Enhancing In-crop Diversity in Common Bean by Planting Cultivar Mixtures and Its Effect on Productivity

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important food legume crop worldwide. Canadian beans, especially large seeded cultivars of Andean origin, have relatively narrow genetic diversities. Establishing crops with mixtures of cultivars instead of pure lines is a simple, cost-effective way to increase genetic diversity in the field. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of increasing in-field diversity, by using mixtures of bean cultivars instead of monocultures, on productivity. The results indicated multiple benefits of planting mixtures compared to monocultures. The research has the potential to provide a theoretical basis for the use of precision agriculture tools to plant fields with mixtures instead of monocultures. It could lead to greater in-field diversity in the crop and in the above and below ground ecosystems that might provide greater buffering capacity and resiliency to the cropping system as well as increased ecosystem services.