A sample for biodiversity in Turkey: Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces from Artvin

Abstract

Artvin province located in north-east region of Turkey is small province but has rich plant diversity due to its different geographical and ecological formation. Significant part of this province has been flooded by the dams which have been built. The common bean is a very important crop for Artvin’s farmers. This study was carried out with the aim of determining and preserving the characteristics of domestic bean varieties grown in Artvin. Common bean seeds were collected from 279 locations in 74 villages in seven districts of the province. These seeds were allocated to 400 sample groups according to their shapes and colors. Eleven monocolored and 21 dicolored or polycolored seed groups were determined. Majority of the seed were subcompressus type seeds. The samples in the 1st group were ranked first in terms of size index. Considering the 100 seed weight, 64.68% of the population was found between 25 to 40 g; 30.69% of the population was higher than 40 g. By the advantage of having big variation of all characters, landraces of bean varieties grown in Artvin Province have a rich genetic source that can be used in breeding programs.

Key words: Common bean, landraces, seed shape, seed color, Turkey.