In South-Eastern Europe, the majority of runner-bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.) production is
based on local populations grown mainly in home gardens. The local runner-bean plants are well
adapted to their specific growing conditions and microclimate agro-environments, and show great
morpho-agronomic diversity. Here, 142 runner-bean accessions from the five South-Eastern European
countries of Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia and Romania were sown
and cultivated in their respective countries and characterised using 28 quantitative and qualitative
morpho-agronomic descriptors for Phaseolus spp. based on inflorescences, leaves, plants, pods and
seeds. For each of these morpho-agronomic descriptors, the accessions can be classified into two or
three specific groups. The highest correlations were observed within the fluorescence, seed and pod
traits. The highest variability, at 76.39%, was between the dierent countries, representing dierent
geographic origins, while the variability within the countries was 23.61%. Cluster analysis based on
these collected morpho-agronomic data also classified the accessions into three groups according
to genetic origins. The data obtained serve as useful genetic information for plant breeders for the
breeding of new bean varieties for further studies of the morpho-agronomic traits of the runner bean.
Keywords: runner-bean collection; accessions; descriptors; south-eastern Europe;
morpho-agronomic traits
