Agronomic Performance and Genetic Diversity Of Common Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) Varieties In Haiti

Abstract

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the essential food legumes in the world and plays a vital role in providing nutritional security and revenue for low-income families in the Caribbean, including Haiti. Despite its economic importance, bean production in Haiti is constrained by many biotic and abiotic factors that limit yield. Besides, most bean cultivars currently in the market are low-yielding, averaging 0.6 tons/ hectare, which is well below the world average (0.86 tons/ ha). The current study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of 13 elite dry bean-breeding lines currently under development by the USAID-AREA and the Legume Innovation Lab programs at a highland location in Haiti. Moreover, the study aimed to determine the genetic diversity among a collection of 92 Haitian’s bean cultivars using genotyping by sequencing. Analysis of variance and trait mean separation was done in R statistical package, while a UPGMA dendrogram based on genetic dissimilarity matrix was constructed using Darwin software. Significant differences were observed for most of the recorded parameters. The yield of bean varieties ranged from 0.48 to 1.24 tons/ha, with a mean of 0.89 t/ha. Among the traits measured, the number of pods per plant and number of seeds per pod showed the highest correlation with dry seed yield, thus maybe used for indirect selection of seed yield in common bean. Genetic diversity analysis revealed a prevalence of Mesoamerican gene pool within the accession collection, with a few of Andean origin, and some level of admixture.