Heat Resistant Beans

Discussion in 'The Green Patch' started by tulianr, Mar 25, 2015.


  1. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    Here are some excerpts from an article about developing a heat resistant bean to be grown in hot, dry climates. Some of our southwestern monkeys might want to look into this bean.
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    Hopes grow for climate-proof beans
    EXCERPTS:
    A breakthrough in the development of temperature-resilient beans could help sustain a vital source of protein for millions of people around the globe.

    The news offers a glimmer of hope for many farmers in developing nations.

    Climate projections suggest that 50% of the countries' bean production will be lost by 2050 if farmers do not have access to the new variety of bean.

    The discovery was made by plant breeders at CGIAR, a global agricultural research group.

    One of the plant breeders involved in the research, Steve Beebe - a senior bean researcher at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) - explained that bean plants were, as a rule, very sensitive to excessive heat.

    "Typically, beans are not grown in environments where the night temperature is above 18C (64F) or 19C," he told BBC News.

    "Night temperatures are especially critical because the bean flower pollinates itself during night hours and the pollination process is very sensitive to temperature.

    "When we talk about heat tolerance, we are especially concerned about the night-time temperatures."

    Dr Beebe said the team wanted to see if there were varieties that displayed a trait of coping with night-time temperatures in the region of 23C.

    "We gathered up the lines that we had in our breeding programme - lines that had been selected for other traits such as drought tolerance, which has been a high priority as well.

    "We also pulled some lines off the shelf that were the result of a crossing programme about 12-15 years ago between our common bean and a tepary bean."

    Vintage traits
    He explained that the tepary bean was a neglected crop, grown by native Americans in the southwest US and Mexico in very hot and dry environments.
    .......
    [​IMG]
    Tepary Bean

    "The grain type is very unusual, it is very small - only about half the size you are probably accustomed to. The plant type is not agronomically acceptable because it is very low growing and spreads," he said. "But it has some very interesting traits of heat tolerance and drought tolerance."
    ........
    Hopes grow for climate-proof beans - BBC News
     
    chelloveck, vonslob and Motomom34 like this.
  2. vonslob

    vonslob Monkey++

    That is very interesting, thank you for the post
     
    tulianr likes this.
  3. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I saw the title, and said "and what good is a bean that refuses to be cooked?!?:eek:" lol
     
    ghrit and tulianr like this.
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