Food Legumes Research Articles

Genetic Variability and Diversity for Yield and Yield Attributing Traits in M3 and M4 Generations of Butter Bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.)

Background: Butter beans (Phaselous lunatus L) belong to the family Leguminaceae, is one of the oldest cool season food legume crops. A throughout knowledge of existing genetic variation among yield and its yield component traits is essential for developing high yielding varieties in butter bean. Realizing the importance of genetic diversity and variability in key economic characters, the present investigation had been planned to assess the genetic diversity and variability in for yield improvement in butter bean breeding programme. Methods: Investigation was carried at Horticultural Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu during 2019-2021. A total of 2734 M2 mutant lines were evaluated as individual progenies in the previous study. Stringent selection was made based on yield, earliness and plant habit and a total of 35 mutant lines were identified and forwarded to M3 and a total of 12 mutant lines for M4 generations in present study. The data on elevan quantitative were analyzed using Mahalanobis D2 statistic. Result: The present study has assessed the genetic variation among studied traits of butter bean mutants for yield and its component traits. Thus, a total of five mutant lines namely BBMG-7-9-7, BBMG-9-10-6, BBMG-18-9-6, BBMG-25-13-3, BBMG-35-7-2 were identified to be forward to the M5 generation as promising mutant lines for developing high yielding varieties and to test its homogeneity and stability.

In-silico study of allergenic proteins of certain food legumes: peanut, lentil, sesame and cowpea

Peanuts, lentils, sesame and cowpeas are protein-rich legumes widely consumed in the human diet. However, some so-called allergenic proteins are capable of causing adverse reactions in genetically predisposed individuals. They contain portions consisting of contiguous linear segments of amino acids involved in binding with specific IgE. They also have three-dimensional conformational patterns that crosslink with antibodies from susceptible individuals. In this work, the identity and similarity between certain allergenic proteins of peanut, lentil, sesame and cowpea are studied by global alignment. The latter is carried out on 21 allergenic proteins (7 from peanuts, 3 from lentils, 3 from sesame and 8 from cowpea) using the EMBOSS Needle software which uses the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm and assigns scores to the pairs of amino acids aligned using a specific BLOSUM substitution matrix. For statistical analysis, the dependency test and the chi-square test are used in GraphPad Prism and R-studio.The results show that the overall alignment between allergenic proteins from the same food (Peanut - Peanut, Sesame - Sesame, and Lentil - Lentil) and different foods (Peanut - Lentil, Peanut - Sesame, Lentil - Sesame, Lentil - Cowpea, and Sesame - Cowpea) has low identity and similarity.The overall alignment between the allergenic proteins of the same food (Cowpea - Cowpea) and of different foods (Peanut - Cowpea) shows a strong identity and similarity, relative to the result of the chisquare test. The possibility of cross-reactivity between cowpea and peanut is shown.

Symbiotic interaction of bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) landraces with rhizobia spp. from other legume hosts reveals promiscuous nodulation

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) is one of the most underutilized and neglected legume crop used for human consumption worldwide. Unlike the common food and forage legumes, the symbiotic properties of this legume have not been studied sufficiently. This study is designed to investigate the nodulation compatibility and symbiotic performance of twelve landraces of V. subterranea with five different Rhizobia species isolated from the nodules of other legumes under glasshouse conditions. Pre-germinated seeds of each landrace planted in sterile river sand medium were inoculated with 108 cfu/ml of each rhizobium inoculum suspension and monitored with regular watering using nitrogen free Hoagland's solution for six weeks. The taxonomy and phylogeny of the five rhizobia species was determined using nucleotide sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA and recA (DNA recombination protein) genes. A concatenated multiple sequence alignment was used to construct an MLSA tree to further analyze the phylogeny of the strains. Significant differences were observed among individual bambara genotypes and rhizobia strains in terms of nodule numbers and dry weight, as well as plant biomass. Statistical analysis showed that Rhizobia strains XBD2 and XS34 identified as Bradyrhizobium zhangiangens and B. centrosematis respectively exhibited the highest nodulation compatibility in terms of nodule number and nodule dry weight with one or more bambara groundnut landraces. This study demonstrated that V. subterannea does not show preference to unique rhizobia, confirming that they are promiscuously nodulated by more than one species of rhizobium belonging mainly to the cowpea miscellany cross inoculation group. The findings of this study also provide insights into the selection and development of appropriate low cost rhizobia inoculants in the sustainable production of this underutilized legume for use by smallholder farmers in South Africa.

