Jackson, Tennessee, USA
November 23, 2010

Good news for growers of kidney beans. The USDA has just released two new lines of beans that exhibit a high tolerance to heat stress in both temperate and humid tropical climates. The new releases are made possible through joint research conducted at the University of Tennessee’s West Tennessee AgResearch & Education Center, the University of Puerto Rico Agriculture Experiment Station and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.

‘TARS-HT1’ and ‘TARS-HT2’ are heat tolerant dark red and light red kidney beans. According to experts, both germplasm lines exhibit good plant architecture, good seed quality and are available to breeders in both the U.S. and the Caribbean. Their release follows 12 years of research by the three universities.

“From this research we will see improved yields from dried bean growers,” says Dr. Craig Canaday, UT Associate Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology. “We could also see beans becoming an alternative crop in parts of the country where weather climates are not currently conducive to producing good yields of dried beans.”

Canaday led research on behalf of UT, evaluating the two lines for years at the West Tennessee AgResearch & Education Center in Jackson. According to Canaday, extreme heat is the biggest deterrent for kidney bean production.

“If you have trouble with heat, yields will go down dramatically,” says Canaday. “These new germplasm lines offer a solution to extreme heat issues.”

While kidney beans are not a traditional Tennessee crop, Canaday says the new heat-tolerant lines, along with a growing demand from local farmers’ markets, will encourage production.

For more information on the new lines, contact Timothy Porch at timothy.porch@ars.usda.gov.

The West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center is one of 10 outdoor laboratories operated by UT AgResearch, a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. In addition to its agricultural research programs, the UT Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and UT Extension offices in every county in the state.

Website: http://www.tennessee.edu

Published: November 23, 2010