Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Meeting minutes from last year were approved (unanimous).

1. A new secretary was elected: Sandra Branham
2. Members introduced themselves
3. David Gang reviewed the following topics:

                -Purpose of multistate projects

                -Goal is collaborative projects

                -Need to convince federal $ are benefitting the nation-breeding is long term effort and needs long term funding support = Hatch annual report

                -The report should be short (don’t use the whole 8,000 characters!), easy to read, high impact, include #s if you can

                -Write your report according to the impact story document that David Gang sent out, answer the questions on the second page and that is it!

                -Should write an overall impact statement for W4150 and put in Nimss database (can also submit one for your state). These are shown to Congress. Rolling submissions.

                -Individual state reports are due to Christine Diepenbrock within 30 days. She must turn it in to David Gang within 60 days.

                -Draft of renewal document (W5150) is due January 15, 2025.

                -For the renewal we cannot submit the same document but it also doesn’t need to be developed from scratch. We can use the old one as a template and update it. How should we adjust the objectives? We cannot use the same objectives. The objectives should evolve over time. Must make progress and not stagnate! Must focus on the multistate aspect. Cannot be each person’s individual goals. Highlight our current collaborative projects and future ones. What publications have been generated in the past? Are multiple PIs included as co-authors on these publications? Have proposals been developed as a collaborative group?

1. State reports (reverse order)

Wyoming, James Heitholt and Donna Harris: Breeding for drought tolerance, upright stature. Multiple single-plant selections have been made. Grow out of the Durango Diversity Panel. Three levels of irrigation using center pivot (100%, 80%, 60%). Results: furrow irrigations yielded higher than the center pivot. Later maturity lines lower yielding under center pivot but higher yielding under furrow irrigation. Direct harvest yield recovery higher with more upright stature. Conclusion: for growers to move to direct harvest, will need pods above 10 cm with upright stature. Also, evaluated seed protein concentrations in 26 genotypes and stomatal density’s relationship to drought tolerance. Donna Harris in Sheridan WY: Selections out of crosses that Jim made, multilocation trials in Powell and Sheridan. ‘Monterrey’ had significantly higher yields than the checks. If their selection contintues to perform well in trials, they will enter it into cooperative dry bean nursery next year. Examining canopy temperature with UAV imagery and looking at relationship with yield.

Washington, Phil Miklas: G by E for iron bioavailability, phytate, etc. Might need to follow up with farming practices to see what effect growers are having on these traits. Is there a more effective way to grow them to increase iron and bioavailability – maybe for the W5150. Red bean ‘SR2011’ scored the best under drought in Puerto Rico. US-RM20 was released in Nicaragua with resistance to BGYMV from one of the parents. Published a paper characterizing halo blight and bacterial brown spot resistance in the Andean diversity panel from trials in South Africa, and with CBB trials conducted in South Africa, Zambia, and Puerto Rico. Used 300k SNPs from Phil McClean. GWAS found some novel QTL and previously identified QTL. There were few regions for resistance to multiple pathogens. Some important genotypes included South African sugar beans with halo blight resistance and some genotypes with resistance to CBB from Jim Beaver’s program.

South Carolina, Sandra Branham and Jenna Hershberger: The highest producing SnAP diversity panel lines were evaluated in spring, summer and fall trials. Pods were harvested, graded, and sized. Drastically lower yields in the summer of 2024 as they were planted a week later and experienced higher temperatures. Will perform phenotypic and genomic selections from crosses of ‘Caprice’ and heat tolerant accessions.

Evaluating lima bean accessions (~400). High disease pressure, especially anthracnose. Collaboration with Phaseolus curator Sarah Dohle who made F2 populations for Jenna to evaluate in South Carolina. Will run PACE markers for PHYA and TFL1y that were developed at UC Davis. Struggled to get clean seed that was protected from pollinators. Christine recommends removing organza bags after flower development.

Puerto Rico, Jim Beaver, Consuelo Estevez de Jensen and Tim Porch: (UPR) Breeding for resistance to root rot caused by Fusarium solani and Asian bean flower thrip. Identified lines with multiple virus resistance, will be screened by new W4140 member in Beltsville Maryland. Multiple improved germplasm releases. (ARS) Tepary and common bean – collaborating with Robin Buell at UGA on moving resistances between tepary to common bean (powdery mildew). Dry bean drought nursery conducted and geometric means presented. Andean dry bean panel evaluated in multiple countries (BLUPs presented). Pollen traits evaluated on the GEMINI project interspecifics from CIAT. New KASP markers developed from SNPs associated with important traits identified by the bean community with Intertek in Sweden. The KASP can be used by anyone and are posted on the BIC website.

Oregon, Jim Myers: Snap bean breeding for processing industry in Willamette Valley (~8,500 acres of BBL green beans). Jim will retire in July 2025, but the position should be refilled, however, it may not include beans. Breeding white mold resistance with Phil Miklas, Phil McClean and others and generating an 8-way MAGIC (F5 RILs) snap/dry bean population. Breeding for heat tolerance in snap beans but different than SC as they only have high daytime temperatures resulting in split sets which makes harvest difficult. Evaluated the SnAP diversity panel for photosynthetic characteristics. Will release 1 or 2 snap bean advanced lines that have high yields and field resistance to white mold. Typically there is an inverse relationship with resistance and yield. Hypothesis: you select for more flowers, which drop in the canopy and then create entry point/growth substrate for disease. For Peruano bean breeding, we have introgressed the I gene, as well as curly top and BCMV resistance into breeding lines with improved yellow color. These can be used for dry farming with no supplemental irrigation. Trialing some of Karen Cichy’s breeding lines as well. Nuña beans (POPBEANS SREP) SCRI project on popping beans was funded. Two OSU cultivars with high popping percentage and mid seed weight are being released.

New York, Ray Glahn and Jason Weisinger: Focus on nutritional quality of iron, controlled by the flavonoid profile. Major achievement -quantification and identification of those compounds in seed coats. Developed bioassay for iron bioavailability. Slow darkening can increase the bioavailability in multiple market classes. Manteca and Mayocoba have the most promise for high iron bioavailability. Have received samples from many W4150 members and introduce the non-darkening gene to increase the iron bioavailability in multiple market classes. Very significant nutritional achievement. Found three QTL in the yellow bean panel with GWAS. Conducted the multistate great northern field trials and measured the iron bioavailability (wide range). Found five high bioavailability Great northern lines. Beans grown in Washington had higher iron (30-40 ppm higher than any other state) in 2023 but lower bioavailability. Highest bioavailability in beans were those grown in North Dakota. Phytate may be more important in white beans (measured with the Megazyme kit). Summary: good potential nutritional impact by deploying non/slow-darkening trait into multiple market classes to alleviate iron deficiency.

Nebraska, Carlos Urrea: Coordinator of collaborative trialing nurseries - CDBN, DBDN, MRPN. Conducting shuttle breeding with Tim Porch, in Puerto Rico and Nebraska, for heat and drought and multiple disease resistance. Multiple releases including pintos and great Northerns. ‘Kikatiti’ was released in Tanzania and was a pinto selection from the Durango Diversity Panel. It has excellent size and yield.

