NDSU researchers release two new dry bean varieties

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Two new bean varieties have been released by the North Dakota State University Extension.

The varieties are North Dakota Pink Slipper, a 94-day light red kidney bean variety, and North Dakota Redvelvet, a 101-day small red bean, Juan Orsono, North Dakota State University plant breeder, told farmers at the International Sugarbeet and Dry Bean Expo held Jan. 21-22, 2026, at Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

ND Redvelvet and NDPink Lady Slipper likely will be grown by Minnesota farmers who grow kidney beans where there are light, sandy soils, Osorno said. Minnesota is the No. 1 producer of kidney beans in the United States.

ND Redvelvet has competitive seed yields with other similar varieties, improved intermediate resistance to common bacterial blight and intermediate resistance to white mold bean and common mosaic virus, Orsono said.

North Dakota Pink Slipper, so named as a nod to the Pink Lady Slipper, the state flower of Minnesota, has maturity length that is about 10 days earlier than Rosie, another light red kidney bean variety. It, like ND Redvelvet, has intermediate resistance to white mold, common bacterial blight and common mosaic virus. The new variety, meanwhile, has competitive seed production with other similar varieties.

Besides researching new varieties, NDSU researchers also are studying a potentially new dry bean disease that was detected in North Dakota and Minnesota in 2025, Osorno said during his presentation at ISDBE.

Mild symptoms of the disease, which Osorno described as “anthracnose like,” were found in several North Dakota and Minnesota fields during the 2025 growing season. The symptoms appeared to be stronger in kidney and cranberry beans than in other dry bean varieties and were observed on varieties that were anthracnose resistant.

Calls Osorno made to Michigan researchers revealed that they had observed similar symptoms in 2024 and 2025 and that they had seen similar symptoms in soybeans and weeds, he said.

Farmers shouldn’t panic, but keep the symptoms in mind when they’re monitoring their fields, Orsono cautioned.

Dry bean researchers will further characterize the pathogens, screen common varieties in the green house and continue monitoring fields for the disease in 2026, Osorno said.

Another disease he suggested dry bean farmers should continue to watch for in 2026 is soybean cyst nematode, which first was discovered in a dry bean field in Minnesota in 2017. Research shows the disease can cause from 30% to 56% yield losses.

Soybean cyst nematodes can be controlled by rotating dry beans with a non-host crop, using biologics such as parasitizing fungi, chemical seed treatments and planting ND Falcon, a variety that is resistant to the disease.

White mold also remains a disease that causes yield losses to dry beans. The disease can remain in the soil for years so farmers need to keep that mind each growing season.

“You don’t want to forget about it,” said Sam Markell, NDSU Extension plant pathologist, row crop diseases. “White mold is not going away.”

Markell said crop rotation is not a fix for white mold, and while chemicals haven’t been shown to completely control it either, farmers can learn about improving fungicide application, like using optimal droplet size and timing, so to best maximize chemical management, Markell said.

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