Breeding to Improve Yield

Abstract

World pulse production peaked at 58 million MT in 1990 and has since shown a decline in more than 100 countries. Highly fertile land in many countries is being devoted to more profitable cereals, oilseeds, and horticultural crops, thus displacing pulses to less favorable agricultural areas. In less developed countries, the lack of mechanized production, particularly for harvest, has favored a shift to other crops, whereas in developed nations, dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production has shifted toward regions of lower-priced land, such as the Canadian prairie (Parker, 1997). For example, Manitoba replaced Ontario as the leading dry bean producer in Canada in 1998. Over the last 25 years, the area planted to dry bean in the U.S.A. has expanded by 30% and while yields have increased by a similar margin, major production shifts have occurred. For example, the acreage planted to dry bean in North Dakota has increased from 13,000 ha in 1971 to 300,000 ha in 1998, whereas the area in Michigan has decreased from 220,000 ha in 1976 to 120,000 ha in 1998. Bean must be regarded by the agricultural sector as a consistently profitable commodity if production is to be maintained in these more traditional areas. Stable prices, consistent consumer demand, and high yield are all essential goals to curtail downward production trends.