Release of tepary bean cultivar ‘USDA Fortuna’ with improved disease and insect resistance, seed size, and culinary quality

Abstract

Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) is a viable and nutritious alternative to common bean (P. vulgaris L.) in areas with excessively high temperatures and/or chronic drought. Tepary bean is a traditional crop of the Tohono O'odham Indians of the Sonoran Desert in the Southwest United States and Mexico, as well as other Indigenous peoples of the United States, Mexico, and Central America. Despite its potential for broad applications for reduced water-input agriculture or for hot, semi-arid, marginal production zones, tepary bean remains an orphan crop. ‘USDA Fortuna’ (Reg. no. CV-352, PI 698459) is an improved tepary bean cultivar with enhanced seed size, seed quality, tolerance to Bean golden yellow mosaic virus, and resistance to local strains of rust in Puerto Rico. It has leafhopper pest resistance, common bacterial blight resistance, and moderate resistance to powdery mildew. USDA Fortuna is a high-yielding tepary bean with an attractive black speckled seed color and a quick cooking time. This cultivar was developed cooperatively by the USDA-ARS, the University of Puerto Rico, Zamorano University, the Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales (IDIAF) of the Dominican Republic, Quisqueya University of Haiti, the National Seed Service of Haiti, Instituto Nacional de Innovación y Transferencia en Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) of Costa Rica, and Iowa State University.