ABSTRACT
Conserving and characterizing the genetic diversity of grain legumes P. J. Bramel and H. D. Upadhyaya, Global Crop Diversity, Germany and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India
1 Introduction
2 Conservation of grain legume genetic resources: overview and global assessment of germ plasm collections
3 Conservation of grain legume genetic resources: status of ex situ conservation of grain legume genetic resources
4 Conservation of grain legume genetic resources: ex situ collections of grain legumes
5 Global ex situ conservation strategy for grain legumes
6 Characterizing the genetic diversity of chickpeas and pigeonpeas
7 Conclusion
8 References
Pulses or grain legumes are crops that belong to species in the Fabaceae family (Smykal et al., 2015). These include globally important pulses such as beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), chickpeas (Cicer arietinum), lentils (Lens culinaris), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), peas (Pisum sativum), faba beans (Vicia faba) and pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan). There are also more regional or local pulses such as grasspea (Lathyrus sativus), tepary beans (Phaseolus acutifolius), scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus), lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus), mung beans (Vigna radiata), adzuki beans (Vigna angularis), Bambara groundnuts (Vigna subterranea), black gram (Vigna mungo), moth bean (Vigna acontifolia), creole bean (Vigna reflexopiloxa) and rice bean (Vigna umbellata). All of these crops are mainly used in local diets for their high protein content. When they are grown, they contribute to soil health with their nitrogen-fixation properties due to their symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Foyer et al., 2016). Groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) and soybeans (Glycine max) are also grain legumes but not pulses, due to their high oil content as well as protein content. All of these grain legumes are critical components of sustainable cropping systems (Siddique et al., 2001), diversified protein balanced diets and the health of humans and soils (Foyer et al., 2016).
