A New Navy Bean for the Northern Plains: Registration of ‘Avalanche’

Abstract

‘Avalanche’ (Reg. No. CV‐298, PI 656378) is a new navy bean cultivar developed by the dry‐bean breeding program at North Dakota State University and released by the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. Avalanche is a medium‐early maturing, high‐yielding navy bean, with commercially acceptable seed size, shape, and appearance. Avalanche is erect (Type IIb, upright short vine) and has good lodging resistance. Avalanche exhibits good and synchronous plant drydown before harvest. Maturity is 5 and 2 d earlier than ‘Vista’ and ‘Mayflower’, respectively. Multilocation testing showed that Avalanche outyielded Vista, Mayflower, and ‘Norstar’ by 10, 8, and 11%, respectively. Avalanche is resistant to Bean common mosaic virus and is moderately resistant to the races of bean rust [caused by Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.:Pers.) Unger] usually found in the region, with the exception of the new race (20–3). In addition, Avalanche is tolerant to soil Zn deficiency, which is an abiotic factor that severely affects navy and black beans. Canning tests showed that Avalanche was similar to Vista in terms of visual appearance and quality. Given its competitive seed yield, agronomic, and processing attributes, Avalanche has the potential to become one of the most important cultivars not only for the northern Great Plains but also for other bean‐growing regions in North America.