Resumo

CRUZ BALAREZO, José et al. AGROMORPHOLOGICAL EVALUATION AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF POPPING BEAN (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS L.). Idesia [online]. 2009, vol.27, n.1, pp. 29-40. ISSN 0718-3429.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-34292009000100005.

The popping bean (ñuña) is a species originated in the Andean central region, their seeds have high protein contain and are consumed toasted. A study was conducted on 24 accessions in order to determine the duplication level of ñuña germplasm maintained at the UNALM, and to identify accessions with high dry seed yield and toasted seed quality. The morphological evaluation was made according to 30 descriptors of common bean; and the molecular characterization was made using RAPD technique, with 6 decameric primers. Morphological and molecular analyses did not reveal germplasm duplication in the evaluated material, and dendograms did not show clustering of accessions according to geographic origin. Accessions with high seed yield were UNALM-18, UNALM-16 and UNALM-15 with 1458.4, 1451.6 and 1337.4 kg/ha respectively, whereas the accessions with good seed quality and the highest volume of burst grains are UNALM-15, UNALM-19 and UNALM-18 with expansion of 10.11, 9.46 and 7,04 ml. These accessions have high potentiality for their commercial exploitation and should be prioritized in plant breeding programs in order to create new varieties that respond to the market exigencies. This could generate greater incomes and improve the life quality of Andean farmers.

Palavras-chave : morphological characterization; molecular characterization; RAPD; Phaseolus vulgaris; pop bean; genetic variability.