North Dakota, Juan Osorno and Phil McClean: (Juan) Releasing at least one variety per year. Releasing a pink bean variety ‘Rosalind’ with 15% higher yields than the trial average, while plant height allows for direct harvest, and it has intermediate CBB resistance. W4150 collaborative activities include PR winter nurseries, MRPN and CDBN, multilocation variety trials, reciprocal visits, slow darkening and iron traits. Northarvest bean grower magazine published an article on the importance of the Puerto Rico winter nurseries to the bean breading networks: the importance of the W4150 was emphasized. Recently released varieties from ND performing well in the multistate trials as compared to the average across varieties. ‘Redbarn’ is dark red kidney variety with a nice kidney shape. (Phil) WGS reference and draft genome development efforts. Disease resistance, rust and white mold QTL were identified. Trying to capture all diversity across common bean. Developed eight reference genomes for each of the different races, using PacBio, and full-length cDNAs to capture alternative splicing. Middle American and Andean genomes are structurally different. Andean is shorter in almost all cases (25Mb shorter than Middle American). Draft genome development, scaffolds not chromosome scale. Disease differentials are being sequenced using 10X technology. PacBio denovo assemblies are being conducted on a diverse collection of 130 genotypes: wilds, landraces, NDSU cultivars and breeding lines, important disease resistance genotypes. Developing graph genome – a single representation of all the variants (SNPs, SNVs, retroelements). Designing a new 4k chip ($12 per sample) using the Thermo fisher National genomics lab in Atlanta. Designed for variability in Juan’s breeding program.

Michigan, Karen Cichy and Vallerio Hoyos-Villegas: plant breeding for quality to increase demand and consumption of beans. Studying genetic diversity for bean protein content. Identification of flavor components of bean flours. Developing bean dehulling methods. Genetic diversity for bean milling quality. Lipid oxidation related to flour flavor. Pinto bean use as flour (with Phil McClean) with many W4150 coauthors. Conclusion is that higher bean protein content translates into better pasta quality (firmer). Gluten-free pasta! In the process of releasing two new varieties that are fast-cooking, high yielding yellow bean and another for use as a flour. New funding includes a POPBEANS SREP for Nuna beans-popping, and a NIFA-OREI end use quality traits grant for black and pinto beans involving on-farm organic trials. W4150 members can send varieties for testing as part of this project, especially white mold resistant lines. A multistate project is underway with 5 states involving Great northern beans for flour milling, nutritional analysis, etc. The highest protein content is in white kidney controls. There is high variability for protein concentration across sites which is not desirable because a stable product is needed for the market. Black beans lower iron bioavailability. Valerio Hoyos-Villegas is the new bean breeder at MSU.

Iowa, Donna Winham: Working on nutritional value of common bean for human health. Nutrient rich food consumer survey. Pulse consumer survey – attitudes on cooking. Conducting a survey on pulses as a vegetable. How can we utilize that knowledge to increase consumption of pulses. Available to consult on survey design (for humans)-expert on permits/requirements/etc.

Delaware, Emmalea Earnest: Two companies are supplying seed for growers in Delaware. One backed out and now there is one supplier of baby limas for all of the US and Canada. A different company, Pureline, is working with Emmalea and producing seed in Colorado. RIL populations developed through lima SCRI project have been evaluated. Completed three snap bean trials to identify available heat tolerant lines for fresh and processing markets. The processing standard is PV857. Pureline 0008 is being tested. Greenback for limas is the standard for heat tolerance. Goal of the breeding program is to get earlier maturing varieties of limas.

California, Christine Diepenbrock and Travis Parker: (Christine) Nutritional quality and abiotic stress tolerance. Lima bean breeding program (inherited from Paul Gepts). The focus is on lygus tolerance, seed size and quality. Regional trials will start next year. Recurrent selection is being employed with a mix of commercial varieties and advanced breeding lines. Paul Gepts (emeritus at UC Davis) is leading a lima bean SCRI with many W4150 members. Testing RIL populations developed by Emmalea. Bottleneck is photoperiod sensitivity. Conducting culinary sensory work in lima with Row 7 in NY. Acquiring improved planting and harvesting machinery. Common bean/tepary bean GEMINI project underway. Collaborating with Karen on cooking time in these populations. Tepary bean is showing higher yield in general in the heat stress locations, some useful variation in the interspecific population. There is a starch content and yield correlation. Examining grain compositional traits. Testing a robot for stomach-dynamic simulated digestion. (Travis) Evaluating snap bean pod quality traits, repeated evolution, environmental stability, heritable reversions for string and wall fiber. The biggest issue is temperature sensitive partial string.

Arizona, Judy Brown: Studies on seed-transmitted bean common mosaic virus. BCMV seed transmission occurs 60-90%. Some genotypes are highly tolerant but may be isolate specific through co-evolution. Tepary bean can provide resistance that can be introgressed into common bean. Evaluating tepary bean accessions for BCMV virus load by RT PCR. Sequenced the genome of 10 isolates from seed-borne infections. Developed three sets of primers to detect virus in the tepary bean and optimized the assay. Droplet digital PCR has been more challenging -can get absolute quantification. Is virus load correlated to gene expression post-inoculation and to symptoms? Can we detect BCMV in asymptomatic samples. Can we accurately estimate the number of genome copies? Looked at seed borne incidence in different tepary bean cultivars which ranged from 26 to 35% in terms of seed transmission. High rate of seed transmission in some of the accessions and this varies by seed color. Tepary bean BCMV isolates cluster together when compared to global BCMV isolates.

Maryland, Ray He: New to the group. Will focus on rust, anthracnose and angular leaf spot in common bean. Mapping different resistance genes. Would like to work with the group on these diseases. Working with Tim Porch and Jim Beaver on screening lines for rust resistance.

Planning the W-5150 renewal. Adding new objectives on: (1) product development and (2) develop databases and -omics tools. Added topics to each objective and assigned writing leads.

CDBN: -Carlos Urrea would like another PI to take over coordination of the CDBN. Revisit checks for nurseries.

Overall summary: the varieties released by members of this project and new sources of useful traits that they identify (e.g., disease resistance, slow seed coat darkening) will directly benefit growers and consumers of Phaseolus beans and support food, nutritional, and farm economic security. The members of this project are also regularly disseminating their findings in public-facing venues and among the research community, which is highly collaborative. The Bean Improvement Cooperative biennial meeting (last held in Nov. 2023 in Greenville, SC) and annual reports (volume 67 published in May 2024) continue to be an important venue for information exchange, scientific and organizational discussions, poster presentations (e.g., by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers), and further forging of new and continued collaborations.

Listed in reverse alphabetical order by state, in approximate order of presentation at the annual meeting:

Wyoming (Donna Harris and Jim Heitholt)

In 2023, one WY pinto line topped the yield trial test at both locations, Sheridan and Powell. This line also topped the yield trial in 2022. If results from our 2024 yield trials are similar, this line will be entered into the Cooperative Dry Bean Nursery in 2025.

In 2023, we used a DJI thermal drone to collect canopy temperature data on a trial of commercial checks with the purpose of determining whether canopy temperature can be used as a fast and reliable method for estimating yield of varieties prior to harvest (cooler canopies are consistently associated with greater yield). At Sheridan, the canopy temperature data were collected across four dates ranging from August 11^th to September 2^nd. The total R² value when averaged across all dates was 92%. The dates with the highest R² values were August 11^th and August 24^th, with values of 94% and 95% respectively. The highest correlations between canopy temperature and yield were recorded in August. These 2023 results supported our findings in 2022.

