Twelve dry bean cultivare were grown for seven days on filter paper soaked with nutrient solution containing a range of up to 10 mmol Al dm−3. Differential response to Al toxicity, measured as taproot elongation, occurred at Al concentrations of≧2 mmol dm−3. Fifteen cultivare (including four cultivare classified in terms of Al tolerance by the nutrient-solution method) were grown in pots containing an acid (64% acid saturation of CEC), P-deficient clay loam subsoil (Plinthic Paleudult), differentially treated with Ca(OH)2and CaHPO4. 2H2O. After 35 days the plants were classified in terms of tolerance to acid, low P soil conditions, on the basis of relative topgrowth yields. Three of four cultivare screened by both methods were classified identically: lapar-Rai-54 and W126 as tolerant, and BAT331 as sensitive.S.Afr. J. Plant Soil1985, 2: 115–119