Abstract
This paper reviews aspects of crop physiology and productivity for selected grain legumes. Vegetative development, including phases of leaf area increase and branching are described, then, the main reproductive stages and their progression along the stem are discussed. The effects of water and nitrogen shortage on reproductive development are briefly described. A model for reproductive development along a stem is proposed and applied to several grain legumes, and effects of genetic variability are discussed. Growth, and its analysis in terms of intercepted radiation and radiation use efficiency are then reviewed. The variability of these two components is analysed according to differences due to species, genotypes (mainly characterized by different foliage structures), environmental conditions and methods of measurement. Yield is then analysed as a direct consequence of crop growth. Finally, a pattern of assimilate partitioning is described, and its consequences for reproductive structure formation, i.e. the grain number on each node of the stem, are discussed.
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