Clare Mukankusi

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research | CGIAR · International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

Common beans (CB), a vital source for high protein content, plays a crucial role in ensuring both nutrition and economic stability in diverse communities, particularly in Africa and Latin America. However, CB cultivation poses a significant threat to diseases that can drastically reduce yield and quality. Detecting these diseases solely based on vi...

Developing improved common bean varieties with short cooking time (CT) and good canning quality traits (CQTs) is very key for accelerating bean consumption among the urban and middle‐class population. The objective of this study was to assess the genotypic variability and identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with CT and...

Background Common bean breeders strive to deliver farmer- and consumer-preferred varieties that are well-adapted to distinct production environments, changing markets and end uses. However, there is information gap on the key traits that customers prefer and are willing to pay for. This paper examined the preferences and willingness to pay for redu...

Common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a grain legume rich in proteins and micronutrients, particularly iron and zinc. In this study, 30 small‐seeded genotypes were planted in five locations in Ethiopia, following an alpha lattice design with three replications, to determine environmental and genotypic influence on the Fe and Zn concentration. Bas...

Breeding for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes with optimal canning quality holds the potential for increased dry bean consumption among middle-class income urban dwellers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Understanding the genetic control of canning quality traits is central for the improvement of common bean genotypes for desired canning q...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the second most important source of dietary protein and the third most important source of calories in Africa, especially for the poor. In East Africa, drought is an important constraint to bean production. Therefore, breeding programs in East Africa have been trying to develop drought resistant varieties of c...

Climate change poses daunting challenges to agricultural production and food security. Rising temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and more frequent extreme events have already demonstrated their effects on local, regional, and global agricultural systems. Crop varieties that withstand climate-related stresses and are suitable for cultivation i...

Angular Leaf Spot (ALS) caused by Pseudocercospora griseola is responsible for 54% yield loss in Uganda’s common beans. Host plant resistance is a safe and cost-effective management strategy for this disease. Identification of resistant common bean genotypes to prevailing races is vital to utilize the crop. Therefore, the objective of this study wa...

Introduction: Common bean is one of the widely consumed food security crop in Africa, Asia, and South America. Understanding genetic diversity and population structure is crucial for designing breeding strategies. Materials Two hundred and eighty-nine germplasm were recently collected from different regions of Ethiopia and introduced from CIAT to e...

Introduction Common bean is one of the widely consumed food security crop in Africa, Asia, and South America. Understanding genetic diversity and population structure is crucial for designing breeding strategies. Materials Two hundred and eighty-nine germplasm were recently collected from different regions of Ethiopia and introduced from CIAT to e...

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum is the major common bean disease worldwide. This study aimed to determine phenotypic traits associated with anthracnose resistance for future use in breeding programmes. Twenty-two common bean varieties (CBVs) were planted in anthracnose hotspot fields and the same CBVs were planted in a screen ho...

Common bean is the world’s most important directly consumed legume food crop that is popular for calories, protein and micronutrients. It is a staple food in sub-Saharan Africa, and a significant source of iron for anemic people. However, several pests, soil and weather challenges still impede its production. Long cooking time, and high phytic acid...

Developing common bean genotypes that possess short cooking time and good traits for canning is very key in accelerating bean consumption among both the urban poor and the middle class population. With the objective of assessing the genotypic variability and with Genome wide association studies (GWAS) identify SNP markers associated with the two tr...

Common bean is one of the widely consumed food security crop in Africa, Asia and South America. It is a rich source of protein, minerals and micronutrients. High genotype by environment interaction is one of the main challenge in breeding for high grain micronutrient concentration. The objective of this study was to estimate SNP markers associated...

Common bean is a grain legume of global importance especially for proteins and micronutrients. The crop is a staple food in sub-Saharan Africa, where it has gained importance in iron biofortification for people prone to anemia. However, biotic and abiotic constraints, long cooking time, and high phytic acid and polyphenols both of which affect bioa...

Sclerotium root rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. is one of the major soil-borne diseases of common bean in Uganda and many other countries. An incidence and severity of 100% and 84% respectively, has been reported in the common bean production environments in Uganda. The use of resistant cultivars is reported as the most efficient management...

More structured production, distribution, and trade are important in upgrading bean value chains for higher trade volumes, farmer income, and national revenue. A strategic intervention to achieve these goals efficiently and effectively involves the use of a commodity corridor approach. Commodity corridors are areas of bean intensification character...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a staple and nutritious leguminous food crop for all income categories in Africa. Efforts to improve its yield performance and nutritional components, especially iron and zinc have resulted in release of several varieties in the sub-Sahara African region. The objective of this study was to assess genetic progr...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes popular in eastern and central Africa were evaluated to determine their suitability for the canning industry. The genotypes were planted at the National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL), Kawanda-Uganda in the second rainy seasons (July-September) of 2015, 2016 and off season of 2017 (November-F...