Also in 2023 at Powell, we screened 200 unique dry bean lines (mostly Durango Diversity Panel entries) for tolerance to drought in the field by using deficit irrigation applied by sprinkler (treatments included severe, moderate, and no stress). Drought tolerance was defined as a line ranking high in yield across all irrigation rates. Due to profound maturity effects in 2023 (early maturity proved higher yielding), lines could only be compared within early, mid, and late maturity groups. Nevertheless, we identified one WY breeding line as drought tolerant for each of the three maturity groups. These lines have been retested in 2024 and are being harvested in September.

Washington (USDA-ARS) (Phillip Miklas)

Advanced cranberry, great northern, pink, pinto, and small red USDA-ARS-Prosser breeding lines were tested in multi-state cooperative trials in 2023. The new pinto cultivar ‘USDA Cody’ had the highest average yield among nine pinto bean materials tested across seven locations in the Cooperative Dry Bean Nursery - CDBN. Cranberry breeding line CR17-1-7 exhibited high yield and large seed size for a second year in the CDBN and had a good canning appearance score (3.8). SR20-11 small red and PT22-7 pinto breeding lines exhibited high levels of drought tolerance in the Dry Bean drought Nursery (DBDN). A GWAS of reaction to bacterial brown spot, common bacterial blight, and halo bacterial blight in the Andean diversity panel (ADP) revealed 24 resistance QTL overall and four QTL intervals on Pv01, Pv03, Pv05, and Pv08 conferring resistance to multiple bacterial diseases. A set of diverse pinto bean germplasm was used to study symbiotic nitrogen fixation under moderate N fertility in the field. The common pinto landrace had the best nodulation score (4.2) and ‘DrWood’ the highest % nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (NDFA) (22%). Higher %NDFA was significantly correlated with higher nodulation score (P < 0.01) and seed yield (P <0.05). This replicated field trial is being repeated in 2024 under low N fertility.

South Carolina (Jenna Hershberger and Sandra Branham)

Starting a new breeding program is a difficult process that involves a great deal of learning about both past and ongoing research efforts, gathering germplasm, and developing protocols. The connections formed through W-4150 have greatly benefitted Clemson’s new vegetable breeders, Drs. Sandra Branham and Jenna Hershberger, as they seek to initiate snap bean (Branham) and lima bean (Hershberger) breeding programs in South Carolina. In the past three years alone, involvement in the W-4150 has led to the sharing of ideas, germplasm, and protocols, and collaboration on several projects to further Phaseolus bean breeding efforts.

Over the past year, Dr. Hershberger has strengthened her connections with other W-4150 members who are lima bean researchers and breeders through the in-person Bean Improvement Cooperative Meeting in Greenville, SC, and monthly, as part of the LIMA! USDA NIFA AFRI Specialty Crop Research Initiative project (2022-51181-38323). Dr. Hershberger and the W-4150/LIMA! group have coordinated the genotyping and phenotypic evaluation of the USDA GRIN lima bean collection and are working together to analyze the data.

The Hershberger lab recently started a fresh market-focused lima bean breeding program focused on developing succulent beans with improved quality and heat tolerance for the Southeastern US. This summer, the team evaluated 385 South Carolina heirloom and PI accessions of lima beans in a field trial in Florence, South Carolina for a second season. Evaluated traits included yield, disease symptoms and severity, flowering date, plant architecture, and leaf shape. Succulent seed samples were frozen at harvest for nutritional quality assessment. The Hershberger team also received 14 F₂ families from wide crosses made by Dr. Sarah Dohle, the USDA-ARS Phaseolus curator. They evaluated these families for three segregating traits and plan to perform marker validation using the collected phenotypes this fall. Selected individuals from these families and additional crosses made in the Hershberger lab will be advanced in the greenhouse and further evaluated in the coming year.

The Branham lab has evaluated 300 accessions from a snap bean diversity panel (obtained from W-4150 collaborators) for production in SC in three different seasons across two years and selected 38 accessions for an additional two years/three seasons of more in-depth trials of yield and marketability.  Initial crosses will be made this year of the top yielding accessions to initiate the snap bean breeding program in SC.

Puerto Rico (Timothy Porch-USDA-ARS; James Beaver, and Consuelo Estéves de Jensen-U. of Puerto Rico)

At the USDA-ARS, the CBDN and DBDN trials were planted under drought and non-stress during the 2023-24 winter season in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. A pinto bean ‘Kikatiti’ was officially released in Tanzania in collaboration with NE, WA, and Tanzania. UNL-NE and ARS-PR are in the 5^th cycle of shuttle breeding, now focused on introgression of drought tolerance into pinto and great northern germplasm, with replicated trials of advanced lines started in 2023 under drought and non-stress conditions. Two 2^nd and 3^rd cycle pinto and Great Northern common beans are being considered for release. An interspecific tepary/common bean panel was developed from superior breeding lines in collaboration with MI and GA and is being evaluated for traits of interest in common bean. A tepary germplasm is being considered for release with BCMNV resistance from a wild tepary bean source. Additional SNP markers have been identified for KASP marker development using the Intertek KASP platform.

At the University of Puerto Rico, a paper describing the release of black bean PR1303-129 and the small red bean PR1743-44 as improved germplasm was published in the J. Plant Registrations (2024) 18:149-156. These lines combine bruchid and multiple virus (BCMV, BCMNV, BGYMV) resistance. Project personnel collaborated in the preparation of a document describing research techniques for breeding for resistance to bruchids. The information was published in the 2024 Annual Report of the Bean Improvement Cooperative and posted on the BIC web site. In cooperation with Dr. Tim Porch (USDA/TARS), marker-assisted selection was used to identify the white bean lines PR2302-25 and PR2302-49 that should combine multiple virus (BGYMV, BCMNV, BCMV) resistance and the Ur-5 and Ur-11 genes for resistance to rust. Seed of these lines have been sent to Ruifeng He to screen with specific races to confirm the presence of the rust resistance genes.

In greenhouse and laboratory screenings, in collaboration with Dr. Tim Porch (USDA/TARS (Plant Breeding Partnership - University of Georgia), powdery mildew isolates collected in tepary beans in Juana Diaz, Mayaguez and Isabela were characterized. Erysiphe vignae and Erysiphe difussa (GenBank accession PP938991) were found to infect tepary, while common beans ‘Bella’, ‘Beniquez’ and PR-443-151 were not infected and did not show symptoms of powdery mildew under screenhouse (Juana Diaz) and greenhouse (Mayaguez) conditions. Similarly, the tepary bean (P. acutifolius A. Gray) diversity panel (TDP) was evaluated in 2022 and 2023 at the USDA-ARS Isabela Experiment Station in Isabela, Puerto Rico for resistance to powdery mildew. Subsets of lines with consistent highly and resistant responses (10 of each) were identified for further study. The cultivated and wild accessions showed similar means for powdery mildew response, however wild accessions showed the extremes for both susceptibility and resistance. Both tepary bean and common bean sources of resistance can be considered for introgression and improvement of tepary bean for this important yield limiting trait.

Resistance to root rot caused by Fusarium solani isolate 19-00514 (GenBank accession MH795800) showed that TARS-LFR1, TARS-MST1, VAX 1, Bella, Beníquez, lines:19-7549-1, 19-7050-1, 19-7426-1, 19-6986-4, 19-6962-4, 19-7558-2, 19-7910-1 and 19-7433-5 could be used as sources of resistance to F. solani. Isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum, F. brachygibbosum and F. chlamidosporum also produced root rot in Montcalm under controlled conditions. The black bean line EMP 319 was identified as a potential source of resistance to the Asian bean flower thrip (ABFT). Breeding lines from crosses with EMP 319 will be screened for resistance to this pest and for genes for resistance to BGYMV, BCMV and BCMNV. Determinate lima bean lines that showed tolerance to leafhoppers and the ABFT will continue to be tested in Puerto Rico in field trials.

