Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Carlos Urrea called the meeting to order at 8:00 A.M. He shared a draft agenda for the meeting.

First item on the agenda was introductions of members (including new members) and guests. After this, the group elected a new Secretary: Maria Munoz-Amatriain from Colorado State University.

The minutes from the previous meeting at UC Davis (2018) were approved (Jim Heitholt made the motion, Tim Porch seconded it, all members approved).

The Project Renewal occupied most of the meeting time.

Dr. David Gang, current project Administrator, explained in detail how to renew the Multistate Research Project for another 5 years. Draft proposal should be done by end of November. The full proposal needs to be completed and approved by David Gang by the middle of December, and submitted before January 15, 2020 for review by the Western Association of Agriculture Experiment Station Directors (WAAESD). David explained that we don’t need to make major changes to the project, the most important thing is that we show that the project is evolving. We need to demonstrate a continuous need. The topics from the previous proposal need to be updated. The title can change but can also remain the same. David Gang also mentioned that proposals requesting renewal have the possibility of being rejected (one was rejected recently according to David).

Juan Osorno asked David about how the Multistate allocations are distributed across the W‑3150 project.  Osorno mentioned that the process seems quite unclear and that he does not know how much money the North Dakota Agricultural Experimental Station receives for the W-3150 project and how the money is allocated between the different participants. David Gang explained that Experimental Stations of each state participating in the W-3150 Project receive and allocate dollars. These dollars support the Project in a variety of ways, including paying faculty salaries. Usually participants receive some amount of money (for traveling to the Annual Meeting, for example). Until now the accountability has been fairly loose, but USDA-NIFA is being audited and they need to start specifying where money has been going. Right now, the amount of money that each state receives is based on a complicated formula (USDA-NIFA has not published the exact formula according to sources in attendance). In the future, Agricultural Experiment Stations will need to be transparent about the total amount received and how that money is distributed.  In the next 5 years every university must go through this accounting process.

Juan Osorno also mentioned that there are members registered who are not doing much for the project and brought up the question of how we should manage that. David responded that every participant needs to allocate at least 10% of their time to this project. And that states get the money based on that formula, regardless of how many people signed-up for the project.

One attendee asked how independent this project needs to be from another projects, and if there could be an overlap with another project that a researcher has. David Gang replied that yes, there can be an overlap, and that that situation would actually be good. David also reminded everybody that we should acknowledge W-3150 funding from this Project in presentations, papers, etc. The number of presentations and publications could be documented and presented to congressional representatives to justify this project and other multistate projects. 

Phil McClean mentioned that this year has more attendees than previous years, although not as many as the multistate corn meeting, a very formal meeting with 200-300 members. Juan Osorno added that this was the first time the project Administrator is attending the meeting in person.

Carlos Urrea asked if we should submit a Renewal or a Replacement of the W-3150 project. David mentioned that renewal involves adjustments and updates, while project replacement involves a change of direction. In the past, a different project number meant that either the project was submitted for Replacement or that, even if a Renewal was submitted, reviewers decided that the content was different enough to be given a new number. Everybody agreed that we should try a Renewal of the project, even if we adjust the title.  

Carlos Urrea started talking about the steps on the Project Renewal process. The process starts now but the new project (if awarded) would start in October 2020.

Next steps in the renewal process:

1. By mid-November a draft of the sections “Issues” and “Justification” needs to be submitted with a 20,000 character maximum length. David Gang mentioned that NIFA moved offices to Kansas City, MO and lost 80% of their employees. NIFA is starting to replace personnel now and we are most likely going to be interacting with new people. Some of the new NIFA employees may not know the topics or the process as well as previous employees; thus, a less-technical and shorter proposal is better. Carlos proposed that he will write a draft for the Issues and Justification sections and pass it to other members for review.
2. By the end of November, a full proposal needs to be submitted for review. Somebody reminded the group that there is a writing committee.

Carlos Urrea mentioned that it is important to make sure that we all agree on the Objectives. He had worked a bit on it prior to this meeting and showed those objectives to the group. We all spent time working on those objectives until we agreed to the following:

Objective 1: Increasing common bean productivity and sustainability

Objective 2: Exploiting the nutritional value and quality of common bean to promote human health and well-being

Objective 3: Development and application of genetic tools and bionformatic databases

Another task that is due 60 days from the meeting date is the submission of the State Reports. Every member needs to submit a report from each state, and someone needs to compile them. Jim Heitholt volunteered to help with that the compilation. Everybody agreed that those reports should be sent to Carlos Urrea by November 28.

The last item on the agenda was to decide where the next W-3150 Annual Meeting will be held. There was discussion on the choice of location between Scottsbluff, NE and Lincoln, NE (where the NAPB meeting will be held from Sunday 16 August to Wednesday 19 August). Scottsbluff was finally proposed for the 2020 W-3150 meeting and organized for after the NAPB meeting, perhaps on August 21^st. Juan Osorno made the motion to choose Scottsbluff, Tim Porch seconded it, and all members approved it.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 A.M.

• Short-term Outcomes:

Improved high yielding bean cultivars resistant to multiple abiotic and biotic stresses (especially multiple diseases) will continue positively impacting regional and national production. Area planted to new cultivars may increase by more than 10% leading to substantial production increases in the participating states. 

Adoption of multiple-disease resistant cultivars may reduce fungicide use by 25% or more resulting in savings to producers and contribute to a cleaner environment. Adoption of cultivars that will require less irrigation, less N, and less P fertilizer while maintaining profitable yield and quality. 

The genes responsible for key agronomic, disease, nutrient and health-related traits will be discovered with novel diversity panels, genomic tools and databases, and innovative analysis methods. 

The development and implementation of novel molecular markers for agriculturally important traits will accelerate the process of cultivar development. 

The human health effects studies will yield data on the capabilities of important bean market classes to protect against inflammation, a cellular stressor that has been linked to heart disease and other inflammatory based diseases. These data will benefit our stakeholders, as the information can be used to promote the consumption of dry beans and thus increase market demands. 