The target population of environments (TPE) approach aims at enhancing the effectiveness of crop improvement programs to achieve yield and/ or genetic gains by helping to classify and prioritize regions based on stress patterns (frequency, onset, intensity and duration) and uses it to recommend improvement in the selection strategy. The bean-growin...

The target population of environments (TPE) approach aims at enhancing the effectiveness of crop improvement programs to achieve yield and/ or genetic gains by helping to classify and prioritize regions based on stress patterns (frequency, onset, intensity and duration) and uses it to recommend improvement in the selection strategy. The bean-growin...

Short cooking time (CT) is a highly desired trait in common beans, and several quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified for bean grain quality traits (GQT), including CT. However, although several correlations were reported among these traits, these genomic regions were limitedly integrated and characterized. In this study, we collected 245 QT...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) has two major origins of domestication, Andean and Mesoamerican, which contribute to the high diversity of growth type, pod and seed characteristics. The climbing growth habit is associated with increased days to flowering (DF), seed iron concentration (SdFe), nitrogen fixation, and yield. However, breeding effor...

Common bean plays significant role for human health globally and consumption of common bean is high in Africa as compared to other regions of the world. Despite common bean’s potential in Africa, productivity remains low due to diseases, drought and poor crop management. Anthracnose disease plays major role in reducing common bean grain yield in Af...

Postharvest darkening (PHD) of seed coat, resulting from the oxidation of proanthocyanidins, is a critical challenge to the marketability of common bean since this characteristic is associated with long cooking time by consumers, thus lowering market values of darkened seed. Extensive research has been done to elucidate the phenotypic, biochemical,...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is important in African diets for protein, iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn), but traditional cultivars have long cooking time (CKT), which increases the time, energy, and health costs of cooking. Genomic selection was used to predict genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) for grain yield (GY), CKT, Fe, and Zn in an Afr...

Bruchids are a major storage pest of common bean. Genetic resistance is a suitable method to avoid grain losses during storage. The objective of the study was to introgress the arcelin-based resistance locus into selected advanced breeding line and to validate the molecular marker BRU_00261. A total of 208 progeny F4 families were phenotyped using...

Rationale, approach, methods and parameter data for the joint Projection of Benefits for Genetic Innovations CGIAR Initiatives

Iron deficiency anemia is prevalent worldwide but mainly affects children under five years of age and women of reproductive age. One of the main causes of anemia in these groups is diet incapable of meeting daily iron requirements. Biofortification of staple foods is an approach aimed at contributing to reduction of anemia in Africa, and common bea...

Prolonged cooking time leads to structural changes at the grain cellular level, resulting in loss of nutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) which are among the main nutrients important in addressing micronutrient malnutrition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diversity of cooking time, Fe and Zn content in a total of 152 common bean (Ph...

This article explores the informal seed business, focusing on the yellow bean in Tanzania. The yellow bean is a major bean type traded, yet little is known about the seed supply that fuels it. The survey research in 2019 encompassed larger grain traders, informal seed traders, and retailers, covered major production, distribution and sale hubs, and...

Executive Summary Common bean improvement research in Ethiopia is aimed at increasing the productivity of smallholder farms for enhanced food security and higher household incomes. In 2007, the National Bean Research Program of the EIAR and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) intensified the efforts to improve bean productivi...

We highlight how integrating gender in our breeding activities is important for participatory varietal selection. It was developed with information collected during participatory varietal selection, especially those conducted for the different NUA bean varieties released. Information from stakeholder meetings with grain traders, seed companies, and...

Root rot in common bean is a disease that causes serious damage to grain production, particularly in the upland areas of Eastern and Central Africa where significant losses occur in susceptible bean varieties. Pythium spp. and Fusarium spp. are among the soil pathogens causing the disease. In this study, a panel of 228 lines, named RR for root rot...

► Malnutrition is worsening in Burundi, with micronutrient deficiencies raising from 45% to 61% during the last decade. ► Biofortification is a proven key intervention that can ameliorate the deficiencies due to micronutrients among rural poor populations since it targets staple crops. ► Participation in the SDC project; increased uptake for high...

The Genetic diversity in bean can be grouped into large-grain of >40 g/100 seeds of the Andean genepool and medium grain of 25–40 g/100 seeds and small-grain of <25 g/100 seeds of the Mesoamerican genepool. The two genepools are differentiated by grain size. In SSA, large-grain Andean types are sown in 40% of the total bean area, primarily in the E...

