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.