Anthracnose Resistance in Legumes for Cropping System Diversification

Anthracnose, caused by hemibiotrophic Colletotrichum spp., is a destructive disease of legumes and many other crops worldwide. Colletotrichum spp. constitute one of the top 10 phytopathogenic fungi, infecting ∼3,000 plant species, attacking food and forage legume crops at all growth stages; including seed, seedlings, young, and mature plants; with consequent significant yield reductions. Presently, cultural practices and substantial use of synthetic fungicides are the most prevalent approaches for anthracnose management. In addition, there has been a strong focus toward developing advanced breeding lines and cultivars with improved anthracnose resistance. This has involved traditional breeding resulting in a wide range of anthracnose resistance resources being identified, particularly using advanced techniques within the common bean, soybean, lentil, mungbean, blackgram, and lupins. For instance, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for resistance have been identified, enabling marker-assisted resistance breeding. More recently, molecular approaches; including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics; have been utilized to understand the pathogenesis and defense mechanisms involved in the Colletotrichum-legume interaction. Genetic manipulation through omics offers scope to better protect legumes from anthracnose by improving the efficiency of breeding programs. This review focuses on key pathogens (viz., C. truncatum, C. lentis, C. lupini, and C. lindemuthianum) causing anthracnose in legumes, their biology, and epidemiology, the disease management levers embracing progress with host resistance, genetic and breeding approaches, and highlights critical knowledge gaps in conventional and molecular breeding programs. We conclude that the ongoing progress toward developing breeding lines/cultivars/donors with improved resistance in legume plant responses against anthracnose using omics approaches offers novel insights into legume-anthracnose pathogen interactions and ensures more sustainable and effective disease management strategies for the future.

Mediterranean Dietary Pattern and Psychosocial Health Problems in Spanish Adolescents: The EHDLA Study.

The aims of the present study were twofold: to determine the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and psychological problems and to assess the relationship between different food groups of the MedDiet and different patterns of psychosocial health problems in a sample of Spanish adolescents from the Valle de Ricote (Region of Murcia, Spain). This cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 700 adolescents (57% girls) between 12 and 17 years of age. Adherence to the MedDiet was assessed by the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Children and Teenagers (KIDMED). Psychosocial health problems were measured by the 25-item self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). ANCOVA models were used to test the mean differences in psychosocial health problems (SDQ subscales) by adherence to MedDiet categories (low, medium, and high). Multiple linear regression was used to determine the association between different food groups of the MedDiet and psychosocial health problems. Adolescents with low adherence to the MedDiet had significantly higher scores in SDQ total difficulties, conduct problems, and hyperactivity problems and lower scores in pro-social behavior (p < 0.05) than their peers with medium and high adherence to the MedDiet. In relation to specific MedDiet food groups, fruit, nut, and legume intake were associated with higher psychosocial health. However, sweets, skipping breakfast, or high consumption of pasta or rice (≥5 weeks) were associated to higher psychosocial health problems. Our results show that adolescents with higher adherence to the MedDiet could benefit from greater psychosocial health. Individually, some patterns of MedDiet, such as fruit, nut, and legume intake, may reduce psychosocial health problems. These cross-sectional results should be confirmed in longitudinal and intervention studies.

Comparative In Silico Analysis of Protein Allergens in Different Legume Foods

Peanut, sesame, lentil and cowpea are protein-rich legumes widely consumed in the human diet. However, some so-called allergenic proteins are capable of causing adverse reactions in genetically predisposed individuals. They contain portions consisting of contiguous linear segments of amino acids involved in binding with specific IgE. They also have three-dimensional conformational patterns that crosslink with antibodies from susceptible individuals. In this work, the identity and similarity between certain allergenic proteins of peanut, lentil, sesame and cowpea are studied by global alignment. The latter is carried out on 35 allergenic proteins (14 from peanut, 4 from sesame, 9 from lentil and 8 from cowpea) using the EMBOSS Needle software which uses the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm and assigns scores to the pairs of amino acids aligned using a specific BLOSUM substitution matrix. For statistical analysis, the dependency test and the chi-square test are used in GraphPad Prism. The results show that the overall alignment between allergenic proteins from the same food (Sesame - Sesame) and different foods (Peanut - Sesame, Peanut - Lentil, Sesame - Lentil, and Sesame - Cowpea) has low identity and similarity. The overall alignment between the allergenic proteins of the same food (Peanut – Peanut, Lentil – Lentil and Cowpea - Cowpea) and of different foods (Peanut – Cowpea and Lentil - Cowpea) shows a high identity and similarity, relative to the result of the chi-square test (P&lt;0.0001) The possibility of cross-reactivity between cowpea – peanut and cowpea - lentil is shown.