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an emerging crop around the globe, with great potential to contribute to Africa’s food and nutrition security. Its important gain in popularity over the last seven years is attributed to the impact of activities carried out within the framework of the International Year of Quinoa (IYQ2013), which significantly...

Common bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli and X. axonopodis pv. phaseoli var. fuscans is one of the major biotic constraints limiting common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production and productivity in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to identify new sources of CBB resistance from a diverse panel of genotyp...

Root rots cause severe yield losses of up to >70% in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in most parts of the world, with devastating effects on the major commercial bean cultivars in East and Central Africa. Increased intensity of droughts and rains, and higher temperatures influence the occurrence and distribution of root rots, resulting in incre...

Pythium root rot (PRR) caused by Pythium spp. is an important root rot disease affecting common bean productivity. The objective of this study was to conduct a genome‐wide association analysis of resistance to PRR in the common bean of Andean gene pool using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. About 260 genotypes of the Andean diversity p...

Breeding for resistance is a major component in the integrated management of common bacterial disease of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Use of less virulent strains or strains with attenuated virulence may lead to selection of resistant genotypes with intermediate response, when exposed to more virulent strains of the pathogen. The objective of thi...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a major component of agricultural systems and diets of the urban and rural populations of East and Central Africa, providing Fe and Zn essential to the health and well-being of African women and children, and protein essential for the entire household. However, bean consumption is limited by constraints such a...

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...

Common bean research program of Ethiopia aimed at development of demanded variety for enhanced adoption, improve food and nutrition security as well as to boost income of smallholder farmers thereby enhancing foreign earnings of the country. To achieve these aim, the breeding program use different strategies. These incudes, importing demanded varie...

Over the last 5 years, Southern blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. has superseded root rots caused by pathogens such as Fusarium and Pythium spp. as a major constraint of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production in Uganda. Although S. rolfsii is prevalent in all bean-growing regions of Uganda, there is a lack of information about its d...

Knowledge of response to selection (R) helps to analyze the efficiency of crop-improvement programs and devise appropriate selection strategies. The objective of this study was to determine response to selection of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genetic pyramids for diseases and yield traits. Populations evaluated included pyramided parents, c...

Anthracnose (Colletotrichum lindemuthianum), Angular leaf spot (Pseudocercospora griseola) and Pythium root rot are important pathogens affecting common bean production in the tropics. A promising strategy to manage these diseases consists of combining several resistance (R) genes into one cultivar. The aim of the study was to determine genetic lin...

Angular leaf spot (ALS) is one of the most devastating diseases of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and causes serious yield losses worldwide. ALS resistance is reportedly pathotype-specific, but little is known about the efficacy of resistance loci against different pathotypes. Here, we report on ALS resistance evaluations of 316 bean lines und...

Climate change has resulted in an increase in the intensity of droughts and rains, and higher temperatures which are adversely affecting crop production in Africa. It has also influenced the distribution and increased the occurrence of disease and pest epidemics. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is especially sensitive to these changes. Most rel...

Tropical Legumes III - " Improving Livelihoods for Smallholder Farmers: Enhanced Grain Legume Productivity and Production in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia" project end of project presented poster

Angular leaf spot (ALS), caused by Pseudocercospora griseola, is one of the most devastating diseases of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in tropical and subtropical production areas. Breeding for ALS resistance is difficult due to the extensive virulence diversity of P. griseola and the recurrent appearance of new virulent races. Five major loc...

Drought is a major constraint of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production in Uganda where irrigation for the crop is very uncommon. This study aimed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) underlying drought tolerance in 128 F5 RILs derived from an Andean intra-gene cross between drought-tolerant SEQ 1027 and BRB 191. Eighteen traits were...

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important staple crop for smallholder farmers, particularly in Eastern and Southern Africa. To support common bean breeding and seed dissemination, a high throughput SNP genotyping platform with 1500 established SNP assays has been developed at a genotyping service provider which allows breeders without the...

Angular leaf spot (ALS) caused by Pseudocercospora griseola and common bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv phaseoli X. campestris pv. phaseoli var. fuscans are the most economically important diseases of common bean production in Ethiopia. This research was aimed at pyramiding the Phg-2 R gene for angular leaf spot resistance...

Angular leaf spot (ALS) caused by Pseudocercospora griseola and common bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv phaseoli X. campestris pv. phaseoli var. fuscans are the most economically important diseases of common bean production in Ethiopia. This research aims at pyramiding the Phg-2 R gene for angular leaf spot resistance and...

Legumes are important components of sustainable agricultural production, food, nutrition and income systems of developing countries. In spite of their importance, legume crop production is challenged by a number of biotic (diseases and pests) and abiotic stresses (heat, frost, drought and salinity), edaphic factors (associated with soil nutrient de...