Additionally, the health effects research has the potential to advance our understanding of potential differences between bean market classes and develop new dietary practices to help address major health concerns. 

• Outputs:

Our group’s outputs consist of variety releases, identification of genes that confer tolerance to stress, utilizing new germplasm under more sustainable agronomic practices, improved nutritional quality, and better products that satisfy processor and consumer demands. Three categories of outputs are provided below along with the project’s plans for 2020. 

Release of New Lines

Great Northern line NE1-17-10 and slow darkening pinto NE2-17-18 are being released as cultivars by the Univ. Nebraska. Breeder seed was increased at the Kimberly Experimental Station in Idaho. A new Great Northern line, NE1 17 36, and a slow darkening pinto line, NE2-17-37, will be increased in Idaho in 2020. Several lines from the shuttle-breeding program between Nebraska and Puerto Rico are out-yielding the drought tolerant Matterhorn line under both drought and non-drought stress experiments and are being released. 

A light red kidney bean (cv. Coho) was developed and released by Michigan State University AgBioResearch in 2019 as an upright, full-season cultivar that possesses acceptable canning quality, tolerance to common bacterial blight [CBB; caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Smith) Dye], and root rots. Coho was developed using the pedigree breeding method to the F4 generation followed by pure line selection for disease, agronomic and quality traits. In 4 yrs of field trials, Coho yielded 3644 kg/ha, flowered in 39 d and matured in 99 d on average. Plants averaged 50 cm in height, with a lodging resistance score of 1.1 and a seed weight of 53.8 g/100 seeds. Coho is resistant to race 73 of anthracnose [caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. et Magnus) Lams.-Scrib], is partially resistant to local isolates of CBB, is sensitive to strain NL 3 of Bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) but is resistant to all common strains of BCMV. Coho produces seed that meets industry standards for dry seed packaging and was rated satisfactory in overall canned bean quality in the light red kidney bean seed class. 

NDSU released three new cultivars in early 2019. ND Falcon pinto has resistance to rust and to the soybean cyst nematode in addition to good agronomic performance. ND Pegasus is a Great Northern cultivar that is very upright and high yielding and has excellent seed quality and good levels of tolerance to white mold. ND Whitetail white kidney is a high yielding cultivar with high levels of resistance to bacterial diseases and white mold.

Tolerance to Biotic Stress

A manuscript describing the release of pinto bean germplasm that combines resistance to BGYMV, BCMNV and rust (Ur-11, Ur-3) was submitted to the J. Plant Reg by the team in Puerto Rico. This was a collaborative release of USDA ARS, UPR, IDIAF and Zamorano University. In Washington, the physical position of the bc-2 gene (for bean common mosaic virus) was associated with a deletion in a candidate gene on Pv11. The bc-2 gene interacts with different bc-u and bc-u(s) (gene symbols pending) loci to give resistance to different strains. For instance, bc-2 and bc-u is resistant to NL-3 (pathogroup VI) but susceptible to NL-4 (Pathogroup VII), whereas the bc-2 and bc-u(s) combination is susceptible to NL-3 but resistant to the NL-4 strain. 

Six tepary beans were immune to six Mesoamerican and two Andean bean common rust races. This type of reaction is not observed in common bean cultivars. 

A manuscript describing bean research contributions in Puerto Rico during the past 100 years was prepared and submitted to the J. Agric. UPR. Six lines were identified with intermediate levels of resistance to Macrophomina phaseolina isolate Mph-JD2 Genbank Acc # MH805833. Four bean lines were identified to have resistance to a Fusarium solani isolate from Isabela, Genbank Acc # MH795800. Advanced lines of tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) have been generated with resistance to leaf hopper, common bacterial blight, and rust, in addition to abiotic stress tolerance and good cooking and nutritional quality in collaboration with PR, MI, IA, MD, and the Dominican Republic. 

In Delaware, several possible sources of downy mildew (Phytophthora phaseoli) resistance were identified in field and dew chamber screens in 2016 and 2017. In winter 2017/2018, several of these lines were crossed with bush, heat tolerant PI 534918 to develop populations for breeding and genetics studies: PI 224713, PI 257548, PI 355837, PI 256816, PI 256417 and PI 355839. F2 plants from these crosses were grown in the field in 2019 and seeds were collected from plants with bush growth habit. The F3 generation is being screened for race F downy mildew resistance in the greenhouse in winter 2019/2020. One F2 population derived from PI 256417/PI 534918 was reserved for a genetics and marker development study in winter 2019/2020. 

Researchers in the state of Washington identified a new QTL RUST3.1 of Andean origin on linkage group Pv03 with a major effect on quantitative resistance. The Washington group is in the process of releasing to the public, Andean germplasm lines which combine four genes (Pse-2, Pse-3, HB4.2, and HB5.1) conditioning resistance to halo bacterial blight. The lines are currently being tested for agronomic performance. 

Tolerance to Abiotic Stress

In Delaware, additional heat tolerant germplasm lines were identified in a 2018 field and greenhouse screen. To determine which of these lines to use as parents in the breeding program bush (15 lines) and vining (23) heat tolerant germplasm lines were evaluated for yield and days to harvest in field trials in 2019. F2, F4 and F6 breeding lines derived from one or two heat tolerant parents were evaluated in the field and selections were made. Some F6 lines were also evaluated in a greenhouse heat tolerance screen. 

During 2016, 2017, and 2018, the team at the University of Wyoming screened cultivars for drought tolerance and this project has ended for now. It appears that Poncho, CO-46348, Powderhorn, CO91216-15, UI-537, ND Palomino, PT9-5-6, and Desert Song showed respectable yield under both deficit and full irrigation when grown in Powell. This project may resume in 2021. 