Insights into morphological and physio-biochemical adaptive responses in mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) under heat stress.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) is an important food legume crop which contributes significantly to nutritional and food security of South and Southeast Asia. The crop thrives in hot and humid weather conditions, with an optimal temperature range of 28°-35°C, and is mainly cultivated under rainfed environments. However, the rising global temperature has posed a serious threat to mungbean cultivation. Optimal temperature is a vital factor in cellular processes, and every crop species has evolved with its specific temperature tolerance ability. Moreover, variation within a crop species is inevitable, given the diverse environmental conditions under which it has evolved. For instance, various mungbean germplasm can grow and produce seeds in extreme ambient temperatures as low as 20°C or as high as 45°C. This range of variation in mungbean germplasm for heat tolerance plays a crucial role in developing heat tolerant and high yielding mungbean cultivars. However, heat tolerance is a complex mechanism which is extensively discussed in this manuscript; and at the same time individual genotypes have evolved with various ways of heat stress tolerance. Therefore, to enhance understanding towards such variability in mungbean germplasm, we studied morphological, anatomical, physiological, and biochemical traits which are responsive to heat stress in plants with more relevance to mungbean. Understanding heat stress tolerance attributing traits will help in identification of corresponding regulatory networks and associated genes, which will further help in devising suitable strategies to enhance heat tolerance in mungbean. The major pathways responsible for heat stress tolerance in plants are also discussed.

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield of Irrigated Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.)

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of integrated nutrient management on the growth and yield of irrigated black gram. Pulses are also known as food legumes and they are second only to cereals in terms of production and consumption in India. A field experiment was carried out at Research Farm of Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu during rabi season, (2022-2023) to Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on growth and yield of irrigated blackgram crop with seven treatments and three replications under Randomized block design (RBD). The results indicated that the treatment with 50% RDF + 25% farmyard manure (FYM) + 25% Vermicompost (T7) performed well among all the treatments and recorded higher plant height (36.73cm), total dry matter production (2325 kg ha-1), grain yield (930 kg ha-1), stover yield ( 1395 kg ha-1), number of pods (20.65). The net return (25892 Rs ha-1) and B:C ratio (1.88) was recorded higher in 100% RDF.

Optimization of light/dark cycle in an extended photoperiod‐based speed breeding protocol for grain legumes

AbstractThe use of high‐performing varieties could contribute to increase food legume production and meet the population demand. However, the long process of conventional breeding is a serious limitation that needs further acceleration of genetic improvement. Speed breeding based on extended photoperiod is one of the techniques that allows rapid generation turnover by accelerating the plant life cycle. The present study focused on optimizing the duration of extended photoperiod for lentil, chickpea and faba bean in a growth chamber with light‐emitting diode (LED) light sources. Significant differences in growth rate, biomass production, phenology, physiology, plant injury and yield components were observed depending on light phase durations (22, 18 and 14 h). Twenty‐two hours of light resulted in earlier flowering and maturity, but higher stress symptoms than the other two light treatments. However, vegetative development was almost normal with limited stress under 14 h of light, but late flowering and maturity. Interestingly, good plant establishment with limited stress and shorter vegetative cycle was observed under 18 h of light. Therefore, a photoperiod of 18 h of light/6 h of darkness could be advised for a rapid breeding protocol.

Notes about Phaseolus pallar Molina (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae-Phaseoleae): alas but at best a synonym!

