Balasubramanian, P. M., Conner, R. L., McLaren, D. L., Chatterton, S. and Hou, A. 2014. Partial resistance to white mould in dry bean. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 683–691. White mould, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, is a constraint on dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production across Canada. Under high disease pressure, dry bean cultivars succumb to the disease resulting in a severe loss of seed yield and quality. Disease development is highly influenced by environmental conditions. In the absence of complete resistance to white mould, dry bean cultivars with both field resistance (avoidance) and physiological resistance would be preferred by growers in order to reduce disease risk and production costs. The objective of this study was to characterize select dry bean genotypes for field resistance to white mould in inoculated disease nurseries, and physiological resistance in a controlled environment. White mould ratings ranged from moderately susceptible to susceptible. Dry bean cultivars lacked both field resistance and physiological resistance. Germplasm lines I9365-25, G122, A 195 and I9635-31 had low disease severity ratings (5.1 to 5.6 at 26 d after inoculation using a 1 to 9 visual disease rating scale) in controlled environment indicating physiological resistance. L 192, MO162, 92BG-7 and OAC Rico also had acceptable levels of physiological resistance (severity ratings of 5.8 to 6.2 at 26 d after inoculation). G122, A 195, L 192 and MO 162 had low white mould disease incidences (16 to 25%) in the field over 4 yr indicating field resistance to white mould. These genotypes may be used as parents in the development of dry bean cultivars with enhanced resistance to white mould.

Boersma, J. G., Conner, R. L., Balasubramanian, P. M., Navabi, A., Yu, K. and Hou, A. 2014. Combining resistance to common bacterial blight, anthracnose, and bean common mosaic virus into Manitoba-adapted dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 405–415. Resistance to common bacterial blight (CBB) is generally absent in dry bean cultivars. In order to transfer CBB resistance into dry bean cultivars grown in Manitoba, crosses were made between CBB-resistant navy bean OAC Rex and susceptible cultivars Black Violet (black bean), AC Pintoba (pinto bean) and Morden003 (an anthracnose-resistant navy bean). The F1 progeny were back-crossed to the recurrent susceptible parents for four generations and selections were made based on inoculation tests and molecular markers. The BC4F3 populations were evaluated in CBB field disease nurseries for 3 yr at Morden, MB, and Harrow, ON. Three of the 114 BC4F3 navy bean lines were shown to have improved resistance to both CBB and anthracnose, whereas approximately 50% of the lines exhibited strong resistance to anthracnose. Meanwhile, 11 black bean and 7 pinto bean lines were selected with resistance to CBB and four of the seven pinto beans were also putatively resistant to bean common mosaic virus (BCMV). There was good agreement between the presence of molecular markers and field resistance to CBB and anthracnose. The resistant lines recovered in this research possess desirable yield potential and seed characteristics, and can be used in crossing for future dry bean improvement.

Balasubramanian, P., Mündel, H.-H., Chatterton, S., Conner, R. L. and Hou, A. 2015. AAC Burdett pinto dry bean. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 179–181. AAC Burdett is an early-maturing pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivar with an upright, indeterminate bush growth habit, lodging resistance, white mould avoidance and high yield potential. AAC Burdett was developed at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB. AAC Burdett is suitable for irrigated production in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Balasubramanian, P. M., Mündel, H.-H., Conner, R. L. and Hou, A. 2012. AAC Tundra great northern dry bean. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 1403–1405. AAC Tundra is a high-yielding, early-maturing great northern bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) with an upright, indeterminate bush growth habit with long vines (Type IIb). AAC Tundra was developed at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB. AAC Tundra has a large seed size and improved field resistance to white mould compared with the check cultivar AC Polaris. AAC Tundra is suitable for irrigated wide row production in Alberta and Saskatchewan.