A 2023-2024 winter nursery was conducted in Puerto Rico in collaboration with W-4150 bean breeders from Michigan, North Dakota, Nebraska and the USDA-ARS. A total of 3,961 lines were planted in the winter nursery.

Oregon (Jim Myers)

The OSU Vegetable Breeding and Genetics Program focuses on breeding snap and beans for growers and processors in western Oregon. Approximately 8,400A of Bush Blue Lake (BBL) type snap beans were grown in the Willamette Valley in 2023 with Oregon being 4th in the nation for snap bean production. The industry is evolving with downsizing and consolidation of processing facilities such that there is now just one major processor. A second trend has been the shift of production of vegetable crops from the Willamette Valley to the Columbia Basin in eastern Oregon. Carrots and snap peas moved to the Columbia Basin more than two decades ago. More recently, most sweet corn acreage has shifted to the Basin. Snap bean acreage would shift to this region if cultivars could be developed that could consistently produce high quality pods and high yields under the high daytime temperature regimes found during the growing season.

The breeding project to develop snap beans resistant to white mold is now focused on evaluating an 8-way cross Snap/Dry MAGIC (Multiparent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross) population developed from six snap and two dry beans that had high genomic estimated breeding values for white mold resistance. A total of 1,211 F5 RILs were produced in the field in 2023 of which 912 F6 RILs were evaluated using the seedling straw test in 2024. One-hundred sixty-one RILs had disease severity scores equal to or less than the partially resistant NY6020-4. Tissue samples have been collected for DNA isolation and genotyping. We also participated in the National Sclerotinia Evaluation Nursery with both field and greenhouse trials.

New initiatives with the snap bean breeding program are to breed for heat tolerance and photosynthetic efficiency. For heat tolerance, we are evaluating snap bean accessions for the ability to produce high quality pods under high day- and night-time temperatures. Lines developed at Cornell University are among those being evaluated. Pod and leaf color and photosynthetic characteristics have been characterized using the 378 accession Snap Bean Association Panel, and QTL have been identified for color. A major finding is that wax beans lack most of the photosynthetic apparatus in their pods.

Two snap bean advanced lines have been provided to seed companies for evaluation and testing. OSU 7318 has high yields of smaller sieve size pods on a compact bush habit. It shows field resistance to white mold. Processed pod quality is excellent. OSU 7066 is a relatively high yielding line with partial white mold resistance. It produces large but high-quality pods when processed.

There are two thrusts to our dry bean breeding program. The first is to develop improved Peruano or Mayo Coba (yellow seeded) types for U.S. production. As part of this process, ‘Patron’ Mayo Coba bean with resistance to BCMV, BCMNV and BTCV was released in 2016. Advanced breeding lines with this disease package but improved seed size, shape and color are nearing release. In 2024, three yellow lines from the USDA-ARS East Lansing breeding program were evaluated in our dry bean trials. The second project is to develop Nuña or popping beans adapted to North American climatic regimes. Two OSU cultivars with determinate plant architecture and day length insensitive flowering combined with a high level of the popping trait have been approved for release. These will be integral to a newly funded USDA-SCRI project to develop markets and products.

North Dakota (Juan M. Osorno, Phil McClean)

A new pink bean cultivar (ND Rosalind) was released in early 2024. ND Rosalind was tested across more than 11 environments in North Dakota, where seed yield was significantly higher than other pink bean cultivars such as ‘Magnolia’, ‘Rosetta’ and ‘Sedona’ (23%. 12%, and 16% respectively). ND Rosalind is resistant to both the Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) and Bean Common Mosaic Necrotic Virus (BCMNV) thanks to the bc-3 gene, and has intermediate resistance to Common Bacterial Blight (CBB). Future potential releases include a black, a light red kidney, and a small red. The Midwest Regional Performance Nursery (MRPN) is coordinated by NDSU and it had 20 entries and was grown in MI, NE, and ND. There was a total of 1700 lines sent to the collaborative winter nursery in Puerto Rico. There were 2 lines from ND included in the CDBN.  Reciprocal visits to bean nurseries and trials were made to NE, WA, and PR. During the 2023 growing season, most cultivars released by NDSU were always above the mean of the trials in which they were grown, with values ranging between 3-22% above the trial means. Only 2 cultivars were similar to the trial means. The work on understanding the genes responsible for seed coat color continues and 2 new publications are available focused on the V, T, and Z genes. Additional sequencing of more bean genotypes and re-sequencing of known reference genomes is currently underway and will allow genomic comparative studies to capture all structural variability and the creation of pan-genomes. A new GWAS-based chip with ~4k SNPs is currently being designed to be used in the program for genomic selection. Field work on estimating the value of disease resistance for bean rust have shown that using resistant varieties gives you the best combination of high seed yield with return on investment because of reduced fungicide applications. An assessment of yield gains within the NDSU dry bean breeding program during the last ~35 years showed that modest but positive yield gains can be observed for all market classes the program focuses on. Additional work focuses on soybean cyst nematode, CBB, root rots, bruchid resistance, waterlogging tolerance, and iron nutrition.

New York (Phillip Griffiths, Michael Mazourek)

Phillip Griffiths (Geneva, NY): In 2024, focus was placed on the development of new market classes of dry beans with reduced seed size including mini-kidney lines, improved seed-coat color and cooking/canning (black beans) and advancement of alternate seed coat colors in the kidney bean category. This included the development of new black bean breeding lines with high seed-coat color retention after cooking/canning, from which line BB226 was increased for wider testing based on yield and canning quality in NYS. Based on increased consumer demand for more color and variability within products introgressions of novel colors have also been targeted.  These include new black kidney and purple kidney lines. Based on initial canning studies the black kidney beans have had excellent color retention when compared to black bean controls, and good canning quality based on can-pour and splitting. With a longer soak time, black kidney beans can result in a deep-purple seedcoat color in a cooked can.  The purple kidney bean cans to a similar color as a high quality dark red kidney bean but has a much richer colored brine making for a high-quality pour/product. A new mini-kidney bean (NYD4) was previously developed for new markets in the alternate packaged good space. Due to the small seed size of this line, and the upright architecture, it could lead to a variety where pod shattering is a lower concern thus enabling harvest using similar equipment for upright black beans. It also reduces seed production costs, and has lower split through canning while having a higher relative nutrition based of increased seedcoat surface area. This line was set up in a cross block with different seedcoat colors to develop a range of mini-kidney lines. This includes a small black bean with the size and shape of a TicTac, creating a potential new black bean market class.

Breeding line trials were planted in Freeville, NY, in 2024 and will be harvested to determine yield, seed-weight and quality. Populations developed for these trials were all increased in greenhouses in Geneva, NY, together with populations advancing the color retention into black bean and black kidney types.

The Mazourek group (Cornell University; Ithaca, NY) supported the commercialization of 16 released pole bean cultivars by increasing seed that was shared with growers for production, as well as stock seed, to seed companies that are pursing commercialization. Information about flavor and performance was shared at an industry field days and we are populating a University website with available cultivars: https://ctl.cornell.edu/plant-varieties-catalog/vegetables/#beans.

