Nutrient elements in a bean ecotype “Lenzariello” from the Alto Casertano area, Campania Region, Italy

The particular geo-pedological and climatic conditions of Campania have allowed the development of a varied horticulture and fruit-growing, cultivating a wide range of species even with very different thermal needs. The rediscovery and study of local varieties, in addition to being a means to safeguard cultivars at risk of genetic erosion, allows enriching the offer of existing products and expanding the range with native varieties, which are characterized by specific nutritional and health properties, being not levelled on common organoleptic standards. Beans are one of the vegetable products whose biodiversity has been preserved the most as a result of their progressive marginalization in modern food, legumes are used less than in the past; the bean is a plant mainly cultivated by elderly “guardian farmers”, for a sort of “cultural resilience”, which have continued to preserve the seed accurately from year to year, re-seeding it, up to our days. The bean is an annual, bush or climbing plant; seeds stored in a cool, dry place can withstand a few years, then lose their germination capacity. The goal of this work was, therefore, to test the contents of some macro- and micro-nutrients essential (Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, Zn, Mn) in a bean ecotype, the bean "Lenzariello", recovered by the custodian farmers present in the Alto Casertano area. In particular, beans were sampled in three different areas: Caiazzo, Villa S. Croce and Ruviano to evaluate if the different chemical-physical characteristics of the soil affect the content of essential nutrients. The results showed high nutrient content of this variety compared to commercial species, regardless of the cultivation fields.