SW New Mexico News

A research team led by a New Mexico State University professor embarked on an expedition across the "Sky Island" mountain ranges in southern New Mexico and Arizona to locate wild tepary beans. Richard Pratt, a professor of plant breeding and genetics at NMSU's Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, supervised this venture as part of a two-year project funded by the Agricultural Research Service, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pratt has been studying tepary beans and other native crops for many years. These beans are known for their heat and drought tolerance, making them suitable for the American Southwest. Historically cultivated by Indigenous communities, they almost disappeared in the early 20th century.

The interest in tepary beans has increased as researchers aim to improve food security with drought-resistant crops that require less water than other bean varieties. “Tepary beans are a vital germplasm resource for the improvement of drought and heat-stress resistance in the important economic crop Phaseolus vulgaris (common beans),” Pratt stated. He noted that common beans lack significant heat or drought tolerance but can benefit from pest and disease resistance traits found in tepary beans.

To achieve this genetic improvement, diverse wild species are necessary. For years, scientists have collected wild teparies from Arizona and northern Mexico to store seeds at the USDA National Plant Germplasm System in Washington state. However, until recently, there were no specimens from southern New Mexico.

“That’s a gap the USDA seed bank would like to have us close,” Pratt explained. The aim is to enhance both cultivated tepary beans and common beans through interspecific hybridization.

The project began in 2023 with contributions from researchers at Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia, alongside USDA scientists including its bean curator from Pullman, Washington, and a tepary breeder from Puerto Rico. The team spent two weeks collecting wild teparies in various locations including New Mexico's Organ Mountains, Big Burro Mountains, Gila National Forest, and Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains.

Before heading out into the field, they identified promising sites using topographic maps to locate new populations of wild teparies. Seeds gathered during this mission will be propagated by USDA for further study and storage at their seed bank.

“They’re put into long-term storage under ideal conditions,” Pratt said about preserving these seeds for future research access. Additionally, some seeds will be stored at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture which maintains an extensive bean germplasm collection; subsets may also be sent to Norway’s Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Pratt hopes his work will lead to improved varieties of both tepary beans and hybridized common beans that could boost dry bean production within Southwestern states such as New Mexico and Arizona—regions once known for significant bean cultivation before production dwindled last century.