Nebraska (Carlos Urrea)

About 1,200 dry bean producers in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado have access to varieties with multiple disease resistance and drought/heat tolerance, enabling them to reduce production costs and increase net income. Information is being shared with the dry bean community through grower meetings (February) and field days.

In 2024, Nebraska led the distribution of the national Cooperative Dry Bean Nursery (CDBN) and the Dry Bean Drought Nursery (DBDN) and participated in the Mid-west Regional Performance Nursery (MRPN) and the White Mold Monitor Nursey (WMMN). These regional and national trials highlight the collaboration among the participating states.

Recently released great northern ‘White Pearl’ and slow-darkening ‘Wildcat’ are performing well in Nebraska. Both cultivars have multiple disease resistance, which helps to reduce the cost of production and reduce chemical applications.

A pinto cultivar, Kikatiti, developed by the dry bean breeding program at the University of Nebraska, Agricultural Research Division in Scottsbluff by the University of Nebraska Dry Bean Breeding Program, was released in Tanzania in 2024. This release resulted from the collaboration of researchers from Sokoine University of Agriculture, the Tanzanian Agricultural Research Institute, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.

Michigan (Karen Cichy, Evan Wright)

In 2024, dry bean research was conducted by Michigan State University and the USDA-ARS at East Lansing, MI. The MSU dry bean breeding and genetics program conducted 24 yield trials at five locations in ten market classes and participated in the growing and evaluation of the Cooperative Dry Bean, Midwest Regional Performance, National Drought, and the National Sclerotinia (White Mold) Nurseries in Michigan and winter nursery in Puerto Rico. The nurseries were planted (June 8-14) and received an average of ~11.25” of rain (June - Aug). The season was characterized by favorable planting conditions followed by frequent rainfall, excessive at some locations. This resulted in rapid maturity (82-89 days) and an early harvest commencing on September 9. The MSU program evaluated ~1,600 early generation breeding lines as part of the W-4150 collaborative winter nursery. Other research by MSU looked at halo blight resistance in kidney beans, development of improved black and navy beans possessing Co-5 for more durable anthracnose resistance, and the deployment of UAS phenotyping platforms to estimate maturity and plant height, as well as assessment of white mold disease severity via multispectral imaging. Pinto bean composition was evaluated in relation to flour and pasta quality and starting bean protein concentration was identified as a good predictor of pasta firmness.

Releases:

‘Kona’ was released by Michigan State University as a high yielding, full season black bean with good canning quality.

1. ‘Yukon Gold’ was released by Michigan State University as an improved yellow bean (Azufrado Peruano type) with brighter color, higher yield, and significantly faster cooking time than ‘Yellowstone’.
2. “Honeycomb’ was released jointly by USDA-ARS and Michigan State University as a fast-cooking Mayocoba bean.
3. ‘USDA Yellowjacket’ was released by USDA-ARS as a Manteca bean suitable for use as a flour.

Iowa (Donna Winham)

Research collaborations and accomplishments, within Objective 2: Exploiting the nutritional value and quality of common bean to promote human health and well-being. National level survey research of consumers to determine current views, attitudes, practices, and possible misconceptions surrounding pulse consumption and utilization in the US. Survey and qualitative research methodologies at the local and national levels. Three surveys were conducted during the reporting period.

1. National level consumer pilot survey examining knowledge of nutrient-rich foods (pulses), pulse attitudes, views on environmental sustainability. Utilized Health Belief Model and assessed knowledge of health benefits from consuming pulses. Assessed consumer knowledge of macronutrients and shortfall micronutrients in food groups including pulses.
2. A National Consumer Pulse survey focused on consumption patterns, types consumed – including P. lunatus, product forms (pasta, canned, whole), attitudes, and preferences including cooking frequency.
3. National level survey focusing on general vegetable consumption frequencies, preferences, and preferred formats, with same questions on pulses. Additional details on pulse consumption and health knowledge as informed by survey 2.

Opportunities for training and professional development: One undergraduate and two MS students participated in development of survey instruments, generating analysis plans based on theory, and manuscript preparation for data. One manuscript has been published, and two students will present findings at a national conference in October 2024.

Delaware (Emmalea Ernest)

Heat stress is a top production constraint for processing and fresh market lima bean growers on the Delmarva Peninsula. Identifying diverse sources of heat tolerance, moving heat tolerance into adapted breeding lines and developing heat tolerant varieties is a focus of the University of Delaware lima bean breeding program. To identify diverse sources of heat tolerance, 110 lima bean genotypes were tested in a greenhouse screen for pollen release under heat tolerance and yield under heat tolerance. Sources of heat tolerance identified in past work have been used to develop 3 RIL populations for genetic studies and trial varieties that were tested in replicated yield trials. In trials, heat tolerant experimental varieties have had the most stable yield across seasons. University of Delaware is working with a commercial seed supplier to commercialize four varieties from the breeding program and make them available to processors and growers.

The UD lima breeding program is a part of the SCRI project titled “Development of Genomic Resources To Improve The Lima Bean Breeding For Consumer Quality And Agronomic Traits” which is led by W-4150 collaborators at UC Davis. Activities that were a part of that project in 2024 included field evaluation of populations to study key traits of interest, testing advanced breeding material with small scale growers in the Mid-Atlantic region and preparing samples for culinary/sensory evaluation.

Heat-stress related yield and quality reduction is an annual problem for processing and fresh market snap bean growers on Delmarva. Three snap bean trials to evaluate heat tolerance were conducted in Delaware in 2024. Additional heat tolerant snap bean varieties were identified. Growers are currently using two heat tolerant varieties identified in previous trials.

California (Christine Diepenbrock)

Unless otherwise specified, the field trials described below were evaluated for yield, other agronomic traits (e.g., stand count, flowering time, plant/canopy height), grain macronutrients (protein, starch, fat, ash, moisture, etc.), and traits such as canopy area fraction and growth from routine UAV flights.

Field trialing in lima bean included A) breeding plots for baby- and large-seeded limas (with key targets of yield, seed quality, lygus tolerance, and other aspects of regional acclimation), B) ~300 entries from the USDA NPGS collection (in Davis summer and/or southern CA winter, due to many of the NPGS entries only flowering under short days), C) 4 biparental populations developed in DE, D) 37 entries for culinary/sensory evaluation as part of the lima SCRI project (with participatory evaluation of agronomics conducted during the UC Dry Bean Field Day), and E) (not evaluated for all traits) marker validation plots for key domestication/adaptation genes as part of that project. Multiple rounds of greenhouse propagation were also conducted, namely for NPGS materials. Evaluation of germplasm sets B through D (alongside A) is likely to identify several new parents for use in lima breeding.

Field trialing in common and tepary bean included E) a common bean/tepary bean interspecific population and 12 tepary entries from PR being evaluated for high-temperature tolerance, with integration of AI-enabled sensing and 3-D biophysical modeling; plots were also sensed weekly with a ground-based rover (in addition to UAV). A subset of these entries that showed favorable agronomic performance in CA are being tested alongside relevant checks in PR, NE, and WA. Samples from this project are being evaluated for cooking time in MI. Field trialing in common bean also included F) the Cooperative Dry Bean Nursery and G) for a simulated gastrointestinal digestion project, ~33 entries with contrasting seed coat patterns and representatives of major market classes. A comparison of 4 (static and dynamic) simulated digestion platforms was conducted and is posted as a preprint. The dynamic digestion platforms being tested emulate the wavelike contractions of the stomach wall and other physical/mechanical processes of human digestion (e.g., enzyme secretion, gastric emptying). Included in that comparison is a parallelized dynamic model that could increase throughput up to 12-fold and was used in a bean pasta study in collaboration with MI and IA. Presentations at ~4 field days, ~12 seminars/talks/panel sessions, and commodity board meetings.