From 2016 to 2018, a graduate student in Wyoming completed a series of nine greenhouse and field trials with multiple genotypes and varying N rates. There is evidence supporting the idea that producers may be applying too much N fertilizer.  Two cultivars (La Paz and ND-307) warrant further examination as being N efficient. In a separate 2019 Wyoming study, foliar-applied phosphate (Ortho and Poly) 6 24-6 fertilizer at different timings (V2, prior to R1, and both), with and without Cu supplement, is underway. 

Two 42-entry black bean trials were conducted side-by-side where no N was applied to one trial at the Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center. Data was collected on a range of traits throughout the season using unmanned aerial devices (drones) and plots were sampled at key growth stages to determine N content. Symbiotic N2-fixation will be determined using 15N natural abundance method. Yields in the non-fertilized trial ranged from 10.7 to 25.3 cwt/acre, mean 19.3 cwt/acre, compared to range from 16.6 to 24.5, mean 21.7 cwt/acre. The none nodulation check was the lowest yielding entry in both trials, but some lines produced consistently high yields in both trials. 

In New York, new upright LRK and DRK breeding lines have been selected following crosses with Middle American market classes that have the upright vine morphology from Michigan State University (navy, great northern and black bean parents). Selections from these populations have been used to improve plant architecture in the LRK and DRK market classes potentially enabling higher yields in combination with improved tolerance to white mold and other diseases. The pink seed-coat genotype UPRK27 also looks highly promising with a plant type similar to an upright black bean cultivar. The upright line UPRK49, which has chestnut seed-coat color, has the most promising upright architecture for high density planting and disease avoidance in kidney beans. The yields of UPRK49 are currently not competitive, but this plant type has been crossed to Cornell DRK1 and LRK6 and populations developed to select higher yielding types in with this architecture. Selection of new cultivars in this type going forward could result in the development of new kidney bean varieties for NY that could be planted at higher density with reduced disease spread and easier cultivation. A new, intriguing line is a mini-dark red kidney bean that cans very well. Due to the small seed size of this line, and the upright architecture, it could lead to a variety where pod shattering is not a concern enabling harvest using similar equipment for upright black beans. 

Plans for 2020

The project team has recently submitted a proposal for renewal (W_TEMP_4150) entitled ‘Breeding Phaseolus Beans for Resilience, Sustainable Production, and Enhanced Nutritional Value.’ During 2020, the project will transition from the expiring W-3150 to the new project but research and outreach activities will be seamless.  The primary focus will be on breeding for tolerance to viral, fungal, and bacterial diseases. Concomitantly, breeders will work with geneticists and plant pathologists to identify more precise genetic markers and so that new lines with more robust resistance to pathogens can be released. Work is also planned to identify QTLs associated with drought and heat tolerance. Multiple teams are working directly to breed for improved nutritional quality of dry bean or work concurrently with breeders developing lines tolerant to biotic and abiotic stress. Additionally, the Multistate group is poised to develop a 50K SNPchip and update the PhaseolusGene database to a sequence-based database. 

• Activities:

The full version of the current Multistate project’s objectives are stated elsewhere but are briefly summarized below:

1. Improve bean yield potential through multiple breeding and genetic approaches.
2. Develop beans with enhanced nutritional qualities.
3. Implement sustainable and profitable dry bean agricultural.
4. Ensure the project team collaborates by sharing data, protocols, markers, and germplasm. 

Activities for Improving Bean Yield (Objective 1)

Phenotyping and Screening

In Puerto Rico, a set of advanced Andean lines from PIC populations derived from the Andean Diversity Panel (ADP) are being evaluated for potential release to broaden the genetic diversity of the Andean genepool in the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa. The PIC lines were developed collaboratively between WA, PR, MI, Tanzania, and ARC-South Africa. The NE and PR shuttle breeding program breeding lines have developed from the third cycle of recurrent selection pinto, Great Northern, and black lines with good levels of drought tolerance and broad adaptation. A new release is forthcoming. 

The U.S. Dry Bean Core Collection was screened for CBB pv. fuscans resistance by UNeb-Scottsbluff in the Nebraska Panhandle. Only one entry showed intermediate resistance to pv. fuscans. The Scottsbluff team continues to collaborate to evaluate Phaseolus breeding lines and germplasm to develop new regionally adapted cultivars with resistance to bacterial diseases (wilt, fuscans blight, and brown spot). The team continued testing new copper-alternative chemicals for managing bacterial diseases in Nebraska, and are conducting four additional industry projects evaluating new fungicidal products and application methods for root diseases, rust, and white mold. 

Rust screening was performed at Colorado State University on the MRPN, CDBN, Michigan St. Univ. lines, USDA-ARS Prosser WA lines, and tepary lines from Puerto Rico following the CIAT scale for pustule size (1983 International Bean Rust Workshop). 

Experimental green baby lima varieties with RKN resistance were yield trialed for a second year in Delaware. Additional green baby lima breeding lines with RKN resistance were selected based on greenhouse and inoculated field screening. Seed of these lines is being increased for trials in 2020. Also, in Delaware, five upright architecture lima bean breeding lines and three standard varieties with sprawling plant habit were evaluated for yield, disease incidence and severity, in separate plots inoculated with downy mildew (Phytophthora phaseoli) and Phytophthora capsici. These plots were misted to encourage disease development. A third trial to test white mold avoidance was planted in collaboration with a grower cooperator but disease did not develop due to dry weather conditions. This is part of a two-year project to determine whether upright versus sprawling plant architecture influences disease avoidance. 

In Wyoming, five pinto bean cultivars (Othello, ND-Palomino, Snowy Mountain #7, Montrose, Long’s Peak) were grown in four environments across two years and treated with in-furrow Quadris or Headline (Bill Stump and Kyle Webber). Interestingly, fungicides have reduced the disease symptoms but Othello seems to yield the highest even though it exhibited the most fungal damage (Rhizoctonia and Fusarium).

