Heirloom bean production comes with challenges

In test plots at the University of California, Davis, agronomy fields, researchers and farmers are collaborating in an attempt to bring back some of the more interesting dry bean varieties of yesteryear.

While the heirlooms generally have agronomic problems, many of these forgotten varieties have seeds with unusual shape, texture, color, flavor and nutritional value that could easily translate into marketplace success.

"These have unusual seed qualities that make them more valuable," said Travis Parker, UC Davis plant sciences doctoral student who is working on the heirloom bean trials.

The beans may be beautiful and delicious, but these plants also frequently suffer from a variety of problems that make them challenging to grow.

"Some of these look better than others," Parker said. "Some don't germinate well, and we're working on that. Some have better virus resistance than others. Many of these plants have bean common mosaic virus, which has been bred out of commercial varieties."

Most of the plants in the Davis plots suffer from mottled or necrotic foliage caused by this virus.

This is the third year of trials aimed at learning if disease resistance and other helpful traits can be bred into these plants without sacrificing the seed qualities that make them special.

A number of California farming firms with an organic bent are contributing heavily to the effort to bring back these heirlooms by crossing them with varieties that have disease resistance and other helpful agronomic qualities.

San Diego County farmers Mike and Chris Reeske, who specialize in organic heirloom bean varieties grown on their Rio Del Rey Farm on the banks of the San Luis Rey River, are providing support.

Mike Reeske became a convert to heirloom beans after he sampled purple, shiny Rio Zapes dry beans in Tucson, and has since traveled to Mexico to study dry beans grown for centuries.

Clif Bar is an Emeryville-based company producing performance fruit and nut snacks, and their foundation donates heavily to community and sustainable agriculture and causes.

Six years ago, the Clif Bar Family Foundation played a leading role in starting Seed Matters, an attempt to preserve the genetic variety of organic food plant seeds.

Richvale-based rice growers Lundberg Farms are partners in the effort, both supporting the Davis research and also conducting their own trials of the heirloom dry bean varieties.

"This is the third year of this trial," Parker said. "We have 30 varieties this year, and the same trial is at Dos Rios Ranch, which is operated by Lundberg Farms in Knights Landing."

Lundberg Farms already has some promising heirloom bean varieties they are growing for seed.

"We're going to grow them and sell them," said Jay Bergman, Lundberg Farms seed nursery research assistant.

Although best known for rice, Lundberg Farms produces more than 150 products including more than 30 different types of rice- and grain-based chips, crackers and cakes, most of them organic.

Heirloom dry beans would give the company additional ingredients to expand the flavor and nutritional profile of these snacks, as legume and rice combinations would pack a powerful protein punch.

"We are crossing the heirlooms with other varieties to give them bean common mosaic virus resistance, and an upright growth, but keep the seed qualities that make them valuable," Parker said. "We have many potential gene donors."

While most of the heirlooms lack the virus resistance bred into widely grown commercial dry bean varieties, many of them also tend to lie too flat and close to the ground.

Another issue with heirloom varieties is the challenge of finding a source of clean seeds.

"This is the third year of a collaborative observational nursery of heirloom dry beans planted with Lundberg Family Farm," Parker said. "From our field notes on agronomic production characteristics, disease resistance and performance under conventional and organic production systems, we are selecting varieties to include in our crossing program to introduce bean common mosaic virus resistance and more upright growth habits."

A few yards up the field from the heirloom bean study, researchers are growing 30 dry bean varieties from throughout the U.S. and Canada in another attempt to broaden the genetic diversity.

"This is a cooperative effort we have with researchers from other states, and the University of Guelph in Canada," said Antonia Palkovic, UC Davis assistant specialist in plant sciences. "We trade seeds and plant them in different locations. We will provide yield data."

While the trial is showing that varieties from drier, warmer areas of the country generally fare better in the Davis field, it is also affording an opportunity to learn where a pair of varieties first improved at the campus can be grown well.

"It includes two from UC Davis that are heirloom varieties (former UC dry bean breeder and researcher) Steve Temple improved," Palkovic said. "The Lundbergs are interested in them."

According to UC Davis dry bean researcher and breeder Paul Gepts, there are numerous candidates to give the heirlooms disease resistance and other traits, and the trick will be to maintain the look that makes the older varieties intriguing.

(Bob Johnson is a reporter in Santa Cruz. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@aol.com.)