Caracterización morfoagronómica de la colección núcleo de la forma cultivada de frijol común del INIFAP

The characterization of phytogenetic resources is a useful tool for their conservation and exploitation in genetic improvement. The 200 accessions of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) core collection of the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP) of México, which represent the variability of species in our country, were analyzed based on 45 characteristics related to passport data, plant phenology and morphology, yield components, seed quality, and reaction to diseases, in Santa Lucía de Prías, México, in 2003. The morphological plant characteristics mainly related to flower, growth habit, and seed showed higher discriminating capacity and allowed the grouping of the 124 accessions, which completed their biologic cycle based mainly on their geographical origin and their growth habit. Some accessions originating from Mexican tropic presented precociousness and disease tolerance. The results highlight significant genetic variability of the species included in the INIFAP core collection; therefore, it is considered representative of the cultivated form of P. vulgaris in México.