Acta Horticulturae, sa.1391, ss.685-692, 2024 (Scopus)
Chilling stress is a type of stress that occurs when crops are exposed to low nonfreezing temperatures. Although some plant species can tolerate and cope with lower temperatures during cultivation, bean plants are sensitive to chilling stress. The present study evaluates the chilling stress tolerance of 98 bean genotypes grown in a climate-controlled growth chamber. We planted seeds in two liters pots with vermiculite and arranged each pot with four plants. The plants were grown under controlled conditions for 14 days until they reached the trifoliate stage. Afterwards, they were exposed to chilling stress for ten days. They were subjected to night temperatures of 4°C for 8 h and 16 h at 25°C during the day. Under chilling stress, plants experienced reductions in plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, shoot fresh and dry weights (24.2, 17.95, 0.96, 18.88, and 23.31%). In contrast, leaf water potential, stomatal conductivity, membrane injury index, relative water content, and osmotic potential increased (17.78, 16.15, 0.63, 10.93, and 1.04%) compared to the control group. At the end of the study, we classified them into three groups: tolerant, mild tolerant and susceptible. Screening of chilling temperature-tolerant bean genotypes can be helpful in breeding programs.