Dry Edible Bean Breeding Specialist, Nebraska Extension
The University of Nebraska Dry Bean Breeding Program has announced the development of two new dry edible bean varieties, one a great northern bean suitable for direct harvest and the other a slow-darkening pinto bean variety with longer shelf life. Both new varieties could be available for planting in growers’ fields as early as 2022 or 2023.
The great northern dry bean cultivar White Pearl is adapted for western Nebraska growing conditions, upright plant architecture, high yield, and enhanced resistance to bean rust, common bacterial blight, and bean common mosaic virus. White Pearl’s upright plant architecture makes it suitable for direct harvest, which is a growing trend in the Nebraska dry bean industry. In 2020, 20-25 percent of the planted area was direct harvested.