Grain Legumes

Grain Legumes

Author: Antonio M. De Ron

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-08-27

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 1493927973

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​​​This book is devoted to grain legumes and include eight chapters devoted to the breeding of specific grain legume crops and five general chapters dealing with important topics which are common to most of the species in focus. Soybean is not included in the book as it is commonly considered an oil crop more than a grain legume and is included in the Oil Crops Volume of the Handbook of Plant Breeding.​Legume species belong to the Fabaceae family and are characterized by their fruit, usually called pod. Several species of this family were domesticated by humans, such as soybean, common bean, faba bean, pea, chickpea, lentil, peanut, or cowpea. Some of these species are of great relevance as human and animal food. Food legumes are consumed either by their immature pod or their dry seeds, which have a high protein content. Globally, grain legumes are the most relevant source of plant protein, especially in many countries of Africa and Latin America, but there are some constraints in their production, such as a poor adaptation, pest and diseases and unstable yield. Current research trends in Legumes are focused on new methodologies involving genetic and omic studies, as well as new approaches to the genetic improvement of these species, including the relationships with their symbiotic rhizobia.


Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Cropping Systems

Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Cropping Systems

Author: K. E. Giller

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 1845933044

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Nitrogen fixation by leguminous plants is especially important when farmers are trying to minimise fertilizer use for cost or environmental reasons. This second edition of the highly successful book, first published in 1991, contains thoroughly updated and revised material on the theory and practice of nitrogen fixation in tropical cropping systems.


Mainstreaming efficient legume seed systems in Eastern Africa

Mainstreaming efficient legume seed systems in Eastern Africa

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2019-03-13

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13: 9251310181

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Legumes are important components of sustainable farming systems. They are useful to diversify and intensify cropping systems; fix atmospheric nitrogen and improve soil health; act as rotation crops; increase and diversify smallholder incomes; and lower the carbon footprint, mitigating climate change. Legumes can therefore play a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, as this publication points out, their production is challenged by various policy, regulatory, institutional and technical factors, including a lack of attention from the public sector and limited opportunity to attract private sector investment.


Integrated Pest Management in Tropical Regions

Integrated Pest Management in Tropical Regions

Author: Carmelo Rapisarda

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2017-12-11

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1780648006

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This book provides up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of the research and application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in tropical regions. The first section explores the agro-ecological framework that represents the foundations of IPM, in addition to emerging technologies in chemical and biological methods that are core to pest control in tropical crops. The second section follows a crop-based approach and provides details of current IPM applications in the main tropical food crops (such as cereals, legumes, root and tuber crops, sugarcane, vegetables, banana and plantain, citrus, oil palm, tea, cocoa and coffee) and also fibre crops (such as cotton) and tropical forests.


Legumes under Environmental Stress

Legumes under Environmental Stress

Author: Parvaiz Ahmad

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2015-02-16

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 1118917081

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Leguminous crops have been found to contribute almost 27% of the world’s primary crop production. However, due to environmental fluctuations, legumes are often exposed to different environmental stresses, leading to problems with growth and development, and ultimately, decreased yield. This timely review explains the transcriptomics, proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, transgenomics, functional genomics and phenomics of a wide range of different leguminous crops under biotic and abiotic stresses, and their genetic and molecular responses. Amongst others the text describes the effect of nutrient deficiency, pesticides, salt, and temperature stress on legumes. Importantly, the book explores the physiobiochemical, molecular and omic approaches that are used to overcome biotic and abiotic constraints in legumes. It looks at the exogenous application of phytoprotectants; the role of nutrients in the alleviation of abiotic stress; and the microbial strategy for the improvement of legume production under hostile environments. Key features: demonstrates how to mitigate the negative effect of stress on leguminous crops, and how to improve the yield under stress the most up-to-date research in the field written by an international team of active researchers and practitioners across academia, industry and non-profit organisations. This volume is a valuable and much-needed resource for scientists, professionals and researchers working in plant science, breeding, food security, crop improvement and agriculture worldwide. In universities it will educate postgraduate and graduate students in plant science and agriculture; it will also benefit those in scientific institutions and in biotech and agribusiness companies, who deal with agronomy and environment.


Pulse crops for sustainable farms in sub-Saharan Africa

Pulse crops for sustainable farms in sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2018-05-22

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 9251300887

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Pulses have a long history in sub-Saharan Africa due to their multiple benefits. Pulses, and legumes in general, can play an important role in agriculture because of their ability to biologically fix atmospheric nitrogen and to enhance the biological turnover of phosphorus; thus they could become the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture in Africa. In this sense, there is a body of literature that points to diversification of existing production systems – particularly legumes species, which provide critical environmental services, including soil erosion control and soil nutrient recapitalization. This publication is a review of some of the promising strategies to support the cultivation and utilization of pulses on smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa. The review is part of the legacy of the International Year of Pulses (IYP), which sought to recognize the contribution that pulses make to human well-being and the environment.


The Untold Stories of African Agriculture

The Untold Stories of African Agriculture

Author: Tsedeke Abate

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2024-07-24

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 1800626363

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This landmark volume presents the results of a comprehensive and coherent in-depth assessment of Ethiopian agriculture and draws lessons from it to generate actionable recommendations that will inform policy decisions and priority setting for agricultural transformation across Africa. Policy makers in Africa are faced with the challenges of ensuring food and nutrition security and the economic wellbeing of their rapidly growing populations while at the same time maintaining the integrity of their natural resource base. Between 2000 and 2021, 74% of the growth in overall crop production on the continent was derived from increases in land area expansion, while increases in yield contributed only 26% of the growth. This unchecked expansion of land use puts the sustainability of the natural resource base under severe pressure. This book draws on a unique set of case studies from Ethiopia described and told from a truly African perspective.