Registration of High Mineral Common Bean Germplasm Lines NUA35 and NUA56 from the Red‐Mottled Seed Class

Abstract

NUA35 (Reg. No. GP‐278, PI 657698) and NUA56 (Reg. No. GP‐279, PI 657699), are high seed mineral, red‐mottled common beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) developed by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia, and tested with various national agricultural research systems and nongovernmental organizations from Latin America and eastern and southern Africa as part of the Harvest Plus and Agrosalud programs for biofortification. Both germplasm lines were selected from the backcross population [‘CAL96’ × (CAL96 × G14519)] where CAL96 is a commercial cultivar in Colombia and Uganda, and G14519 is a high seed mineral germplasm accession from the CIAT genebank. The seed iron and zinc content of NUA35 and NUA56, along with CAL96 as a check, was determined over 15 sites with varying climate, altitude and soil types in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. On average, iron content was 18 and 23 mg kg −1 higher for NUA35 and NUA56, respectively than for CAL96; while zinc content was 8 and 7 mg kg −1 higher, respectively. To our knowledge, these are the first germplasm lines to be bred specifically for nutritional quality in common beans.