Within and between genotypes variation in crude protein content of Phaseolus vulgaris L.

Summary A study of sources of variation in protein content within and between genotypes of Phaseolus vulgaris L. was carried out.The results show that bean to bean variation is large within a plant but that it is not due to systematic effects within pods or between nodes in determinate varieties. Pod to pod variation within nodes does occur. For indeterminate varieties, with large numbers of nodes, the protein content of seeds decreases with increasing node number from the base to the top of the plant. Plant to plant variation may be large, but depends on the genotype used. There is a large range of variability present within the species and selection for high protein content should be effective.