A name given by Molina in 1782 and again in 1810 to a new Phaseolus species after a food legume crop grown for millennia mostly in the western part of the Quechua realm in South America refers to that crop (in the text of his essay) as well as to a weed (in his short Latin description), thus raising taxonomical uncertainty. Obviously, a taxonomical epithet cannot refer to two different botanical entities within the same genus. An example of that uncertainty was the naming of a specimen likely of Macroptilium lathyroides collected in northern Colombia and kept in the negative series of Berlin-Dahlem at the Field Museum. That crop spread so widely and fast that it received several names that Molina and a fortiori Philippi should have considered.

Phenotype based clustering, and diversity of common bean genotypes in seed iron concentration and cooking time.

Common bean is the world's most important directly consumed legume food crop that is popular for calories, protein and micronutrients. It is a staple food in sub-Saharan Africa, and a significant source of iron for anemic people. However, several pests, soil and weather challenges still impede its production. Long cooking time, and high phytic acid and polyphenols that influence bioavailable iron also limit the health benefits. To inform population improvement strategies and selection decisions for resilient fast cooking and iron biofortified beans, the study determined diversity and population structure within 427 breeding lines, varieties, or landraces mostly from Alliance Uganda and Columbia. The genotypes were evaluated for days to flowering and physiological maturity, yield, seed iron (FESEED) and zinc (ZNSEED) and cooking time (COOKT). Data for all traits showed significant (P≤0.001) differences among the genotypes. Repeatability was moderate to high for most traits. Performance ranged from 52 to 87 ppm (FESEED), 23-38 ppm (ZNSEED), 36-361 minutes (COOKT), and 397-1299 kg/ha (yield). Minimal differences existed between the gene pools in the mean performance except in yield, where Mesoamerican beans were better by 117 kg/ha. The genotypes exhibited high genetic diversity and thus have a high potential for use in plant breeding. Improvement of FESEED and ZNSEED, COOKT and yield performance within some markets such as red and small white beans is possible. Hybridization across market classes especially for yellow beans is essential but this could be avoided by adding other elite lines to the population. Superior yielding and fast cooking, yellow and large white beans were specifically lacking. Adding Fe dense elite lines to the population is also recommended. The population was clustered into three groups that could be considered for specific breeding targets based on trait correlations.

Enhancing the Productivity and Quality of Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) with Potassium Fertilization

Background: Pulses are commonly known as food legumes, next to cereals in production and consumption in India. India is the leading producer of pulses in the world. In spite of being a leading producer, India is still importing pulses to meet consumer demand, due to low productivity of pulses due to various reasons. Hence, there is a need to improve the productivity in pulses. Potassium application in pulse crops have been paid less attention, among different nutrients. Methods: A field experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with factorial concept (FRBD) during Rabi, 2021-22 to enhance the productivity and quality of blackgram with potassium fertilization. Result: The present study revealed that among different potassium levels, soil application of 40 kg K2O ha-1 improved the growth parameters, yield attributes, seed and haulm yields and economic returns of blackgram, which was statistically at par with soil application of 30 kg K2O ha-1. With regard to different foliar sprays tried, foliar application of 1% KH2PO4 at flowering and pod development stages recorded higher growth parameters, yield attributes, seed and haulm yields, protein content and economic returns of blackgram, which was statistically on par with foliar application of 1% KCl or 0.5% KNO3 at flowering and pod development stages. The interaction effect between soil application of potassium and foliar fertilization of potassium could not exert any significant influence on any of the parameters studied in the present investigation.

Genome-wide transcriptional profiling provides clues to molecular mechanisms underlying cold tolerance in chickpea

Chickpea is an important food legume cultivated in several countries. A sudden drop in autumn temperature, freezing winter temperature, and late spring cold events result in significant losses in chickpea production. The current study used RNA sequencing of two cold tolerant (Saral) and sensitive (ILC533) Kabuli chickpea genotypes to identify cold tolerance-associated genes/pathways. A total of 200.85 million raw reads were acquired from the leaf samples by Illumina sequencing, and around 86% of the clean reads (199 million) were mapped to the chickpea reference genome. The results indicated that 3710 (1980 up- and 1730 down-regulated) and 3473 (1972 up- and 1501 down-regulated) genes were expressed differentially under cold stress in the tolerant and sensitive genotypes, respectively. According to the GO enrichment analysis of uniquely down-regulated genes under cold stress in ILC533, photosynthetic membrane, photosystem II, chloroplast part, and photosystem processes were enriched, revealing that the photosynthesis is severely sensitive to cold stress in this sensitive genotype. Many remarkable transcription factors (CaDREB1E, CaMYB4, CaNAC47, CaTCP4, and CaWRKY33), signaling/regulatory genes (CaCDPK4, CaPP2C6, CaMKK2, and CaHSFA3), and protective genes (CaCOR47, CaLEA3, and CaGST) were identified among the cold-responsive genes of the tolerant genotype. These findings would help improve cold tolerance across chickpea genotypes by molecular breeding or genetic engineering.