Arizona (Judith Brown)

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and other dry beans such as tepary (P. acutifolius) are susceptible to biotic stress caused by plant viruses/other pathogens, insect pests, and abiotic stresses, including drought and heat,  which can reduce yield and quality. The project aims are: (1) sequence and characterize the BCMV-virome associated with tepary bean (AZ accessions: red, tan, and white seed colors, (2) evaluate the effects of seed-borne BCMV infection on tepary bean plant performance, with respect to symptomatology and seed-borne transmission frequencies, (3) functional genomic profiling of BCMV-infected tepary, and (4)) characterize the host response to BCMV pathogenesis.  Progress in 2023-2024 consisted of designing/validating BCMV-specific RT-PCR primers for initial BCMV detection in seedlings, determining rates of seed transmission and symptomatology for land races from Arizona and 10 USDA Phaseolus Germplasm collection accessions, and establishing a qRT-PCR assay to quantify BCMV accumulation or ‘virus load’ in symptomatic and asymptomatic plants/leaves. To determine the genome sequence of tepary bean associated BCMV isolates, total RNA was isolated from BCMV-positive plants (RT-PCR amplification and confirmatory sequencing of the BCMV coat protein gene fragment) and submitted for RNAseq (Illumina). Reads were used to assemble the complete virus genome for each BCMV isolate. The genome sequence and non-coding/coding regions were characterized (nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels), and unique non-coding and coding sequences were identified among tepary bean isolates and representative BCMV genomes available in GenBank previously characterized from common bean and other host plant species. The species/taxonomic relationships were determined, and genomes were analyzed for predicted recombination and phylogenetically. Several recombinant isolates were identified from tepary bean that grouped with isolates from common bean but were otherwise closely related to non-recombinant, seed-transmitted BCMV isolates from tepary bean, the latter which clustered within the same subclade. The high pairwise nucleotide identity shared among all of the seed-transmitted BCMV isolates (this study) is suggestive of possible selection due to co-adaptation between the virus isolate-tepary bean genotypes resulting from continuous, serial transmission of BCMV through seed (primarily). To establish a reference tepary bean transcriptome (large RNA) and viral small RNA profile (vsi’s 19-30 nucleotide), RNA sequencing is in progress for virus free AZ Black seeded tepary land race plants compared to those infected with seed-transmitted BCMV isolates. Total RNA was isolated from the first and third trifoliate leaves of BCMV-infected and virus-free plants and submitted for RNAseq (Illumina, in progress). Reads will be assembled and annotated and will serve as tepary-bean specific expression profiles. Functional analysis will identify genes whose altered expression is expected to be associated with virus infection. Significantly over-expressed or under-expressed genes will be subjected to KEGG analysis for functional characterization of genes and key pathways in which they interact.  Based on these results, genes relevant to abiotic and abiotic stress, pathogenesis, defense responses, gene silencing pathways, among others, will be identified and functionally annotated and classified. Expression of 10-12 selected transcripts of interest (AZ Black seeded profiles) will be quantified by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR amplification for AZ white- and tan-seeded land races, each harboring seed-borne BCMV isolates compared to virus-free controls. The virus-small interfering RNAs (vsi RNAs) will be analyzed to investigate specific post-transcriptional gene silencing of BCMV associated with the three accessions. Host plant gene silencing  machinery is expected to cleave viral RNA genome and transcript regions involved in pathogenicity, replication, movement, and/or vector transmission to produce a snapshot into the transcriptional dynamics involved in tepary bean responsiveness to BCMV infection. The hypothesis is that at least some interactions may provide clues that may be ascribed to explain the host-pathogen ‘co-adaptation’ hypothesis posited for this pathosystem.

Peer-reviewed publications:

Awale, H., Wiersma, A., Wright, E., Buell, R.C., Kelly, J., Cichy, K.A., Haus, M. 2024. Anthracnose and bean common mosaic necrosis virus resistance in wild and landrace Phaseolus vulgaris (L.) genetic stocks. Crop Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21252.

Awale, H.E., Wright, E.M., Kelly, J.D., Bales, S. 2024. Registration of Yukon Gold’ yellow bean. JPR (accepted).

Baidhe, E., Clementson, C.L., Osorno, J.M. and Urrea, C., 2024. Use of thermophysical properties to characterize cooking trends of slow-and regular-darkening pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). CyTA-Journal of Food 22(1), p.2399157.

Barrera, S., J.C. Berny Mier y Teran, J. Aparicio, J. Diaz, R. Leon, S. Beebe, C.A. Urrea, and P. Gepts. 2024. Identification of drought and heat tolerant tepary beans in a multi-environment trial study. Crop Science (Accepted).

Beaver, J. S., González, A., Mateo, B., Lutz, G. G., Miranda, A., Rosas, J. C., & Porch, T. G. 2024. Release of multiple virus and bruchid resistant Mesoamerican bean germplasm lines PR1303-129 and PR1743-44. Journal of Plant Registrations 18: 149-156. doi: 10.1002/plr2.20344

Bornowski, N., Hart, J. P., Palacios, A. V., Ogg, B., Brick, M. A., Hamilton, J. P., Beaver, J. S., Buell, C. R., & Porch, T. 2023. Genetic variation in a tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) diversity panel reveals loci associated with biotic stress resistance. The Plant Genome: e20363. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20363

Celebioglu B., J.R. Myers, J.P. Hart, T. Porch, P. Griffiths. 2024. Phenotypic variability for leaf and pod color within the snap bean association panel. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 149(1):15-26. doi: 10.21273/JASHS05326-23.

Celebioglu, B., Porch, T., Hart, J., Griffiths, P. and Myers, J. 2023. Genome-wide association study to identify possible candidate genes of snap bean leaf and pod color. Genes 14(12): 2234.

Chiaravallotti, I., Lin, J., Arief, V., Jahufer, Z., Osorno, J.M., McClean, P., Jarquin, D. and Hoyos‐Villegas, V., 2024. Simulations of multiple breeding strategy scenarios in common bean for assessing genomic selection accuracy and model updating. The Plant Genome, p.e20388. https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20388

Chinji, M., Hamabwe, S., Kuwabo, K., Mugovu, I., Thole, R., Mazala, M., Osorno, J.M., McClean, P., Jochua, C., Urrea, C., Mukuma, C., Chisale, V. and Kamfwa, K. 2024. Introgression and Stability of Common Bean Weevil (Acanthoscelides obtectus [Say]) Resistance in Diverse Market Classes From the Andean Gene Pool of Common Bean. Legume Science, 6: e223. doi: 10.1002/leg3.223

Didinger, C., Cichy, K.A., Urrea, C., Scanlan, M.M., Thompson, H. 2023. The effects of elevation and soaking conditions on dry bean cooking time. Legume Science. 5(4). Article e207. doi: 10.1002/leg3.207

Fu, M., Z. Qu, N. Pierre-Pierre, D. Jiang, F. L. Souza, P. N. Miklas, L. D. Porter, G. J. Vandemark, and W. Chen. 2024. Exploring the mycovirus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum hypovirulence-associated DNA virus 1 as a biocontrol agent of white mold caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Plant Disease 108: 624-634. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-07-23-1458-RE

Gepts, P. 2023. Biocultural diversity and crop improvement. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences 7: 151-196. doi: 10.1042/ETLS20230067

Glick, A. A., Winham, D. M., Heer, M. M., Shelley, M. C., & Hutchins, A. M. 2024. Health belief model predicts likelihood of eating nutrient-rich foods among US adults. Nutrients 16(14): 2335.

