Contributions in Puerto Rico to Bean, Phaseolus spp., Research

Most literature reviews focus on a specific topic. The purpose of this paper, however, is to review the contributions made by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at a specific location (Puerto Rico) over a period of several decades. This paper documents bean research of the University of Puerto Rico and the USDA-ARS Tropical Agriculture Research Station during the past century. The following illustrates the merits of continuity of effort in research and shows that research often follows a logical sequence of actions to solve problems related to genetic improvement as well as to study biotic and abiotic factors that affect common bean production in Central America and the Caribbean. Finally, this narrative demonstrates that the ongoing development of improved bean germplasm lines and cultivars is cyclical and builds upon previous research achievements.