While April 20th is a day of celebration in some agricultural circles, in the world of legumes 4/20 belongs to the lima bean. Today is National Lima Bean Respect Day.
So what? Why should we, the weather, water, and climate community, care about the lima bean? The bean commonly seen in the grocer’s frozen food section. Or in your grandma’s succotash.
Because, as it turns out, the lima bean is a climate-resistant crop. And you can’t spell “climate” without “lima”.
In an article published by WHYY, Sarah Dohle, a bean curator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, notes, “Wild lima beans have adapted to grow in hotter, drier, wetter, colder, more stressful climates than wild common bean[s] [for example, string beans, pinto beans, navy beans].” With root systems that can grow deep into the soil, lima beans can acquire water and nutrients needed to survive drought conditions.
But, “about 90% of lima bean varieties are photoperiod sensitive, which means they need longer nights in order to flower,” Dohle states in a Pulse Pod article. “So, there’s this huge amount of genetic diversity that’s basically unavailable to growers in the United States.”
Therefore, researchers are attempting to genetically cross different varieties of lima beans—those that flourish in warmer climates with those that grow well in northern latitudes—to develop a variety that could grow in the Northeast, where longer nights aren’t experienced routinely. “If”, as reported in Pulse Pod, “the photoperiod tolerance of lima beans could be improved, it would unlock a vast store of genetic potential.”
With its ability to grow in a variety of climates and the potential to expand the types of environments where they can be grown, the lima bean certainly deserves some R. E. S. P. E. C. T.
Now, getting us all to eat lima beans, that’s another story for another time.
