Two new bean lines designed to fuel the growing bean industry in Western Canada have outperformed United States-developed standards in prairie-wide tests and received support for registration in 1998.
AC Alberta Pink (unofficial name), a pink dry bean, is significantly higher yielding under irrigation and has larger seed than the pink standard, Viva, said bean breeder Hans-Henning Mundel at the Agriculture Canada research centre in Lethbridge, Alta.
AC Earlired, a red Mexican dry bean, matures on average five days earlier than the small red standard, NW63, greatly reducing the risk of fall frost.
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The Alberta Wheat Pool bean business unit is negotiating rights to the varieties, which could be available commercially by 2001, said Mundel. They are among the first products of a collaborative research support agreement signed by Alberta Pool and the Lethbridge research centre in 1993 to accelerate development of improved cultivars for Western Canada.
The new lines are designed for traditional production systems that use undercutting to harvest, and have distinct Canadian regional advantages over commonly grown U.S. varieties.
AC Alberta Pink performed best under irrigation in tests from 1995-97, he said. This large-seeded line yielded an average 3,096 lb./acre in irrigated southern Alberta compared to 2,783 lb./acre for the check variety. It also matured an average two days earlier under irrigation.
AC Earlired maintained comparable yields to the check across the Prairies while maturing an average five days earlier under irrigation and up to 11 days earlier on dryland near Morden, Man., he said.
“The earliness is particularly important for us here in southern Alberta because of our short growing season.”
Like the check varieties, both new bean lines are susceptible to white mould, a potential target of further research.