 Genotyping and Gene Mapping

Genome-wide association studies continued in North Dakota and allowed the identification of genomic regions associated with resistance/tolerance to biotic/abiotic factors. For example, new genomic regions for resistance to white mold have been identified using a MAGIC population. Also, genomic regions associated with Uromyces appendiculatus, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium solani resistance as well as soybean cyst nematode have been found. Several Pythium (Globisporangium) species have been identified as causing root rot in ND and MN. A multiplex qPCR assay was developed for the detection of four bacterial pathogens of dry bean. 

In the state of Washington, the Durango Diversity Panel was screened using two Xap (CBB) strains in the greenhouse. GWAS using SNPs from McClean’s lab (ND) narrowed the QTL interval for the SAP6 QTL on Pv10. A new SNP marker for MAS, to replace SAP6 which does not exhibit limitations in Middle American background, is in development. 

Studies of bacterial wilt resistance continue in Nebraska. The G18829/Raven RIL composed of 303 lines, the parental lines, the F1s, the F2s in both directions, and the backcrosses to both resistant and parental lines were tested against a pathogenic bacterial wilt isolate. DNA is being extracted from the RILs. Mapping of the bacterial wilt resistance is in progress. 

Two new KASP markers tightly-linked to the Ur-4 (SS208) and Ur-5 (SS183) rust resistance genes were developed in Beltsville, MD. 

Regional Trials and Nurseries

The 69th annual Cooperative Dry Bean Nursery (CDBN) report was compiled and distributed in March, 2019 by C. Urrea in Scottsbluff, NE. During the 2018 CDBN, 21 entries were tested in trials at 7 locations in the U.S. and Canada.  Final results were compiled and distributed to all project members and made available to the public via the https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Varietytest-DryBeans/2019%20CDBN%20Final.pdf web page. In 2019, 25 entries were tested in replicated trials at 8 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The national Dry Bean Drought Nursery (DBDN) was assembled and distributed with 26 lines from MI, WA, NE, and PR and tested in MI, WA, PR, NE and WY. NE2-18-2, NE4-18-63, Cayenne, and NE2-18-3 had the highest geometric mean yield. Project participants in Puerto Rico planted 5,145 bean breeding lines from the USDA-ARS, Michigan State University, the University of Nebraska and North Dakota State University in winter nurseries as a cooperative activity of Regional Hatch Project W-3150. 

The CDBN, MRPN, and DBDN were grown at Lingle, WY in 2018 and the CDBN was grown at Lingle and Powell, WY in 2019. Nebraska grew the 2019 Mid-west Regional Performance Nursery (MRPN); The Michigan State Univ. dry bean breeding and genetics program conducted 17 yield trials in 2019 in ten market classes and participated in the growing and evaluation of the CDBN, MRPN, DBDN and the National Sclerotinia Nurseries in Michigan and winter nursery in Puerto Rico. The USDA-ARS-Michigan Dry Bean Genetics Program has breeding trials for cranberry, kidney, yellow, and black-market classes and organic beans. The national White Mold Monitor Nursery (WMMN) planted in Scottsbluff, NE was destroyed by hail on August 15, 2019. Studies of bacterial wilt resistance continue. 

The state of Washington participated in the DBDN, White Mold (BWMN), and CDBN dry bean nurseries and contributed entries to each of the nurseries as well. PT16-9, NE2-18-2, PK9 15, and B18504 had exceptional yields in the drought nursery; SR9-5 and NDF120287 performed well in the BWMN; and PT11-13-1 and ND-Pegassus had the highest yields in the CDBN. 

Baby lima bean breeding lines from the University of Delaware breeding program (71), seed company entries (12), and standard cultivars (4) were evaluated for yield, days to maturity and seed quality in a replicated trial in Georgetown, Delaware. Fordhook breeding lines (15) and the standard cultivar (1) were also evaluated in a separate trial at the same location. The breeding program is seeking collaborators for seed production for new green baby lima bean varieties. Six trial Fordhook varieties have been shared with two vegetable processing companies which are handling seed increase and additional trialing. 

Five pairs of near isogenic lima bean lines (NILs) with lanceolate and ovate leaflets were evaluated for yield, disease incidence and severity in separate plots inoculated with downy mildew and Phytophthora capsici in Delaware. These plots were misted to encourage disease development. A third trial to test avoidance of white mold was planted in collaboration with a grower cooperator but disease did not develop due to dry weather conditions. This is part of a two-year project to determine whether leaflet shape influences disease avoidance. Also, in Delaware, two trials of flat-podded snap-bean varieties and experimental lines were planted to evaluate yield, heat tolerance, days to harvest and quality. One variety, Usambara (Seminis), performed exceptionally well in both trials planted on May 21 and July 11. The Delaware team is recommending this variety for trial by processors. 

Activities for Enhanced Nutritional Quality (Objective 2)

Nutritional analysis was conducted at the laboratory of the Univ. Nebraska and included characterization of the components, such as both the micronutrients and macronutrients, with an emphasis on phenols. Minerals and lipid characterization were also completed on the following pinto beans, small red beans and black bean seed types. 

Coupled with these analyses, two animal studies, using a hamster model, were completed with small red beans and black beans serving as supplement to a high saturated fat diet. These results are currently being analyzed through metabolomics and transcriptomics to understand the mechanisms of remediating inflammation. However, during these studies as well as in past trials, we determined that dry beans maintain the energy balance in the presence of high saturated fats, which left unchecked deregulates the glycolic, TCA, and mitochondria function in the large intestine. It must be noted this is the fundamental condition then leads to multiple stresses, including inflammation. Interestingly, each bean market has different efficacies as well as different mechanisms in remediating the detrimental effects on energy metabolism caused by typical western diets. These studies were conducted on beans obtained from Western Nebraska. The next two years of this project will use beans from the same seed classes but sourced from Colorado so that the environmental effects can be studied. 

