Morphological and Agrobiological Study on Local Germplasm of Common Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) and Cowpea (V. Unguiculata L.)

Abstract

ABSTRACTAmong major food legumes the common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the third most important worldwide, superseded only by soyabean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and peanut (Arachis hypogea L.). Among the pulses (annual leguminous food crops that are harvested for dry seeds) the common bean is by far the most important.Common bean landraces are an important component of the Bulgarian small scale farmers. The bean phenotypic and genetic diversity is large, as in the all the world and in our country too. There are a lot of cultivated forms called landraces often are highly variable in appearance and usually have local names. They have particular properties or characteristics (early or late maturing) a reputation for adaptation to local climatic conditions.Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) is an ancient crop, little known in Bulgaria. Although, in South-East and South-West part of the country were collected local forms still cultivated at that conditions. Cowpea is the most important food legume crop for people of those regions.The general purpose of this study was to compare morphological and agrobiological traits of 15 accessions of dry beans and 3 accessions of cowpea with local origin, growing in the same conditions. The study was performed in the experimental field of the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources in Sadovo, during the period 2006–2008.The studied accessions of beans showed high degree of variation of some quantitative traits: plant height, number of node of main stem, number of seeds/plant and weight of seeds/plant. Cowpea accessions showed differences between duration of vegetation cycle, number of pods and seeds/plant, resulting to the yield potential, which is more stable in that dry conditions.