Induced mutagenesis for improvement of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production in Bulgaria.

Abstract Although historically a surplus food producer, Bulgarian agriculture has faced a downturn in recent decades. Local legume cultivars have lost favour with farmers and the canning industry, due to their low productivity in comparison with imported ones. Diseases and abiotic stresses are the most important factors limiting the production of edible legumes, costing farmers hundreds of euros in lost revenue each year. The overall objective of our ongoing bean mutation breeding programme was to enrich the gene pool of Phaseolus vulgaris L. and to develop genotypes resistant to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Smith) (Xap) and Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola (Burkh.) (Psp) using EMS. An elite line and common cultivar (an heirloom and a snap bean type) in Bulgaria, were selected as parents and the chemical mutagen EMS was used for generating mutations. In total, 1000 seeds were treated and the two generated M1 populations were grown in the field. All M2 mutant plants (1650 from initial line IP564 and 2420 from initial cultivar 'Mastilen 11b') were grown in field conditions and a number of phenotypic changes were observed on these mutated plants. They were also screened for Xap disease resistance via leaf artificial inoculation under greenhouse conditions. Individual plant selection was performed for the putatively resistant M2 plants. In the M3 generation these lines were screened using artificial inoculation with Xap and Psp pathogens (leaves and pods) under field conditions. Selected M3-M4 lines with confirmed disease resistance were tested for fresh pod quality. Yield tests were started in M4 and M5 generations and, according to their productivity performance, mutants were advanced to the M6/M7 generation for validation. The expression patterns of genes putatively involved in the resistance reactions towards two races of Psp were determined using qRT-PCR for the specific and reference genes. In conclusion, 50 plants with visible morphological changes and/or increased tolerance to the two targeted bacterial diseases were selected. A total of 20 advanced mutant bean lines are currently being evaluated for their competitiveness in multiple sites.