Sensory quality of upcycled legume water: Expectation vs. reality

Aquafaba and liluva are names used to define the processing water of food legumes. Large volumes of liluva are generated by frozen pea manufacturers (blanching water) and tofu producers (tofu whey). Studies have shown the potential of aquafaba and liluva in food applications as texture improvers and sources of bioactive substances and prebiotics. Nonetheless, no information on consumer perception of these new food ingredients is available. Therefore, this study investigated consumer expectations of steam blanching pea water (SBPW) and tofu whey (TW), correlating it with their actual sensory qualities and functional properties. Specifically, liluva was used as a source of prebiotics and hydrocolloids in 3D-printed mashed potatoes to enhance their rheology and printability. A preliminary survey showed a limited understanding of SBPW and TW as food ingredients, with only 43% and 38% of subjects willing to try TW and SBPW, respectively, with most subjects unsure on whether they wanted to or not (34% tofu whey and 49% liluva). Once the actual sensory test was conducted, TW-added mashed potato received favorable scores for all sensory attributes (appearance, aroma, taste, and texture). In contrast, SBPW-added mashed potato had a negative score on the color, as all nine focus group subjects described the color as gray. Overall, TW enhanced the printability of mashed potatoes due to its emulsifying ability and possibly coagulants derived from tofu making, and it was more appreciated sensory-wise, resulting in being the most preferred out of three samples (SBPW, TW, and control). Therefore, emphasizing consumer education may be key when expanding these innovative food ingredients to other food areas.

Organic dry pea (Pisum sativum L.): A sustainable alternative pulse-based protein for human health.

Dry pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a cool-season food legume rich in protein (20-25%). With increasing health and ecosystem awareness, organic plant-based protein demand has increased; however, the protein quality of organic dry pea has not been well studied. This study determined the genetic variation of individual amino acids (AAs), total AAs (liberated), total protein, and in vitro protein digestibility of commercial dry pea cultivars grown in organic on-farm fields to inform the development of protein-biofortified cultivars. Twenty-five dry pea cultivars were grown in two USDA-certified organic on-farm locations in South Carolina (SC), USA, for two years (two locations in 2019 and one in 2020). The concentrations of most individual AAs (15 of 17) and the total AA concentration significantly varied with dry pea cultivar. In vitro protein digestibility was not affected by the cultivar. Seed total AA and protein for dry pea ranged from 11.8 to 22.2 and 12.6 to 27.6 g/100 g, respectively, with heritability estimates of 0.19 to 0.25. In vitro protein digestibility and protein digestibility corrected AA score (PDCAAS) ranged from 83 to 95% and 0.18 to 0.64, respectively. Heritability estimates for individual AAs ranged from 0.08 to 0.42; principal component (PCA) analysis showed five significant AA clusters. Cultivar Fiddle had significantly higher total AA (19.6 g/100 g) and digestibility (88.5%) than all other cultivars. CDC Amarillo and Jetset were significantly higher in cystine (Cys), and CDC Inca and CDC Striker were significantly higher in methionine (Met) than other cultivars; CDC Spectrum was the best option in terms of high levels of both Cys and Met. Lysine (Lys) concentration did not vary with cultivar. A 100 g serving of organic dry pea provides a significant portion of the recommended daily allowance of six essential AAs (14-189%) and daily protein (22-48%) for an average adult weighing 72 kg. Overall, this study shows organic dry pea has excellent protein quality, significant amounts of sulfur-containing AAs and Lys, and good protein digestibility, and thus has good potential for future plant-based food production. Further genetic studies are warranted with genetically diverse panels to identify candidate genes and target parents to develop nutritionally superior cultivars for organic protein production.