A yellow bean diversity panel of ~300 lines was planted in replicated trials in Michigan and Nebraska, and a study was conducted on the development and nutritional evaluation of pastas made from dry bean flour. Whole dry beans were milled into flour and used to make gluten free fresh pastas. Six bean cultivars, each from a different market class, including white kidney-Snowdon, navy-Alpena, otebo Samurai, cranberry-Etna, dark red kidney Red Hawk and black-Zenith, were made into pasta. All cultivars were developed by Michigan State University except Etna which was developed by Seminis. The sensory appeal of each of the bean pastas was evaluated by 100 consumer panelists.  While consumers preferred the flavor, texture and appearance of the wheat pasta to the dry bean pasta, 36% of participants said they would definitely or probably purchase the dry bean pastas from the light-colored beans.  Nutritional value of the bean pastas was also determined and compared to cooked whole beans of the same cultivar and to fresh wheat pasta. Although, dry bean and wheat pastas have similar caloric (402–409 kcal) and fat (2.2–2.6%) contents, bean pastas were nutritionally superior to wheat pastas in regard to protein (16 vs. 19 22%) and mineral (0.6–0.9 vs. 2.5–2.7%) contents. Varietal differences existed among the selected dry bean pastas in terms of protein (19–22%), total starch (43–47%) and resistant starch (3.2–3.6%) concentrations. There was some loss of nutritional value of bean pasta vs. whole boiled beans but this can mostly be attributed to the bean pasta being 90% bean. These results suggest that single variety fresh dry bean pastas have commercial potential in the U.S. as healthy gluten free pasta options. 

In NY in 2019, a greater focus was placed on development of new black bean breeding lines with very high color retention, including evaluation of nutritional components. Additionally, the kidney bean lines Cornell LRK-6, Cornell DRK-1 and Cornell 612 have high promise for commercialization as varieties based on replicated research plots, on-farm trials and performance in national dry bean nursery trials. Line DRK-1 shows promise in the dark red market class and LRK-6 also shows high promise based on high yields against checks over multiple seasons. Based on these findings, new crosses have been made between DRK-1 and LRK 6 to move superior canning quality into an early maturing, high yielding dark red kidney variety going forward. The upright line ‘Cornell 612’ also looks promising as a potential variety especially for organic systems based on its yield, upright plant type and tolerance to white mold. Based on increased consumer demand for more color and variability within products, introgressions of novel colors have also been targeted. These 'rainbow kidney' lines include the introgression of black and purple seed color into a kidney bean background with multiple additional colors selected out of upright architecture populations providing white, pink, mottled and chestnut seed-coat colors. Based on initial canning studies, black kidney beans have had excellent color retention when compared to black bean controls, and good canning quality based on can-pour and splitting. To circumvent the canning differences for fixed cooking protocols at canning facilities, Cornell 612 has been crossed to DRK-1 and LRK-6 to normalize the seed size and type. New lines have now been selected out of these crosses, the most promising of which is RK33, with a very attractive elongated seed shape. 

A collaboration led by Iowa State Univ. (with two of our USDA-ARS participants) examined cooking time, percent hard shell, and mineral content differences in four common bean and five tepary bean (P. acutifolius) lines cultivated in the same environment. Sensory evaluation of black common bean vs. black tepary beans in traditional Central American recipes is in progress. Iowa State is conducting a consumer survey with low-income adults on their bean consumption practices and knowledge of nutrition and health benefits. In a separate project, participants from Wyoming and Washington are advancing, developing, and testing new lines of popping bean variants originally developed by project participants from Colorado and Wisconsin. Popping beans offer a shorter cooking time and possible snack food. 

A collaboration led by Oregon State University with NDSU and CSU conducted a genome wide association mapping study of phenolics in a snap bean diversity panel. In addition to a strong association of the p gene with SNPs on Pv07, 10 other significant associations were observed between total phenolic content and SNPs on Pv01, Pv03, Pv04, Pv09, Pv10 and Pv11. Five potential candidate genes were also identified. 

Activities for Sustainability (Objective 3)

ARS-Prosser continues to breed Andean beans for enhanced yield under stress (terminal drought, low fertility, and multiple stress) and non-stress environments in WA. In 2019 at Powell, WY, six progeny lines (from Long’s Peak × UI 537) were compared against three popular commercial lines La Paz, Snowy Mountain #7, Poncho, and the progeny’s two parents (a 120-plot study). Treatments included withholding N, withholding P, withholding both N and P, or applying both N and P. Days to flower, leaf chlorophyll, NDVI, canopy temperature, plant height, leaf blade mineral status, nodule counts, soil mineral status, maturity date, and lodging data were collected. Entries were significantly different for all ecophysiological traits measured. The progeny lines appeared to lodge much more than La Paz, Snowy Mountain #7, and Long’s Peak but less than UI-537. 

Also, in Wyoming, results from two years of row spacing research in Wyoming combined with irrigation rates, three cultivars (included an upright and prostrate), and five seeding rates has found that 7-inch rows outyield the traditional 22-inch rows. A yield plateau was reached at 75K seed per acre (with three higher rates tested). Four cultivars were compared across strip-till vs. conventional and across 100% ET irrigation vs. 75% deficit irrigation and it appears that use of different cultivars is warranted depending up the tillage-irrigation combination. 

Activities Demonstrating Team Collaborations (Objective 4)

About 100 lines from the first through fourth cycles of shuttle breeding between Nebraska and Puerto Rico were tested in Scottsbluff and will be tested in Puerto Rico under drought and non-drought stress environments. A couple of shuttle breeding lines have the potential to be released as sources of drought tolerance. Wyoming established F3 lines from multiple crosses at Powell (WY) during 2019. Seed quality appeared good to very good for early and mid-maturing lines although an early frost compromised seed quality of the late-maturing lines. More than 100 single-plant selections from various progeny were made. Seed from these selections will be grown plant-to-row in 2020.

