Presented at the Third International Tropical Agriculture Conference (TROPAG 2019), Brisbane, Australia, 11–13 November 2019

Common bean fresh pod is a niche market product consumed worldwide including in Eastern Africa region. It is more preferred to dry bean due to the fresh taste and ease to cook. A lot of research has been done on production and disposition of dry bean product; however, little information is available on production and marketing of fresh bean pod in Uganda. The general observation indicates wide consumption of fresh bean pods however, there is limited information on its entire value chain, yet, its value cannot be undermined. Based on this background, a reconnaissance study was undertaken in Mpigi district, a major fresh bean growing area and eight retailing markets within Uganda’s capital, Kampala, to understand the economic feasibility of fresh bean pod market. Using qualitative approaches, farmer and market analysis was conducted to explore and understand fresh bean market dynamics. The results show that there are over 10 varieties being sold for fresh pod, unstandardized weight measures are being used, and price variation of over 50%. Additionally, unsatisfied demand for fresh pod beans is 45%. The results indicate existence of a lucrative fresh pod market valued at more than USD 2.0 million within Kampala and suburbs. It was also revealed that production faces significant gaps in seed availability to ensure consistent quality supply to the market while at selling points, bronzing effect was a major challenge leading to product deterioration. Thus, interventions are needed to eliminate the existing production and marketing challenges for a sustainable fresh bean pod business

Population genetic structure of the bean leaf beetle Ootheca mutabilis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Uganda

Bean leaf beetle (BLB) (Ootheca mutabilis) has emerged as an important bean pest in Uganda, leading to devastating crop losses. There is limited information on the population genetic structure of BLB despite its importance. In this study, novel microsatellite DNA markers and the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) gene sequences were used to analyze the spatial population genetic structure, genetic differentiation and haplotype diversity of 86 O. mutabilis samples from 16 (districts) populations. We identified 19,356 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) (mono, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexa-nucleotides) of which 81 di, tri and tetra-nucleotides were selected for primer synthesis. Five highly polymorphic SSR markers (4–21 alleles, heterozygosity 0.59–0.84, polymorphic information content (PIC) 50.13–83.14%) were used for this study. Analyses of the 16 O. mutabilis populations with these five novel SSRs found nearly all the genetic variation occurring within populations and there was no evidence of genetic differentiation detected for both types of markers. Also, there was no evidence of isolation by distance between geographical and genetic distances for SSR data and mtCOI data except in one agro-ecological zone for mtCOI data. Bayesian clustering identified a signature of admixture that suggests genetic contributions from two hypothetical ancestral genetic lineages for both types of markers, and the minimum-spanning haplotype network showed low differentiation in minor haplotypes from the most common haplotype with the most common haplotype occurring in all the 16 districts. A lack of genetic differentiation indicates unrestricted migrations between populations. This information will contribute to the design of BLB control strategie

Host and Seasonal Effects on the Abundance of Bean Leaf Beetles (Ootheca spp.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Northern Uganda

Bean leaf beetles (BLBs) (Ootheca spp.) are serious legume pests in Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa, but their ecology is not well understood. We planted host plants, viz., common bean, cowpea, and soybean, in an experiment in the hotspot areas of Arua and Lira districts in Northern Uganda in order to assess their influence on the density of adults and immature stages of BLBs in different seasons. Overall, the number of adults, larvae, and pupae were higher in cowpea than common bean and soybean plots. The number of adults were highest in cowpea (29.5 adults/15 plants) in Arua during the long rainy season (2018A). The number of adults did not differ significantly during short rains (season B) in 2017 and 2018. Similarly, in Lira district, the highest number of adult BLBs was in cowpea (4.6 beetles) compared to the common bean (2.7 beetles) and soybean plots, with a peak at four weeks after planting (WAP). During 2018A, larvae of BLBs first appeared at five WAP and seven WAP and peaked at 13 WAP and 11 WAP in Arua and Lira, respectively. The pupae were present in the soil after the harvesting of crops during 2018A, but peaked at seven WAP and eight WAP in 2018B season in Arua and Lira, respectively. The occurrence of below-ground adults in 2018B followed the peak abundance of pupae, although this was delayed until six WAP in Arua compared to Lira. We conclude that cowpea is the most preferred by adults and larvae compared to common bean and soybean. Similarly, the first rain season (2018A) attracted higher abundance and damage than the second rain season. Management of the BLBs should thus take into consideration avoidance of host crop rotation and dealing with the below-ground stages

Mean Data for phenotype based clustering, and diversity of common bean genotypes in seed iron concentration and cooking time

Mean Data for Iron (FESEED), Zinc (ZNSEED), Cooking Time (COOKT), Yield, Days to 50 flowering (DF), Days to 50% physiological maturity (DPM), pedigree, gene pool, genotype-based clusters, market class and release (2023-04-15

Training beneficiaries in the PABRA Project

Pan African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) specifically invests finance, human resource and time in ensuring that the continents bean researchers and staff are up to date and relevant with skills they require. The data sets presented here have been assembled from multiple sources to provide and indicative position of skill and knowledge building initiatives by PABRA and its various partners. The data sets show the number of people trained between the year 2003 t0 2016. Though the data sets provide the numbers, discussion on capacity building as a whole is available in the capacity building section of the PABRA website