Welcome new graduate student Patrick Bell

Dept of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences -

Patrick is working on a new variety of beans for Michigan with Karen Cichy

Welcome Patrick Bell: Exploring the Potential of Nuña Beans at MSU
Let’s take a moment to welcome Patrick Bell, a new PhD student in our department working on the 3rd floor of PSSB with Dr Karen Cichy, who leads the USDA-ARS Food Legume Quality Genetics Lab.
 
Originally from Philadelphia PA, Patrick attended Rutgers University for his Master’s degree in Plant Breeding studying hazelnut phenology.
Patrick arrived at MSU in January of this year, and has already begun his work: evaluating Nuña beans for production in Michigan.
 
Native to the Andean highlands, Nuña beans (Phaseolus spp.) are a traditional and popular snack in Peru. They are also known as “popping beans” because they pop when heated to high temperatures. "This popping phenomenon has been known since the conquistadores first made contact,” Patrick says. “The chemistry is a little different from how popcorn pops but is similar in that the seed expands and is then eatable.  No need to soak them overnight or boil them first, just pop them in the microwave for a minute and they're ready to eat!”  
 
 A member of the pea-flower subfamily of the legume (Fabaceae) family, Phaseolus has a genus of around 20 species. Their natural distribution range extends from southwestern U.S. to northern South America. Nuna beans specifically are a landrace native to and adapted to the Andes, with two major challenges to growing them at scale in Michigan being their photoperiod sensitivity and unruly growth habit.
 
"Nuña beans could be a new crop for Michigan and offer a new healthy snack food high in both protein and fiber” Patrick says. "We hope to multiply seed for future studies.”
 
Patrick is looking forward to his first summer here at MSU, and hopes to get out and enjoy the Great Lakes.
Welcome Patrick! 

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