IMPROVING SEED DURABILITY, PROCESSING QUALITY AND CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF ORGANIC DRY BEANS THROUGH BREEDING FOR SUSTAINABLE VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS

The goals of this projectare to 1) Breed dry bean for organic production and end-use quality. 2) Develop value-added organic bean products using sustainable processing and packaging. 3) Sensory evaluation, assessment of consumer preferences and marketing potential of value-added organic bean products. 4) Evaluate package performance of pouches and microwave steamable bags for beans. 5) Disseminate of project results through interactive crop and product evaluations.