**7. Conclusions**

In this chapter, we described the importance of the conservation and study of landraces of common bean. As an example, to go through the extent of morphological, biochemical and genetic aspects of landraces, we outlined the previous results as well as the new findings about the Brazilian landrace Serro Azul. This landrace has been produced by local farmers from Sao Paulo state and has remarkable features for exploring variation of seed and yield traits in common bean, constituting an additional and valuable genetic resource for germplasm collections. We also showed a genetic diversity analysis of Serro Azul by examining the molecular variability within subsamples of SAB and SAF, based on amplified fragment length polymorphic (AFLP) markers. Furthermore, a detached leaf assay for screening anthracnose resistance was employed for both variants within this landrace, revealing remarkable differences between the highly resistant Serro Azul Brilhante (glossy seed coat) and the susceptible Serro Azul Fosco (opaque seed coat). Together, these results demonstrated the importance of studying genetic aspects related to traits such as color, glossiness, disease resistance and yield components. This is necessary to conserve such valuable resources as the ones maintained by small farming systems. It may as well be applicable to other landraces of common bean, in order to provide better understanding of the genetic resources available and how they can be explored in favor of the farmers and breeders.
