ABSTRACT

This chapter aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the efforts that have been made in the pre-breeding and breeding of Phaseolus crop species, proceeding from a comprehensive summary of their evolutionary history, to an evaluation of their germplasm for traits of interest and its transfer into elite germplasm. In particular, this chapter is focused on common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), as among the cultivated Phaseolus species, P. vulgaris is the most economically important, and thus the greater part of the research and breeding efforts have been aimed at its improvement. Here, we highlight the results obtained by using different souces of genetic diversity, including wild and domesticated forms of common bean from its two Mesoamerican and Andean gene pool and different Phaseolus species belonging to its secondary and tertiary gene pool, to improve biotic and abiotic resistance/ tolerance, yields, and quality traits.