Table 6 Summary descriptions of thematic categories by genotype from PPB discussion groups conducted in 2012, Northern Province, Rwanda

Plant traits

Architecture maturity pest and disease

*** Pods from the bottom to the top of the plant. Short time to maturation which reduces hunger and encourages more harvest in a limited time

*** Has pods up high and does not grow well at the bottom of the plant, but 50 % of farmers like this and 50 % did not

*** In the Mid and High farmers complained birds eat the bright flowers. Kaki takes too long to mature; thus, it does not help fight hunger

** The pods start from the ground, and they go all the way up, but it takes a long time to mature, which exposes farmers to prolonged hunger if they only rely on this variety

** In the Mid, it has big and long pods with many seeds inside and does well in both systems

** The beans mature at different stages, making it difficult to harvest at once

Adaptive qualities

Competition adaptation

*** Performs in maize by either resisting rainfall, by not out-competing the maize, or by not overcrowding the maize; all of which ensures good production

** it does not mix well with maize because it competes for light, it takes too long to mature which increases competition, or it over crowds the maize with many leaves. This reduces the yield

* It affects how the maize grows because it overcrowds it or grows taller than it so the maize receives less light, which is necessary for production

** It does not resist rain or infertile soils. In the maize there is less competition and it produces many pods, thus ensuring the production of both beans and maize

*** In the High, it does not perform well in the IC due to competition for light, nutrients, and leaf shedding. It does not resist rainfall in High, but in Mid some farmers say it does

** Mixtures provide resilience to variations in edaphic features and climate; but there is increased competition in the mixture due to different growth habits and time to maturity