**2. Conservation**

*Legume Crops - Prospects, Production and Uses*

*alexandrinum* L. (Egyptian clover)

*foenum-graecum* L. (fenugreek)

(Jacq.) Marechal (moth bean)

(Willd.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi (adzuki

Hepper (black gram)

R. Wilczek (green

(L.) Verdc. (bambara groundnut)

(Thunb.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi (rice bean)

A. Rich. (zombi pea)

33 *Vigna unguiculata* (L.) Walp. (cowpea)

34 *Vigna vexillata* (L.)

**Table 2.**

24 *Trifolium resupinatum* L. (Persian clover)

23 *Trifolium* 

25 *Trigonella* 

26 *Vicia faba* L. (faba bean)

27 *Vigna aconitifolia*

28 *Vigna angularis*

bean)

29 *Vigna mungo* (L.)

30 *Vigna radiata* (L.)

gram)

31 *Vigna subterranea*

32 *Vigna umbellata*

**Sl. no. Botanical name Pulses Oilseeds Vegetable Seed** 

√

√

√

√ √

√ √

**spice**

√ √ √

√ √ √

√ √

√ √ √

√ √ √ √

**Root/ tuber** **Forage**

√

√

across temperate region of Europe, Asia, and America. *Vigna* has six subgenera. Ceratotropis is mostly referred to as Asiatic *Vigna*. Primary centers of diversity of

Legumes play a major role in fulfilling human, animal food, and nutritional needs. The major grain legumes include dry beans, chickpea, cowpea, faba bean, lentil, field pea and pigeonpea, green gram, and black gram. Soybean and peanut are predominantly oil-producing legume. Beans, yard long bean, and garden pea where immature seeds and pods are eaten are vegetable types of legumes. Lucerne, berseem, grass pea, and cowpea are the forage legumes, while tuber legume includes zombi pea, winged bean, Sohphlang, etc. *Abrus precatorius* is having poisonous seeds which contain toxin *abrin.* In addition to these primary grain legumes, several underutilized potential legumes like cluster bean, horse gram, moth bean, and pillipsera, primarily grown in the Indian subcontinent, China, and South East

Asia, are also equally important for ensuring food and nutritional security.

major pulse genera are presented in **Table 1**.

*List of important legume crops having diversified importance.*

**4**

Despite their significant contribution in global food and nutrition security, it has also been reported that their production rate becomes static mainly due to biotic factors like viruses, insects, parasitic weeds, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and abiotic factors, viz., extreme temperatures, drought, flood, mineral imbalance, etc. [6, 7]. Therefore, there is a need to explore sustainable alternative strategies to improve


#### **Table 3.**

*Legume germplasm holdings in major genebanks.*

and diversify their production. For that, the use of diverse legume genetic resources in crop improvement is one of the most sustainable strategies and ways to conserve valuable genetic resources for the future. Crop improvement programs are always depending upon genetic diversity available in genebank. Globally, genebanks hold ~1 million accessions of leguminous crop. Legume germplasm conserved in major genebank in the world has been presented in **Table 3**.

A large number of genetic resources are conserved ex situ in genebanks; a considerable amount of diversity remains untapped in the nature. Hence it became a priority to collect maximum amount of diverse germplasm before it lasts forever. Crop wild relatives (CWR) are reservoir of genes for breeding [8–10]. To explore the potential of CWRs in today's changing climate, collection and conservation become of utmost priority.
