Study of some quantitative characteristics on a local population of runner bean

Abstract

Phaseolus coccineus L. is the third most cultivated species of bean, for consumption of grains and immature pods. Despite its agronomic potential, high nutritional value and special economic importance, it is cultivated on a small scale and less studied. The cultivation of this plant in the Romania environment could be a real success by using a special programme to optimize the technology and by cultivating valuable varieties. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to assess the variability of quantitative characters (number of pods per plant, number of beans per plant, mass of beans per plant, number of beans in pods) on a local runner bean population, collected from village Cozia, Iași county. The research was carried out in the experimental vegetable field of Didactic Station of IULS. By the analysis of the results for the four characters, it was observed that it does not fully meet the criteria of distinctiveness, homogeneity and genetic stability, so it is not sufficiently balanced being necessary to continue the selection work, motivated by its high potential of production.