Gomez, F.E., Kelly, J.D., Wright, E.M., Awale, H.E., Bales, S. 2024. Registration of ‘AuSable’ navy bean. Journal of Plant Registrations. doi: 10.1002/plr2.20374

Gomez, F.E., Kelly, J.D., Wright, E.M., Awale, H.E., Bales, S. 2024. Registration of ‘Black Pearl’ black bean. Journal of Plant Registrations. doi: 10.1002/plr2.20377

Hooper, S.D., Basset, A., Wiesinger, J.A., Glahn, R.P., Cichy, K.A. 2023. Extrusion and drying temperatures enhance sensory profile and iron bioavailability of dry bean pasta. Food Chemistry Advances. (3):100422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.focha.2023.100422

Kamfwa, K., N. Otiento, A. Soler-Garzón, P. N. Miklas, T. Parker, A. Chattopadhyay, P. Cheelo, K. Kuwabo, and S. M. Hamabwe. 2023. Identification of quantitative trait loci for drought tolerance in Bukoba/ Kijivu Andean mapping population of common bean. Theor. Appl. Genet. 136: 222. doi: 10.1007/s00122-023-04463-2

Kuwabo, K., Hamabwe, S., Kachapulula, P., Cichy, K.A., Parker, T., Mukuma, C., Kamfwa, K. 2023. Genome-wide association analysis of anthracnose resistance in the Yellow Bean Collection of Common Bean. PLOS ONE. 18(11). Article e0293291. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293291

Lin, J., Arief, V., Jahufer, Z., Osorno, J., McClean, P., Jarquin, D., & Hoyos-Villegas, V. (2023). Simulations of rate of genetic gain in dry bean breeding programs. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 136(1): 14.

McClean, P. E., J. Roy, C. L. Colbert, C. Osborne, R. Lee, P. N. Miklas, and J. M. Osorno. 2024. T and Z, two partial seed coat color patterning genes in common bean, provide insight into the structure and protein interactions of a MBW complex in plants. G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics: jkae184. doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae184

Meziadi, C., J. C. Alvarez-Diaz, V. Thareau, A. Gratias-Weill, W. Marande, A. Soler-Garzon, P. N. Miklas, S. Pflieger, and V. Geffroy. 2024. Fine-mapping and evolutionary history of R-BPMV, a dominant resistance gene to Bean pod mottle virus in Phaseolus vulgaris L. Theor. Appl. Genet. 137: 8. doi: 10.1007/s00122-023-04513-9  

Miklas, P. N., A. Soler-Garzón, G. Valentini, and M. Pastor-Corrales. 2023. Registration of ‘USDA-Rattler’ pinto bean. Journal of Plant Registrations 17: 271-279. doi: 10.1002/plr2.20289

Miklas, P. N., A. Soler-Garzon, K. A. Cichy, and M. Pastor-Corrales. 2024. Registration of ‘USDA-Diamondback’ slow-darkening pinto bean. Journal of Plant Registrations 18: 52-60. doi: 10.1002/plr2.20334 

Modreen, C., S. Hamabwe, K. Kuwabo, I. Mugovu, R. Thole, M. Mazala, J.M. Osorno, P. McClean, C. Jochua, C. Urrea, C. Mukuma, V. Chisale, and K. Kamfwa. 2024. Introgression and stability of common bean weevil (Acanthoscelides obtectus [Say]) resistance in diverse market classes from the Andean gene pool of common bean. Legume Science 6: e223. doi: 10.1002/leg3.223

Mwense, B. P., S. M. Hamabwe, K. Kuwabo, M Mataa, P. N. Miklas, C. Mukuma, and K. Kamfwa. 2024. Evaluation of pinto genotypes of common bean for resistance to anthracnose. Legume Science 6: e228. doi: 10.1002/leg3.228 

Nchimbi-Msolla, S., C.A. Urrea, M. Kilango, A. Soler-Garzón, T.G. Porch, and P. N. Miklas. 2024. Release of ‘Kikatiti’ a multiple disease resistant pinto cultivar with superior productivity in Tanzania identified from evaluation of the Durango Diversity Panel. Journal of Plant Registrations 18: 512-522. doi: 10.1002/plr2.20387

Oladzad, A., J. Roy, S. Mamidi, P. N. Miklas, R. Lee, J. Clevenger, Z. Myers, W. Korani, and P.E. McClean. 2023. Linked candidate genes of different functions for white mold resistance in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) are identified by multiple QTL mapping approaches. Front. Plant Sci. 14:1233285. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1233285

Osorno, J.M., Erfatpour, M., Simons, K.J., Maisonneuve, M., Posch, J. and Vander Wal, A.J. 2024. Seed yield improvements in slow‐darkening pinto bean: Registration of ‘ND Rodeo’. Journal of Plant Registrations, 18(2): 270-278.

Osorno, J.M., Erfatpour, M., Simons, K.J., Maisonneuve, M., Posch, J. and Vander Wal, A.J. 2024. Improved disease tolerance, higher seed yield and shape in dark red kidney bean: Registration of ‘ND Redbarn’. Journal of Plant Registrations, 18(2): 262-269.

Osorno, J. M., Simons, K. J., Erfatpour, M., Vander Wal, A. J., Posch, J., & Grafton, K. F. 2023. Seed yield improvement in navy bean: Registration of ‘ND Polar’. Journal of Plant Registrations.

Parker, T., Bolt, T., Williams, T., Penmetsa, R. V., Mulube, M., Celebioglu, B., Palkovic, A., Jochua, C. N., del Mar Rubio Wilhelmi, M., Lo, S., Bornhorst, G., Tian, L., Kamfwa, K., Farmer, A., Diepenbrock, C., and Gepts, P. (2024). Seed color patterns in domesticated common bean are regulated by MYB-bHLH-WD40 transcription factors and temperature. The Plant Journal, n/a. doi: 10.1111/tpj.16947

Porch, T.G., J.C. Rosas, K. Cichy, G. Godoy Lutz, I. Rodriguez, R.W. Colbert, G. Demosthene, J.C. Hernández, D.M. Winham, and J.S. Beaver. 2024. 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. doi: 10.1002/plr2.20322

Rosas, J.; Rodriguez, I.Y., Beaver, J. S., and Porch, T. G. 2023. Comportamiento agronómico de germoplasma de frijol común en condiciones de altas temperaturas en el Sur de Honduras. Ceiba 56: 31-49.

