Phenotypic variation in a core collection of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in the Netherlands

Forty accessions, forming a core collection of mainly bush type of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) germplasm in the Netherlands, were evaluated for 14 qualitative and quantitative traits at the Agricultural University, Wageningen (WAU), the Netherlands in 1992. These and an additional 117 Dutch accessions, mainly collected in private home gardens, were also evaluated for phaseolin seed protein pattern, and morphological and agronomic traits at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, Spanish acronym), Cali, Columbia between 1987 and 1997. Multivariate and principal component analyses at both WAU and CIAT indicated existence of one large group with no discernable patterns among Dutch common bean collections of landraces, garden forms and cultivars. However, when phaseolin, an evolutionary, biochemical marker, was used as an initial classification criterion followed by use of morphological markers, the two major gene pools; Andean and Middle American with two races in each (Chile and Nueva Granada in Andean, and Durango and Mesoamerica in Middle American) were identifie