The INIFAP collection of runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.) I. Geographical distribution of collection sites

Abstract

The runner bean (Phaseolus coccinus L.) is native to the highlands of Mesoamerica, where it has been cultivated since pre-Columbian times, recent studies show that was domesticated 2 200 years ago in the Valley of Tehuacan, Puebla, Mexico. It is grown annually, but in the wild perennial grows in humid regions at altitudes of more than 1 800 meters above the sea. After the common bean, runner bean is the second most important species for food of Mexicans, and the National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock protects 798 accessions of native Mexican varieties under ex situ conservation. As the genetic and phenotypic variability of plants is influenced by ecological factors, is necessary to know the geographical distribution and edaphoclimatic characteristics of the germplasm collection sites of Phaseolus coccineus L. To do this, in 2009 in the laboratory of Geographic Information Systems of INIFAP were mapped the geographical distribution of collection sites of the 798 accessions of Mexican landraces of the cultivated form, with its edaphoclimatic characteristics. For this purpose we used the geographical coordinates of collection sites, maps of physiographic regions of the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI) and the information of climate, soil and vegetation from the National Commission for Knowledge and use of Biodiversity (CONABIO). Maps were obtained and visualized with computer programs “Earth Resources Data Analysis System” and “Environmental System Research Institute”. 81% of the accessions of runner bean were collected in the Neovolcanic axis and the Sierra Madre Oriental in the subprovinces Lakes and Volcanoes of Anáhuac and Carso Huasteco. The most represented climates were temperate humid and semi-arid, mostly associated to mixed forest of oak and pine in eutric cambisol soil.