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Black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans … most of the beans you see in the grocery store today are varieties of a species known as the common bean. However, as climate change causes increasingly hot, dry weather, growing common beans is becoming more difficult in many parts of the world. To address this issue, researchers have turned to a different species called the tepary bean.
Tepary beans are native to the Sonoran Desert and are known for their ability to thrive in hot, dry conditions. Carlos Urrea, a dry edible bean breeding specialist at the University of Nebraska, and his team have been studying the genes that give tepary beans their drought and heat tolerance, as well as disease resistance. They are now working to breed these traits into common beans.
Thanks to their efforts, new varieties of common beans with these desirable traits are being field-tested in drought-prone regions such as Nebraska, California, Puerto Rico, Uganda, and Tanzania. This could have a significant impact on food security in these areas, as beans are a critical food source for many people. With the climate continuing to warm, the ability to grow beans that can withstand drought and heat will become increasingly important.