ABSTRACT
Grain legumes are the second most important group of crops after cereals that are grown to meet human food demand. Being rich in protein (often referred to as “poor man’s meat”), they constitute an important dietary component, especially for millions of Asians. The occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), bird flu, and so on has posed the challenge of providing an alternative to animal-derived protein sources for both human and animal consumption. Grain legumes, being a rich source of protein, will prove to be a good substitute, and demand for grain legumes will continue to grow. Food legumes, besides ensuring nutritional security (grain for human consumption and residue as nutritious feed for livestock), play a vital role in sustainable agriculture by improving soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation and increasing soil organic content. Pulse grains possess 25 to 30 percent protein on a dry weight basis, which is about three times more than that of cereals. In spite of being so important, food legume farmers are presently faced with enormous challenges such as very low productivity, due to increased incidence of biotic and abiotic factors.
