Charles A. Mullins

The ‘Volunteer White Half runner’ bean cultivar was developed by USDA plant breeder,

J. Rennie Stavely at Beltsville, Maryland. Crosses of ‘Mountaineer White Half Runner’ and rust resistant lines were made in the early 1990's. Screening trials at The University of Tennessee Plateau Experiment Statiaon led to release of three rust resistant lines in 1995. BelTenn RR-2 was selected as the best of the three releases. George Kotch, bean breeder for Asgrow division of Seminis Vegetable Seeds, convinced the company to select and increase the seed, provide a name, and release the selection as a named variety. The name given to the release was ‘Volunteer White Half Runner’. A limited supply of seed was available for commercial trial in 1999, but a much larger volume was available in 2000.

‘Volunteer White Half Runner’ was widely evaluated by commercial growers in 2000. Some growers reported that it was slightly earlier than ‘State White Half Runner’ although this was not observed in tests at the Plateau Experiment Station. Plant and pod quality were reported to be very similar to that of ‘Mountaineer White Half Runner’. Two reports from commercial growers indicated that rust developed on the foliage. One grower supplied leaves for observation, and leaves were observed on plants at the Plateau Experiment Station. Significant bronzing was observed on leaves from each location when fruit was near maturity. The bronzing has been tentatively identified as ozone injury, and no significant crop loss appeared to be related to bronzing of the leaves. ‘Volunteer White Half Runner is resistant to rust, and some strains of virus which attack other ‘White Half Runner’ strains.

A good supply of seed is available for the 2001 season. Three known seed sources are Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Rupp Seed Co., and Seedway. All three companies have salesman who sell in Tennessee and surrounding states. Local Extension Agents can provide names and address of contacts for the three seed companies.

Email all comments and suggestions to ghonea@utk.edu
Copyright © 1999 by The University of Tennessee. All rights reserved.

This research represents one season's data and does not constitute recommendations.  After sufficient data is collected over the appropriate number of seasons, final recommendations will be made through research and extension publications.