Nebraska increased breeder seed of one upright northern line (NE1-17-10) and one slow darkening pinto line (NE2-17-18) at the Kimberly Experimental Station in Idaho. NE1-17-10 has an upright plant architecture, carries the Ur-3 and Ur-6 rust resistance genes and the I gene for bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) resistance gene, shows tolerance to common bacterial blight (CBB), and has high yield potential. NE2-17-18 carries the Ur-11 rust resistance and the I BCMV resistance genes. Both lines have high yield potential and large seed size.

• Milestones:

(2019) Release of the great northern bean cultivar ND Pegasus. 

(2019) Release of the pinto bean cultivar ND Falcon. 

(2019) Release of the white kidney bean cultivar ND Whitetail. 

(2019) Release of the light red kidney bean cultivar Coho. 

(2020) Release of new upright great northern bean cultivar (NE1-17-10) with enhanced levels of common bacterial blight resistance. 

(2020) Release of new slow darkening pinto bean cultivar (NE2-17-18). 

(2020) Release of Mesoamerican bean germplasm line(s) that combines disease resistance with greater tolerance to high temperatures and low N soils (derived from crosses between elite lines from the BASE 120 trial). 

(2020) Release of a determinate red mottled cultivar that combines multiple virus resistance. 

(2020) Release of tepary bean with leafhopper resistance, disease resistance, and improved culinary characteristics.

Peer-Reviewed

Abbasabadi, A.O., T. Porch, J. Rosas, S.M. Moghaddam, J. Beaver, S. Beebe, J. Burridge, C. Jochua, M. Miguel, P. Miklas, B. Raatz, J. White, J. Lynch, P. McClean. 2019. Single and multi-trait GWAS identify genetic factors associated with production traits in common bean under abiotic stress environments. G3. doi: 10.25387/g3.7965305. 

Beaver, J.S., C. Estévez de Jensen, G. Lorenzo-Vázquez, A. González, H. Martínez and T. G. Porch. 2018. Registration of ‘Bella’ White-Seeded Common Bean Cultivar. J. Plant Reg. 12:190-193. 

Cappa, C., J. D. Kelly, and P.K.W. Ng. 2019. Baking performance of 25 edible dry bean powders: correlation between cookie quality and rapid test indices, Food Chemistry, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.125338. 

Cichy, K.A., Wiesinger, J.A., Berry, M., Nchimbi-Msolla, S., Fourie, D., Porch, T.G., Ambechew, D., Miklas, P.N. (2019) The role of genotype and production environment in determining the cooking time of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Legume Science, e13. 

Cichy, K., J.A. Wiesinger, M. Berry, S. Nchimbi-Msolla, D. Fourie, T.G. Porch, D. Ambechew, P.N. Miklas. 2019. The role of genotype and production environment in determining the cooking time of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Legume Science. DOI: 10.1002/leg3.13. 

Dramadri, I.O., S. Nkalubo, and J. D. Kelly. 2019. Identification of QTL associated with drought tolerance in Andean common bean. Crop Sci. 59:1–14. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.10.0604. 

Farooq, M., B. A. Padder, N. N. Bhat, M.D. Shah, A. B. Shikari, H. E. Awale, and J. D. Kelly. 2019. Temporal expression of candidate genes at the Co-1 locus and their interaction with other defense related genes in common bean. Physiol. Mol. Plant Path. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmpp.2019.101424.

 Feng, X., G.E. Orellana, J.R. Myers, and A.V. Karasev. 2018. Recessive resistance to bean common mosaic virus conferred by the bc-1 and bc-2 genes in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) affects long distance movement of the virus. Phytopathology 108:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-01-18-0021-R 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Managing dry bean bacterial diseases in Nebraska with new copper-alternative chemicals. Plant Health Progress 20: 14-19. 

Hooper, S.D., Glahn, R.P., and Cichy, K.A. (2019) Single Varietal Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Pastas: Nutritional Profile and Consumer Acceptability. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 1-8. 

Jacobs, J.L., J. D. Kelly, E. M. Wright, G. Varner, and M. I. Chilvers. 2019. Determining the soilborne pathogens associated with root rot disease complex of dry bean in Michigan. Plant Health Progress 20:122-127. doi.org/10.1094/PHP-11-18-0076-S.

Jain, S., Poromarto, S., Osorno, J. M., McClean, P. E., & Nelson, B. D. (2019). Genome wide association study discovers genomic regions involved in resistance to soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) in common bean. PloS one, 14(2), e0212140. 

Jiménez-Galindo, J.C., Álvarez-Iglesias L., Revilla P., Jacinto-Soto R., García-Domínguez L.E., de La Fuente M., Malvar R.A., Ordás B., Vander Wal A.J., and Osorno J.M. 2018. Screening for Drought Tolerance in Tepary and Common Bean Based on Osmotic Potential Assays. Planta 6:24-32. 

Kamfwa, K., Cichy, K.A., Kelly, J.D. (2019) Identification of quantitative trait loci for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in common bean. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. Available: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-019-03284-6.

Long, Y., Bassett, A., Cichy, K., Thompson, A., & Morris, D. (2019). Bean Split Ratio for Dry Bean Canning Quality and Variety Analysis. In: Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Workshops (pp. 0-0). 

Mndolwa E.J., S.N. Msolla, T.G. Porch and P.N. Miklas. 2019. GGE biplot analysis of yield stability for Andean dry bean accessions grown under different abiotic stress regimes in Tanzania. African Crop Science Journal. 27: 413-425. 

Myers, J. R., Wallace, L. T., Moghaddam, S. M., Kleintop, A. E., Echeverria, D., Thompson, H. J., Brick, M. A., Lee, R., McClean, P. E. (2019) Improving the health benefits of snap beans: genome wide association studies of total phenolic content. Nutrients 11, 2509; doi:10.3390/nu11102509. 

Nguyen, A.T., S. Althwab, H. Qiu, R.Zbasnik, C. Urrea, T.P. Carr, and V. Schlegel. 2019. Pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) lower non-HDL cholesterol in hamsters fed a diet rich in saturated fat and act on genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis. J. of Nutr. 149(6): 996-1003. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz044. 

