Variability of common bean accessions in the gene bank of Agricultural institute of Slovenia

Abstract

The gene bank at the Agricultural institute of Slovenia holds a collection of 1035 bean accessions collected from various parts of Slovenia in the last 25 years. In addition, 61 accessions, collected during international expeditions and 39 accessions that were obtained from other gene banks in Europe and abroad for the research purposes are included in the collection. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the predominant species, whereas runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.) is represented by a smaller number of accessions. Multicrop passport data are available for all the accessions stored in the gene bank. Every year a certain number of accessions are regenerated and characterized. A part of the collection was evaluated in detail with the use of morphological, biochemical and molecular markers. The results revealed that during the centuries of common bean cultivation in Slovenia a diverse collection was formed that should be preserved for the future. A part of collection was evaluated also for the resistance to bean anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum. The accessions that are stored in the gene bank are used for research purposes, where particular emphasis is given to drought stress. The collection is used also in breeding process and in the programme of reintroduction of old varieties.