Performance of Dry Bean Genotypes Grown under Organic and Conventional Production Systems in Michigan

Abstract

Th e lack of data on the performance of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars grown under organic management systems in Michigan prompted the evaluation of 32 diverse dry bean genotypes in side-by-side trials under organic and conventional production systems. Trial sites were located in grower fi elds in Gratiot County, in 2007 and 2008 and in Tuscola County in 2009 and at the Kellogg Biological Station in Kalamazoo County, in all 3 yr. Th e conventional plots were treated following standard acceptable management practices including application of granular fertilizer at planting and use of chemical seed treatments and foliar sprays to control pests. For the organic treatments certifi ed organic land was used and only approved methods for organic production were followed. Rhizobium inoculant was applied to seeds in the organic treatment before planting. Yields were 20% higher in conventional systems than in the organic systems over all locations. Seed classes that yielded well in the organic system included pink-, small red-, and black-seeded genotypes and these classes also had the highest accumulation of seed N (36%). Some genotypes appear better suited to organic production than others; however, those genotypes performing poorly under the organic system also performed poorly under conventional system. Overall genotypes of Andean origin performed 25% lower than genotypes of Middle American origin in either organic or conventional systems. Older cultivars, such as the heirloom navy bean Michelite, commonly believed to be better suited to organic production, did not perform as well as modern commercial cultivars.

Performance of Northwest Washington Heirloom Dry Bean Varieties in Organic Production

“…Overall yield of dry beans in this study was 1950 kg· ha −1 , which was comparable to yield in one organic field study in Michigan (1909 kg· ha −1 , non-irrigated), but less than a different organic field study in Michigan (2455 kg· ha −1 , irrigated), as well as conventional field studies in Idaho (3465 kg· ha −1 , irrigated) and North Dakota (2642 kg· ha −1 , non-irrigated) [21][22][23][24]. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that dry beans can be a productive crop in northwest Washington, even without irrigation, and, therefore, could be a suitable legume crop for crop rotation in the region.…”

Perceptions of agrodiversity and seed-saving practices in the northern Andes of Ecuador

“…Research in other regions has shown that there are no clear conclusions regarding productivity between CS and NCS. Epule and Bryant [71] and Heilig and Kelly [72] argued that older bean cultivars ( P . vulgaris ) had a lower performance compared to modern commercial cultivars regardless of the production system, although some genotypes showed a better performance under organic production systems.…”

QTL Analysis of Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in a Black Bean Population

“…Farid (2015) used single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in a RIL population derived from two navy bean cultivars to map QTL for Ndfa to Pv08, which accounted for up to 17% of variation in Ndfa. Despite this research, a germplasm with superior SNF characteristics that is adapted to modern conventional and organic agricultural practices is currently not available (Heilig and Kelly, 2012). Multiple QTL for Ndfa were confirmed on Pv03 and Pv07, and one SNP on Pv09 was associated with multiple QTL for Ndfa in the seed and shoot, chlorophyll content, shoot biomass, and %N in shoot biomass.…”

“…Many studies have identified regions in the genome that are associated with SNF in both Andean and Middle American populations. Despite this research, a germplasm with superior SNF characteristics that is adapted to modern conventional and organic agricultural practices is currently not available (Heilig and Kelly, 2012). The objective of the current study was to investigate and physically map with SNP markers the genetic components of SNF in a Middle American black bean RIL population and to identify genomic regions for use in marker-assisted selection to develop genotypes with enhanced SNF adapted to temperate regions.…”