Yield and Yield Attributing Characters of Different Varieties of Kidney Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Western Nepal

Abstract

Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), locally known as Rajma, is popular from the Terai to the Hills of Nepal. Its current national productivity is low at 1.2 t/ha, and stagnant due to the limited availability of high-yielding varieties, inappropriate sowing times, and suboptimal agronomic practices. To address this gap and identify promising genotypes for varietal release, a series of multi-year trials were conducted during the winters of 2022/23 and 2023/24 in the Grain Legumes Research Program (GLRP), Khajura, Banke, Nepal. These trials included an Observation Nursery (OBN) with 24 genotypes, a Coordinated Varietal Trial (CVT) with 12 genotypes, and a Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) trial with 5 genotypes. The trials revealed genotypic variability in key agronomic traits including flowering and maturity duration, plant height, pod number, and seed weight. The results from the OBN indicated that PDR-14, Ramechhap#2, and COLL#14 were the highest yielders in 2022/23, while PDR-14 and COLL#3 performed best in 2023/24. In CVT, Chitra showed the consistently highest seed yield (2037–2762 kg/ha) in both the years 2022/23 and 2023/24. In the combined result, Chitra recorded the highest seed yield (2399 kg/ha), followed by PDR-14 (2193 kg/ha) and Panta-2 (1988 kg/ha). Under PVS, Arun-2 achieved the highest combined seed yield (3205 kg/ha), indicating its superior productivity and adaptability. Similarly, Utkarsh and Ambar also performed well, producing 3062 and 2802 kg/ha, respectively. The consistent performance of genotypes like PDR-14, Arun-2, Chitra, and Amber in both years indicated them as candidate varieties for release for general cultivation to enhance the production and productivity of kidney bean in Nepal.