Oladzad, A., Zitnick-Anderson, K., Jain, S., Simons, K., Osorno, J. M., McClean, P. E., and Pasche, J. S.* 2019. Identifying genotypes and genomic regions associated with Rhizoctonia solani resistance in common bean. Frontiers in Plant Sci. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00956. 

Oladzad, A., Porch, T., Rosas, J. C., Moghaddam, S.M., Beaver, J., Beebe, S.E., Burridge, Jochua, C. N, Miguel, M. A., Miklas, P. N., Ratz, B., White, J. W., Lynch, J., McClean, P. E., (2019) Single and multi-trait GWAS identify genetic factors associated with production traits in common bean under abiotic stress environments. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 9:1881-1892. 

Porch, T.G., E.I. Brisco-McCann, G. Demosthene, R.W. Colbert, J.S. Beaver, J.D. Kelly. Release of TARS-LH1 a pinto bean germplasm with resistance to the leafhopper pest. J. of Crop Reg. (accepted). 

Strock C., J. Burridge, A. Massas, J.Beaver, S. Beebe, S. Camillo, D. Fourie, C. Jochua, M. Miguel, P. Miklas, E. Mndolwa, S. Nchimbi-Msolla, T. Porch, J.C. Rosas, J. Trapp, J. Lynch. 2019. Seedling root architecture predicts yield across diverse environments in Phaseolus vulgaris. Field Crops Res. 237:53-64. 

Soltani, A., MafiMoghaddam, S., Oladzad-Abbasabadi, A., Walter, K., Kearns, P. J., Vasquez-Guzman, J., Mamidi, S., Lee, R., Shade, A.L., Jacobs, J.L. Chilvers, M.I., Lowry D., McClean P.E., and Osorno, J.M. 2018. Genetic Analysis of Flooding Tolerance in an Andean Diversity Panel of Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Frontiers in Plant Science, 9, 767. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00767. 

Urrea, C.A., O.P. Hurtado-Gonzales, M.A. Pastor-Corrales, and J.R. Steadman. 2019. Registration of great northern common bean cultivar ‘Panhandle Pride’ with enhanced disease resistance to bean rust and common bacterial blight. J. of Plant Reg. 13(3): 311-315. 

Wallace, L., H. Arkwazee, K. Vining, and J.R. Myers. 2018. Genetic diversity within snap beans and their relation to dry beans. Genes 9(587); doi:10.3390/genes9120587. http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/12/587/htm. 

Wiesinger, J., Cichy, K.A, Tako, E., Glahn, R. (2018) The fast cooking and enhanced iron bioavailability properties of the Manteca yellow bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Nutrients. 10:1609. 

Wiesinger, J.A., Glahn, R.P., Cichy, K.A., Kolba, N., Hart, J.J. and Tako, E. (2019) An in vivo (Gallus gallus) feeding trial demonstrating the enhanced iron bioavailability properties of the fast cooking manteca yellow bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Nutrients, 11(8), p.1768. 

Winham, D.M., Tisue, M.E., Palmer, S.M., Cichy, K.A., Shelley, M.C. (2019) Dry bean preferences and attitudes among Midwest Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women. Nutrients. 11:178. 

Book Chapters

2019. M. De Ron, V. (K.) Kalavacharla, S. Álvarez-García, P. A. Casquero, G. Carro-Huelga, S. Gutiérrez, A. Lorenzana, S. Mayo-Prieto, A. Rodríguez-González, V. Suárez-Villanueva, A. P. Rodiño, J. S. Beaver, T. Porch, M. Z. Galván, M. C. Gonçalves Vidigal, M. Dworkin, A. Bedmar Villanueva and L. De la Rosa. 2019. Common bean genetics, breeding, and genomics for adaptation to changing to new agri-environmental Conditions. pp. 1-106. In: Genomic designing of climate-smart pulse crops (Ed: C. Kole). Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland. 469 pages. 

Myers, J.R., L. Brewer, and M. Al Jadi. 2018. The Importance of Cosmetic Stay-green in Specialty Crops. Plant Breeding Reviews 42:219-256. 

Osorno, J.M., P.E. McClean, and T. Close. 2018. Advanced breeding techniques for grain legumes in the genomics era. In Sivasankar, S. et al. (ed.), Achieving sustainable cultivation of grain legumes Volume 1: Advances in breeding and cultivation techniques, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK (ISBN: 978-1-78676-136-1; www.bdspublishing.com) 

Bulletins, Proceedings, and Reports

Beaver, J.S., T.G. Porch, G. Lorenzo Vázquez, A. González and C. Estevez de Jensen. 2019. Performance of Mesoamerican beans in a low fertility soil. Ann. Rep. Bean Improv. Coop. 62:91-92. 

Broderick, K., R. Harveson, T. Jackson-Ziems, and S. Wegulo. 2019. Nebraska plant pathology: A culture of new diseases. Crop Watch, Crop Protection Clinic Proceedings, and Crop Management Conference Proceedings, January 2019. 

Godoy-Lutz, G., J. Steadman, A. Mitra, and C.A. Urrea. 2019. Examining the fungal rhizobiome associated with resilient dry beans bred for changing climate conditions in western Nebraska. The Bean Bag 37(3): 19. 

Hart, J.P., A.G. Vargas, J.S. Beaver, D.G. DeBouck and T.G. Porch. 2019. Genotyping the Ex Situ genetic resources of wild and cultivated tepary bean. Ann. Rep. Bean Improv. Coop. 62:109-110. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Specialty crop diseases observed after hailstorms, Extension Circular EC3029.

Harveson, R.M., and T.A. Jackson-Ziems. 2019. Puzzling out two closely related corn, dry bean diseases. 2019. Crop Watch, November, 2019. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Specialty crops update. Proceedings of the Crop Production Clinic, University of Nebraska, Cooperative Extension, pages 46-48. 