Roy, J., A. Soler-Garzón, P. N. Miklas, R. Lee, J. Clevenger, Z. Myers, W. Korani, and P. E. McClean. 2023. Integrating de novo QTL-seq and linkage mapping to identify quantitative trait loci conditioning physiological resistance and avoidance to white mold disease in dry bean. The Plant Genome 16: e20380. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20380    

Sadohara, R., K. Cichy, D. Fourie, S. N. Msolla, Q. Song, P. Miklas, and T. Porch. 2024. Andean common bean bulk breeding lines selected on multiple continents exhibit broad genetic diversity and stress adaptation. Crop Science 1-22. doi: 10.1002/csc2.21309 

Soler-Garzón, A., A. Thornton, J. Hart, K. D. Swisher-Grimm, Q. Song, C. A. Strausbaugh, and P. N. Miklas. 2023. A robust SNP-haplotype assay for Bct gene region conferring resistance to beet curly top virus in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Front. Plant Sci. 14:1215950. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1215950

Soler-Garzón, A., M. Mulube, K. Kamfwa, D. M. Lungu, S. Hamabwe, J. Roy, V. Salegua, D. Fourie, T. G. Porch, P. E. McClean, and P. N. Miklas. 2024. GWAS of resistance to three bacterial diseases in the Andean common bean diversity panel. Front. Plant Sci. 15:1469381. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1469381

Soler-Garzón, A., P. E. McClean, and P. N. Miklas. 2024. The alleles bc-u^d and bc-u^r (previously bc-4 gene), representing coding mutations within Vps4 AAA+ ATPase ESCRT protein, interact with other genes to condition resistance to BCMV and BCMNV in common bean. The Plant Genome 17: e20421. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20421

Subramani, M., C.A. Urrea, S.R. Tamatamu, V.R. Sripathi, K. Williams, L.K. Chintapenta, A. Todd, and G. Ozbay. 2024. Comprehensive proteomic analysis of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seeds reveal shared and unique proteins involved in terminal drought stress response in tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Biomolecules 14: 109. doi: 10.3390/biom14010109

Traverso ER, Ernest EG, Emanuel IB, Betts AK. 2024. Building accelerated plant breeding pipelines: Screening to evaluate lima bean resistance to root-knot nematode in diverse inbred lines and segregating breeding populations. Phytopathology. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO-11-23-0441-KC. Epub ahead of print.

Uebersax, M. A., Cichy, K. A., Gomez, F. E., Porch, T. G., Heitholt, J., Osorno, J. M., ... & Bales, S. (2023). Dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as a vital component of sustainable agriculture and food security—A review. Legume Science 5(1): e155.

Urrea, C.A., and C. Kaarstad. 2024. 2023 Nebraska dry bean variety trials. The Bean Bag 42(1): 12-22.

Volpato, L., Wright, E.M., Gomez, F.E. 2024. Drone-based digital phenotyping for evaluating relative maturity, stand count, and plant height in dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Plant Phenomics (in review).

Wang, W., Cichy, K.A. 2023. Genetic variability for susceptibility to seed coat mechanical damage and relationship to end-use quality in kidney beans. Crop Science. 1-11. doi: 10.1002/csc2.21122

Wang, W., Siddiq, M., Dolan, K., Cichy, K.A. 2024. Processing and quality valuation of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in flexible pouches. Legume Science. Article e213. doi: 10.1002/leg3.213

Wiersma, A.T., Hamilton, J.P., Vaillancourt, B., Brose, J., Awale, H.E., Wright, E.M., Kelly, J.D., Buell, C.R. 2024. K-mer Genome-wide Association Study for Anthracnose and BCMV Resistance in a Phaseolus vulgaris Andean Diversity Panel. Plant Genome (accepted).

Wright, E.M., Kelly, J.D., Awale, H.E., Bales, S. 2024. Registration of ‘Kona’ black bean. JPR (accepted).

Zaleski-Cox, M., P. N. Miklas, A. Soler-Garzón, and V. Hoyos-Villegas. 2023. Automating high-throughput screening for anthracnose resistance in common bean using allele specific PCR. BMC Plant Methods 19: 102. doi: 10.1186/s13007-023-01071-5 

Preprint:

Bolt, T.M., M. Riggs, W. Sun, L. Tian, P. Gepts, A. Palkovic, T. Parker, G.M. Bornhorst, C. Diepenbrock. An empirical evaluation of simulated gastrointestinal digestion platforms for use in plant breeding, using common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as a model. bioRxiv 2024.05.09.592089.
doi: 10.1101/2024.05.09.592089

Thesis:

Stone M, Branham S, Ward B. 2023. Clemson University Thesis: Genome-wide association study of heat tolerance in snap beans.

Extension bulletin:

Uebersax, M.A., Bales, S., Siddiq, M., Wright, E.M. 2024. Critical food safety and quality    elements in the dry bean supply chain. MSU Extension Bulletin E-3492.

Contributions to BIC annual report (Ann. Rep. Bean Improv. Coop. vol. 67):

• Adaskaveg, J.A., Penmetsa, V.R., Hershberger, J., Wallace, L., Subedi, S., Heer, M., Hanifin, R., Warburton, M.L., Hokin, S., Farmer, A., Winham, D., Ernest, E., Dohle, S., Palkovic, A., Parker, T., Gepts, P., & Diepenbrock, C. 2024. A collaboration towards the comprehensive improvement of lima beans: addressing consumer information, pre-breeding, and germplasm information/utilization bottlenecks. Pages 3-5.
• Adaskaveg, J.A., Murray, C., Wallace, L., Subedi, S., Hershberger, J., Ernest, E., Palkovic, A., Gepts, P., & Diepenbrock, C. 2024. Utilizing benchtop near-infrared spectroscopy to predict lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) nutritional composition. Pages 29-30.
• Beaver, J.S., Porch, T.G., Rosas, J.C., Kamfwa, K., Osorno, J.M. & Mazala, M. 2024. Breeding common beans for resistance to bruchids. Pages 165-179.
• Berlingeri, J.M., Lo, S., Williams, T., Riggs, M., Cortes, E., Khan, A., Palkovic, A., Parker, T., Gepts, P., Porch, T., Barrera Lemus, S., Urrea, C., Cichy, K., Miklas, P., Assefa, T., Mukankusi, C., Bailey, B., Earles, J.M., Diepenbrock, C. 2024. Integration of sensing, crop modeling, and genomics in a common bean/tepary interspecific population to improve productivity and quality traits in US and African breeding contexts. Pages 19-20.
• Parker, T.A., H.A. Arkwazee, B. Celebioglu, P. Gepts, & J.R. Myers. 2024. Loci mapped to Pv04 and Pv01 are required for round pod shape in snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Pages 141-142.
• Porch, T. & Estevez de Jensen, C. 2024. Response of the tepary diversity panel to combined Asian bean flower thrip and leafhopper pressure. Pages 117-118.
• Porch, T., Fourie, D., & Miklas, P.N. 2024. Andean lines selected for heat tolerance from bulk breeding Phaseolus improvement cooperative (PIC) populations. Pages 73-74.
• Soler-Garzón, A., Porch, T.G., McClean, P.E., Geffroy, V. & Miklas, P.N. 2024. Candidate genes and markers for resistance in the BCMV/BCMNV host-pathogen interaction in common bean. Pages 43-44.
• Stone M, Ward B, Robinson S, Bridges W, Branham SE. 2024. A genome-wide association study of snap bean pod production under ideal and heat-stressed conditions. Pages 25-26.
• Usman, M., Zhang, X., Yadav, S.A., & Porch, T. 2024. Synergistic approach for drought/non-drought classification of beans: Harnessing the potential of multisource datasets using machine learning. Pages 127-128.
• Wang, Y.-W., Wood, J.C., Hamilton, J.P., Mailloux, K., Vaillancourt, B., Estévez de Jensen, C., Porch, T., & Buell, C.R. 2024. Genome-enabled breeding across Phaseolus Pages 57-58.