingness to let me explore this research in a way that synced with my critical-thinking pipeline. Their overuse of the word “yes” may have led us down a few obscure paths, but they also helped me to better understand the depth and possibilities of scientific research. I must also thank my third committee member, Dr. Neil Anderson for his editorial feedback and personal support throughout. Additionally, I’d like to thank Claire Flavin, Tyler Tiede, Sanna Beek, Trentin Tracana, Laura Hayes, and Morgan Wiechmann for their field support, consultation, and positivity. Thank you to the following individuals for their technical field support: location managers at SWORC and Sandplain Research Center; Carmen Fernholz; Steve Zwinger; and Joshua Larson. Finally, I must thank my family and friends who, despite my selfish absence and badgering to eat more beans, stood by me through it all. This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (Project No. MIN-13-G24) and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Project No. LNC11-336). i DEDICATION To anyone who has ever saved a seed… ii ABSTRACT The common dry bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an annual pulse crop produced and consumed around the world. Recent trends in the sales and consumption of organic food within the United States has led to an increase in organic cropland dedicated to the production of organic dry beans. Minnesota, in particular, has seen nearly a four-fold increase in organic dry bean production since 2008. Research dedicated to the evaluation and selection of a) current commercial market class cultivars and b) niche-market heirloom seed types is critical to enhance accessibility of productive seed that complies with organic regulation standards. Between 2012 and 2014, three trials were conducted in southern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota to evaluate commercial and heirloom common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) performance in organic production. Twenty-eight commercial market class cultivars were evaluated at five locations between 2012-2014 using a randomized complete block design. Yield data were subject to stability analysis using linear mixed model methodology, and gross revenue ac -1 was calculated from average yield within a market class. Yield across all seed classes and cultivars ranged from 1181 kg ha -1 to 2839 kg ha -1. Analyses based on small, medium, and large seed size classes indicated increased yield and yield stability in the small and medium seed types. The large environmental effects and lower gross revenues exhibited by larger seed types suggest that growers interested in production of these types should have well-established soil and crop management practices. Yield evaluation of seventeen heirloom cultivars was performed using a randomized complete block design in 2013 and 2014 at four locations around the Twin iii Cities Metro region. Yields of heirloom cultivars were drastically lower than the commercial market class check included in the trial. Within the heirloom cultivars, yields ranged from 825 kg ha -1 to 2127 kg ha -1 to, with a mean of 1362 kg ha -1. In contrast, commercial check cultivars yielded approximately 44% greater than heirloom cultivars. Stability analyses and economic incentives, however, suggest that production of heirloom cultivars, especially ‘Jacob’s Cattle Gold’, ‘Lina Sisco’s Bird Egg’, ‘Peregion’, and ‘Tiger’s Eye’, may be a feasible enterprise for local growers. Four heirloom dry bean cultivars, ‘Jacob’s Cattle Gold’, ‘Lina Sisco’s Bird Egg’, ‘Peregion’, and ‘Tiger’s Eye’, were selected for pure line evaluation in 2013-2014 on the basis of market potential, yield, stability across locations in the heirloom dry bean yield trials. Sixty random plants were selected within each cultivar in 2012 and bulked seed from each plant (i.e. “pure line”) was grown in 2013-2014 as a single plant rows. Sampling plants within each plant row for eight morphological traits provided estimates of genetic variation, including the standard deviation ( s) of pure line means, coefficient of variation (CV) among pure lines, and broad-sense heritability (H 2) on an entry-mean basis. Selection for improved pure lines within ‘Jacob’s Cattle Gold’, ‘Lina Sisco’s Bird Egg’, ‘Peregion’, and ‘Tiger’s Eye’ was performed after the 2013 season. A gain from selection trial was established during the 2014 season to compare the performance of selected improved pure lines within each cultivar to original heirloom populations. The pure line trial of 2013-2014 and the gain from selection trial in 2014 revealed that genetic variation within heirloom dry bean cultivars was sufficient to allow for selection of traits associated with maturity, yield, and plant architecture within an heirloom population. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ iii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................... 1 Taxonomy and Reproductive Biology ........................................................................................................... 1 Morphology and Classification of Common Bean .................................................................................... 2 Domestication of the Common Bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) ............................................................... 4 Diversity and Conservation of Common Bean Germplasm .................................................................... 6 Consumption Patterns and Nutritional Quality of Common Bean ....................................................... 8 Common Bean Production in the U.S. Midwest ...................................................................................... 10 Certified Organic Production in Minnesota ............................................................................................... 13 Market Outlets for Dry Bean Production in Minnesota ......................................................................... 15 Project Rationale ................................................................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER ONE : Yield Evaluation of Commercial Dry Bean Market Classes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.): Cultivar Development for Minnesota Organic Production 18 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 19 Materials and Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Results .................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................................. 29 CHAPTER TWO : Yield Performance and Stability of Heirloom Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.): ........................................................................................................... 38 Summary ............................................................................................................................................................... 38 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 39 Materials and Methods ....................................................................................................................................