Breeding for stress tolerance in cool-season food legumes

Abstract

The important cool-season food legumes are chickpeas, faba bean, lentils and pea are traditionally low-input crops and are grown extensively in the farming systems of the Indian subcontinent. The Mediterranean region. the Nile Valley. central Europe. the Americas and Australia. The global production of these crops has increased only marginally. unlike the eightfold increase in cereal production in the past 30 years.

Many production constraints, including those caused by diseases, insect pests, soil problems, and climatic stresses. lead to poor yields in cool-season food legumes. The increasing world interest in legumes has stimulated the need to document what is known about them in order to breed stress-resistant varieties. This book provides a comprehensive review of current constraints to food legume production. The chapters. written by specialists in the field. should help scientists, teachers, students, extension workers, and administrators increase their understanding of the problem.