
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Herridge, D. F. 
A1  - Redden, R. J. 
T1  - Evaluation of genotypes of navy and culinary bean (<emph type="2">Phaseolus vulgaris</emph> L.) selected for superior growth and nitrogen fixation
JF  - Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
JO  - Aust. J. Exp. Agric.
Y1  - 2000
VL  - 39
IS  - 8
SP  - 975
EP  - 980
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/EA99108 
N2  - Summary. Levels of nitrogen fixation by navy and culinary beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Australia are low and contribute little to the N economies of the crops. As a consequence, they must be grown in highly fertile soils or fertilised with N to obtain economic yields. Eliminating the need for fertiliser nitrogen would save growers A$1 million annually. Following a 10-year program in which almost 1500 genotypes of P. vulgaris were screened for superior nodulation and nitrogen fixation, we conducted experiments at the Southedge Research Station, Mareeba, during 1995&#8211;97 to identify elite genotype(s), which could either be released as cultivar(s) or used as donor parent(s) in a breeding program. Selection criteria were plant biomass, nitrogen fixation activity assessed using the ureide method and grain yield. The best-performing genotypes were ICA20667 and ICA21573. They produced about 20% more shoot biomass than the commercial check cultivars, Spearfelt, Gallaroy and Rainbird, and had Pfix (percentage of plant nitrogen derived from nitrogen fixation) values that were consistently about 30% higher. However, both genotypes responded strongly to fertiliser nitrogen (&#62;200% increase in shoot nitrogen and &#62;100% increase in grain yield at rate of 150 kg nitrogen/ha), suggesting that their nitrogen fixation capacity was inadequate. This study reinforced current recommendations that commercial crops of P. vulgaris be fertilised with nitrogen and indicated a low likelihood of release of high nitrogen-fixing cultivars to growers in the immediate future. 
ER  -

