Biology and Breeding of Food Legumes

Abstract

In terms of agricultural importance, after cereals food legumes represent the most valued food source because of their importance for humans and animals, soil ameliorative values and ability to thrive under harsh and fragile environments. Bearing in mind their key role in the diversification and intensification of contemporary agriculture, systematic national and international efforts towards their genetic improvement began in the1960s using classical breeding tools. With the advent of modern techniques and the creation of new selection opportunities in the form of alien varieties, global scientific research has been directed towards precise and targetoriented goals and remarkable results have been obtained in developing high-yielding, inputresponsive, early-maturing and high-nutrition varieties in pulses. However, despite the tremendous advances made in the breeding of food legumes, the need and opportunities to further improve their production, productivity and protein and nutritional quality, are as great today as they have ever been. There is an urgent need to search for new gene pools with special reference to wild species and to update the knowledge gained through recent technological advancements. Over the years, a greater portion of food legume breeders’ efforts has been directed towards developing improved plant types and technologies while working in concert with the conventional techniques of crop improvement. Consequently, voluminous literature has been generated on different aspects of legume improvement but is scattered over numerous journals and books. However, to date no single publication has provided a comprehensive insight into this literature with a focus on the breeding aspects of food legumes. This book has been edited with the objective of addressing this issue. Biology and Breeding of Food Legumescomprises 26 chapters contributed by eminent pulse scientists around the world. The first two chapters present the historical and evolutionary aspects, while the third chapter deals with the biology of food legumes. The subsequent five chapters (4 to 8) deal with breeding methods, with special reference to distant hybridization and breeding for warm and cool season food legumes and resistance to stresses. This is followed by a section on specific technologies, i.e. polyploidy, cytology and molecular cytogenetics, in vitrotechniques, haploidy breeding, transgenesis, male sterility and mutagenesis (Chapters 9 to 16). Chapter 17 deals with cultivation of food legumes in the problem soils of the savannahs, and is followed by two chapters on more recent techniques involving molecular markers. The next chapter covers protein content and nutritional quality. The subsequent three chapters (19 to 21) deal with underutilized food legumes, legumes as models and plant genetic resources, these being followed by a chapter on seed dormancy and viability. Postharvest technology, value addition and international trade are dealt with in the last two chapters