Preface

Legumes are flowering plants found in most of the archeological records of plants. Legumes are efficiently used as food crops for humans and animals, pulps for paper and timber manufacturing, sources for fuel and oil production, ornamental plants, and cover crops such as cereals and other staple foods. Additionally, they can be utilized for other purposes, including the production of massive amounts of organic nitrogen. This book reviews the fundamental advances related to the characterization and breeding of legume crops for improved food security. Moreover, it sheds new light on the current research trends and future research directions related to legume crop studies. This book will provoke interest for various readers, researchers, and scientists, who may find this information useful for the advancement of legume productivity.

The book includes eight chapters. The first introductory chapter "Characterization and improvement of legume crops" presents an introduction to the main legumes and enhancement of their productivity. The second chapter "Novel therapeutic uses of legume crops in southern South America" reviews some new therapeutic uses of legumes in southern South America. The third chapter "Ethnomedicinal values of legume plants in Pakistan" highlights the knowledge and importance of medicinal flora as well as traditional uses of such plants in daily life in Pakistan. The fourth chapter "Starches granules from cowpea, black and carioca beans in raw and cooked forms" evaluates the structure of common bean starch granules and cowpea in raw and cooked forms by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The fifth chapter "Mungbean (*Vigna radiata* L. Wilczek): retrospect and prospects" overviews mungbean crops and their retrospect and prospects. The sixth chapter "The productivity of selected species and cultivars of legumes grown for seeds in organic production systems" assesses the yielding of selected legume species with diversified morphological structure cultivated for seeds in ecological systems. The seventh chapter addresses the influence of adjuvants on the efficacy of postemergence herbicides commonly used in peanut (*Arachis hypogaea* L.). The eighth chapter studies breeding of elite cowpea (*Vigna unguliculata* (L.) Walp) varieties for improved food security and income in Africa.

The book editor would like to thank Mr. Edi Lipović, Author Service Manager, for his wholehearted cooperation in the publication of this book.

**II**

**Chapter 8 97** Breeding Elite Cowpea [*Vigna unguiculata* (L.) Walp] Varieties for Improved

*by Ana Maria Figueira Gomes, Nascimento Nhantumbo, Manuela Ferreira-Pinto,* 

Food Security and Income in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges

*Rafael Massinga, José C. Ramalho and Ana Ribeiro-Barros*
