Chapter 5 - Adzuki bean

Abstract

Adzuki bean is a bushy annual grain pulse which is mainly cultivated in P.R. China, Japan, Korea, and India and accounts for planting area of nearly 0.70 million ha annually. It contributes significantly in food and nutrition security of small holder farmers besides contributing in soil and environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, biotic and abiotic stresses affect its production and productivity significantly besides deteriorating seed quality. Many superior cultivars have been developed for yield and related traits viz., seed yield, variation in maturity duration, and seed coat color. Cultivars are also available with good grain types in addition to resistance to biotic stresses like diseases and pests including sucking pests, leaf and bean caterpillar, and bruchids besides those with early maturity associated with indeterminate growth character. Nonetheless, there is a need to breed for widely adaptable cultivars with very high potential yield so that the average yield of this crop can be increased leading to its vertical expansion. Simultaneously, cold tolerant breeding lines are also required to be developed for increased flower and pod set even under low temperatures prevailing during night. New cultivars with combined resistances to biotic and abiotic stress are highly required in the current breeding program. This chapter describes the crop biology, its nutritional value, breeding efforts, inheritance studies, and agronomy and suggests target traits which should be a focus in our future breeding efforts.