Breeding of a New Black Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Cultivar with a High Yield and Upright Growth Pattern: Longyundou 19

Background: Black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has been widely grown in China and is popular in the international market. However, to decrease production costs, growers require cultivars with an upright growth pattern that enables them to be harvested directly. Longyundou 19, which was developed by the Crop Resources Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences was released in 2020 as an upright, high-yielding black bean cultivar with resistance to anthracnose and common bacterial blight.Methods: Cross breeding is an effective way of improving common bean varieties. Longyundou 19 was developed from the Longyundou 4 (female) x Longyundou 5 (male) hybridization and the subsequent systematic selection for upright, yield, disease resistance, quality and agronomic traits over six generations. Result: The average yield of Longyundou 19 during yield trials from 2016 to 2019 was 1,888.5 kg ha-1, which was 10.3% greater than that of the check cultivar. Disease investigations conducted in fields from 2016 to 2019, indicated Longyundou 19 exhibits some resistance to anthracnose, common bacterial blight and BCMV. This new variety combined the disease resistance and black seed coat of the female parent with the upright growth pattern of the male parent, while retaining the high yield of both parents.