• Dry Beans
• University of Saskatchewan

Objective

To understand when and how physical dormancy (PY), also known as stone seed or hardseededness, forms during seed development. To determine if the amount of stone seeds (PY dormancy) present in prone genotypes can be decreased by manipulating seed maturity. To determine if PY dormancy decreases with after-ripening of the bean seed. To determine how much physiological dormancy (PD) is present in freshly harvested bean seeds and how much after-ripening is required.

Outcome

Hardseededness is a condition in dry beans where seeds do not take up water during processing resulting in so called stone seeds, which are undesirable in a processed product. It is also related to reduced germination, as seeds need to take up water to germinate. Agronomic recommendations for avoiding the development of hardseeded beans should include making sure pods are at the buckskin stage before harvesting to ensure full development. This can be problematic for late varieties in wet fall situations, therefore it is not recommended that susceptible varieties be grown in areas where timely harvest is not possible. Harvesting earlier than 32 days after flowering avoided the development of dormancy but this is not an option for producers as the seed coats are not fully developed at this point leading to other problems, such as incomplete colour.

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