Description

A poster presented at the 2012 Global Pulse Researchers Meeting, Kigali, Rwanda- “Transforming Grain-Legume Systems to Enhance Nutrition and Livelihoods”. Abstract: The common bean is an important component of the traditional diet and the principal source of protein for low income families in the Caribbean. The seed types preferred by consumers varies among countries (Table 1). Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba are the largest producers of beans in the region. With support from the Bean/Cowpea CRSP and, in recent years, the Dry Grain Pulse CRSP, bean researchers at the Escuela Agricola Panamericana (Zamorano), the Universities of Puerto Rico (UPR) and Nebraska and the USDA-ARS have collaborated with CIAT, the Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF) and the National Seed Service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Haiti to develop and release bean cultivars and improved germplasm for the Caribbean (Beaver et al., 2003) The focus of bean breeding activities has been the development of adapted cultivars having a preferred seed type and enhanced levels of disease resistance. Several of the bean cultivars developed and released have gained wide acceptance, including Aifi Wuriti and Arroyo Loro Negro. Advanced breeding lines currently being developed and tested should produce cultivars with new seed types (yellow), resistance to additional diseases and pests (BCMNV, bruchids) and tolerance to abiotic stress (drought and low soil fertility).