Abstract
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important food consumed in every region in Republic of Benin; however, it remains a neglected and under-utilized crop. In order to assess the value of bean germplasm of the central region in the Republic of Benin for useful breeding programs, 57 accessions were collected from 23 villages. After a classification based on the morphological variables of the seeds, these accessions were evaluated using 30 morphological traits (18 qualitative and 12 quantitative) following the IBPGR descriptors in experimental field at Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Dassa. Based on the seeds morphological variability, the accessions have been grouped in 8 morphotypes. However, 9 morphological types were obtained with cluster analysis based on UPGMA classification method using qualitative variables, whereas in Principal Component Analysis (PCA) they were gathered into 4 clusters using quantitative variables. The accessions in cluster 1 (11 accessions) were identified as possessing the highest values in quantitative traits like days to maturity, and number of pods per plant. While accessions in cluster 2 (3 accessions) have had the lowest number of days to flowering and the highest pods length, the accessions of cluster 3 (23 accessions) presented the highest 100-seed weight. Correlation coefficient of 100-seed weight was positively significant (p ≤ 0.001) with leaf length, pod width, and seeds length while it was negatively correlated (p ≤ 0.05) with days to flowering, pod length and the number of seeds per pod. Cluster 3 accessions may serve as useful genetic material in future, for any breeding programmes to improve the productivity of other common bean accessions through hybridization. Key words: Common bean, cluster analysis, diversity, landraces, qualitative traits, quantitative traits.  
Highlights
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most cultivated and consumed legume throughout the world (Blair et al, 2009; Coelho et al, 2009)
The analysis of qualitative data has shown that five traits (hypocotyl colour, cotyledon colour, calyx colour, pods colour at harvest stage, and plant growth) were not polymorphic, while the remaining showed a considerable level of variation (Table 4)
This study points out the diversity and agronomic performances within common bean in the central region of Benin Republic
Summary
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most cultivated and consumed legume throughout the world (Blair et al, 2009; Coelho et al, 2009). In the Republic of Benin, beans are important staple, but its production has declined since 2008 from 143,625 T to 95,794 T in 2014 (Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO], 2014) This decline in production can be explained by several biotic and abiotic stresses that affect the crop during its cultivation and storage (Beebe et al, 2013; Hinkossa et al, 2013; Yaqoob et al, 2013; De Luque et al, 2014; Asfaw and Blair, 2014; Polania et al, 2016). There is a need to collect, and characterise common bean populations in this region before they disappear for an efficient conservation and to guide breeding programs
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