Harveson, R M. 2019. New studies on managing diseases in pulse crops in 2019. Bean Bag, Summer Issue. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. New studies for managing Fusarium root rot in dry beans. Bean Bag, Summer Issue. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Bacterial wilt color variants, Bean Bag, Autumn Issue. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Nebraska – A hotbed for new plant diseases. Scottsbluff Star-Herald, May 2019. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Origin of the great northern bean. Scottsbluff Star-Herald, May 2019. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Bacterial wilt – One for the Thumb (The Rest of the Story). Phytopathology News, October, 2019. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. The curious story of the reappearance of Goss’ wilt of corn and bacterial wilt of dry beans in the Central High Plains (The rest of the story). Phytopathology News, November, 2019. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Did you know? The dry bean bacterial wilt pathogen can be different colors. Scottsbluff Star-Herald, September, 2019. 

Harveson, R.M. 2019. Did you know? – Goss’ wilt of corn and bacterial wilt of dry beans both re-emerged in Nebraska at the same time after an absence of 25+ years. Scottsbluff Star-Herald, October, 2019.

Higgins, R., S.E. Everhart and J.R. Steadman, J. Kelly, M. Wunch, J. Myers, P. Miklas, E. Berghauer, and C. Urrea. 2019. New sources of white mold resistance derived from wide crosses in common bean and evaluated in the greenhouse and field using Multi-site screening nurseries. Ann. Rep. Bean Improv. Coop. 62: 27-28. 

Heitholt, J., A. Pierson, C. Eberle, V. Sharma. 2019. Performance of Segregating Progeny from a Pinto-by-Pink Dry Bean Cross in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. Wyo. Agric. Exp. Stn. Field Day Bulletin.

Heitholt, J., C. Eberle, V. Sharma. 2019. Performance of Segregating Progeny from a Pinto-by-Pink Dry Bean Cross in SE Wyoming after Several Hail Storms. Wyo. Agric. Exp. Stn. Field Days Bulletin. 

Jackson-Ziems, T.A., A.O. Adesemoye, R.M. Harveson, S.N. Wegulo, A. Timmerman, K. Broderick, S. Sivits, and T. Hartman. 2019. Plant disease management. Pages 241 281. In: 2019 Guide for weed, disease, and insect management in Nebraska. Nebraska Extension EC130. 342 pp. 

Kamfwa, K., J.S. Beaver, K.A. Cichy and J.D. Kelly. 2018. QTL Mapping of resistance to bean weevil in common bean. Crop Sci. 58:1-9. 

Kandel, H.J. J.M. Osorno, et al. 2019. North Dakota dry bean performance testing 2018. NDSU Ext. Serv. Doc. A-654, Fargo, ND. 

Keith, J. and J. Heitholt. 2019. Potential of Seed Production of Photoperiod-Sensitive and Photoperiod-Insensitive Popping Bean Lines of Phaseolus vulgaris under Greenhouse Conditions during the Winter Months. Wyo. Agric. Exp. Stn. Field Days Bulletin. 

Keith, J. and J. Heitholt. 2019. The Effect of Two Nitrogen Sources (and Rates) on Seed Yield of Six Greenhouse-Grown Common Bean Genotypes that Express the ‘Popping’ Trait. Wyo. Agric. Exp. Stn. Field Day Bulletin. 

Kelly, J. D., Wright, E. M., Varner, G. V., Chilvers, M. I., & Sprague, C. L. (2019). ‘Coho’: A new light red kidney bean variety for Michigan [E3432]. East Lansing: Michigan State University, MSU Extension. 

Kelly, J. D., Wright, E. M., Varner, G. V., & Sprague, C. L. (2019). ‘Cayenne’: A new small red bean variety for Michigan [E3405]. East Lansing: Michigan State University, MSU Extension.

 Kelly, J. D., Wright, E. M., Varner, G. V., Chilvers, C. I., & Sprague, C. L. (2019). ‘Red Cedar’: A new dark red kidney bean variety for Michigan [E3404]. East Lansing: Michigan State University, MSU Extension. 

Knodel, J. J., Beauzay, P. B., Endres, G. J., Franzen, D. W., Ikley J., Kandel, H, J., Markell, S. G., Osorno, J. M., and Pasche, J. S. 2019. 2018 Dry Bean Grower Survey of Production, Pest Problems and Pesticide Use in Minnesota and North Dakota. North Dakota Cooperative Extension Service Publication, E1902. 40 Pp. 

Norton, J. and J. Heitholt. 2019. Sustainable Production Practices for Edible Dry Beans. Wyo. Agric. Exp. Stn. Field Day Bulletin. 

Urrea, C.A., and E. Valentin-Cruzado. 2019, 2018 Nebraska dry bean variety trials. The Bean Bag 37(1): 11-20. 

Urrea, C.A. 2019. National Cooperative Dry Bean Trial. 2019. The Bean Bag 37(2): 10-11. 

Urrea, C.A., and E. Valentin-Cruzado. 2019. Comparison between regular and slow darkening pinto beans for water absorption, cooking time, and bean dough color. The Bean Bag 37(2): 13-14. 

Urrea, C.A., and E. Valentin-Cruzado. 2018 Nebraska dry bean variety trials. The Bean Bag 37(1): 11-20. 

Urrea, C.A., and E. Valentin-Cruzado. 2018 Nebraska dry bean variety trials. Nebraska Extension MP107. 12 p.

Urrea, C.A. 2019. 69th Annual report National Cooperative Dry Bean Nurseries. Crop Watch.   https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2018%20CDBN%20Final.pdf 

Urrea, C.A., and E. Valentin-Cruzado. 2018 Nebraska dry bean variety trials. Crop Watch. https://cropwatch.unl.edu/Varietytest DryBeans/2018%20Nebraska%20Dry%20Bean%20Variety%20Trials-Crop%20Watch%20revision%202.pdf