Research report to the Oregon Processed Vegetable Commission
Jim Myers
OSU Dept. of Horticulture
Brian Yorgey
OSU Food Science and Technology
The green bean breeding project is a long-term project to develop improved snap bean cultivars for production for processing in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Specific objectives include: improving resistance to white mold, improving plant architecture, maintaining high economic yield, improving pod quality, and improving seed quality to provide better germination, emergence and seedling vigor. The project crosses lines with desired characteristics in the winter greenhouse, advances about 1,100 lines per year under selection over an 8-10 year period, and evaluates 50-75 elite lines per year in yield and quality trials that include raw product and processed evaluation. A separate white mold trial is conducted to evaluate lines for resistance. The main focus of the program has been to bring white mold resistance from scarlet runner bean and NY6020 experimental snap bean into a bush blue lake background. In 2013, 13 lines showed yields similar to OSU 5630 and had acceptable pod quality. These lines vary in number of years of trialing but appear promising in combining yield, quality and disease resistance. Two lines (6771 and 6774) have been tested three years and show acceptable yields, quality and moderate levels of white mold resistance, and are candidates for release. In white mold trials a commercial wax bean cultivar (Unidor) has been identified as having high levels of white mold resistance.
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