3. Coscorrons

The Coscorron beans of Chile are the most famous for their high digestibility and were exhibited at the Great Paris Exposition more than a century ago as 'haricots non-venteuses' or non windy beans! My new range of Coscorrons are bred by making a cross between a late maturing, and spreading Chilean breeding line 'Al-10-M' and my own Prim bean. Thus we obtain the same red pod color and yellow and white patterned seeds of the traditional Coscorrons but with a greatly improved earliness and plant habit.

Coscorron beans are traditionally used at the 'yellow-ripe' stage when the beans are full size but still very fleshy and shelled from their pods just like garden peas or as Borlotti beans are most popularly used in Italy. The dried seeds can also be used as haricots. On cooking the yellow pigment is dispersed and changes to a pleasant very pale flesh color in the cooked beans which is more attractive than the greyish-white of many white beans.

I have developed a range of varieties with different seed shapes and differences in maturity and of plant type although all are determinate and early maturing bush or dwarf varieties. The following are the code of pre-names for practically fixed lines from this family.

Has very dark red pods and large kidney shaped seeds. It has been grown for adaptational and market assessment purposes in Jersey in 1998 and 1999 with promising results in terms of market acceptability. Its seeds are apparently fragile and viability is rapidly lost and the seed particularly liable to damage by anything but the most gentle handling. Plant habit and apparent potential yield are excellent.

Has yellow and white mottled seeds not much larger than Navy beans and the pods are fairly short. Yield is high as a dry bean and this variety is envisaged as a successor or back up to Prim. Manteca beans for use as a high digestible pulse crop and can be used in baby foods etc. on account of their favorable seed chemistry. Physiological tests, though on a more limited scale than those conducted with Prim indicate high digestibility and freedom from windiness.

Is intermediate in seed size between Imperial and Precious and has also performed well in trials. It reached 'purity' relatively early and has hence been multiplied as a Breeders' Seed stock earlier than other Coscorrons.

(COCOS might be a suggested name). This is another Coscorron with seeds that are nearly round resembling small white Coco beans (such as Coquette and Plusgus) but smaller in size and with the class seed characteristic of yellow mottling on a white background.

A tentative name for our new Coscorron with seeds shaped like a typical Great Northern bean with seeds that are yellow mottled on a white background.