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 abil- ity to thrive under harsh and fragile environments. Bearing in mind their key role in the diver- sification 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 variations, global scientific research has been directed towards precise and target- oriented goals and remarkable results have been obtained in developing high-yielding, input- responsive, 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 pro- vided 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.