Influence of seeding density on agronomic parameters of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) accession grown in Daloa, west center of Côte d’Ivoire

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) is most important food legume in tropical regions of Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire, its cultivation is neglected and is carried out on small surfaces with a strong concentration in North of the country. The objective of this study was to determine, in addition to the sowing density, the ideal number of plants per sowing hole for a better cowpea production. Experimental design used was a completely randomized Fisher block with three replications and six treatments per block. The tested spacings with the number of plants per sowing hole are : 20 cm x 20 cm x 01 plant per sowing hole, 20 cm x 20 cm x 02 plants per sowing hole; 30 cm x 30 cm x 01 plant per sowing hole, 30 cm x 30 cm x 02 plants per sowing hole; 40 cm x 40 cm x 01 plant per sowing hole, 40 cm x 40 cm x 02 plants per sowing hole. Observations were made on nine agronomic parameters (plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, span, fresh biomass, number of pods, fresh weight of pods, dry weight of pods and grain weight. Results show that seeding densities and number of plants per sowing hole significantly influence the agronomic parameters. Thus, the lowest sowing densities (62500 plants/ha) corresponding to 40cm x 40cm spacing with one plant per sowing hole gave the best yields while the highest densities (250000 plants/ha) corresponding to 20cm x 20cm spacing with two plants per sowing hole gave the lowest yields for all agronomic parameters.

Prospects of Technology Adoption in Small Pump Schemes in the River Nile State, Sudan

Linear programming was used to simulate the farming systemsof small pump schemes in Shendi area, River Nile State, Sudan, to assessthe prospects for technology use in cool-season food legumes and wheat.Different production activities, with respect to target crops, wereidentified to reflect different technology levels. The model constraintswere the pump capacity, the scheme size and family labour. Alternativeversions of the model were developed to examine possible productionoptions that exist and to examine the effects of alternative resource levelsand policy options, which are likely to affect adoption. The model resultsrevealed that while farmers' traditional practices were not economicallyfeasible options, tendency is for adoption of medium rather than therecommended high technology levels. This reflects actual farmers'behaviour, particularly for irrigation water, and indicates that water is themain resource constraint. The results also showed that the technology isnot well supported by the traditional institutions of production relations,which create conflicting perception between resource owners towardstechnology use.

Assessment of Salinity Tolerance in Greengram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek

Background: Greengram is one of the important and salt sensitive food legume crops with high nutritional quality. The area under salinity is increasing gradually due to various reasons like global warming, continues irrigation of bore well water and use of more organic fertilizers etc. Identification of salinity tolerant genotype in greengram is highly essential to improve the production and productivity. Salinity stress condition increases the absorption of more Na+ whereas the reduction of K+ absorption was noticed, which thus decreases the K+ /Na+ ratio. The first visible symptom due to salinity stress was retarded growth because of more uptake of Na+ ions leads to reduction of physiological activities. The next important character affected by salinity stress was radical growth. Methods: A total of 20 greengram genotypes were evaluated for salinity tolerance under four EC levels. Screening was done by roll towel method with two replications. The roll towels were placed in different buckets filled with different EC level of saline water and observations were recorded on the 8th day of germination. Result: The salinity level of more than 4.0 EC dsm-1 causes gradual reduction in radicle length and at 12.0 EC level almost in all the genotypes the radicle length was reduced to half as compare to control. The correlation analysis indicated that the plumule length and radicle length were the important criteria for selection to salinity tolerance. While observing the other growth parameters like plumule and radical length reduction, dry matter weight and salinity tolerance and susceptible index the genotypes IPMD 14-10 and VGG 17-038 were identified as more tolerant genotypes and DGGV 80, PUSA-BM5 and VBN 4 were more sensitive genotypes.

Isolation of Aspergillus flavus strains from Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdcourt) seeds and screening for the production of aflatoxin B1 and B2

In Burkina Faso, Bambara groundnut is the second most important food legume after cowpea, especially in rural areas. However, this crop, due to certain conditions of production, storage or preservation is susceptible to be contaminated by potential mycotoxin producing fungi. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aflatoxinogenic capacity of Aspergillus flavus isolates isolated from Bambara groundnut seeds produced in Burkina Faso. Thus, 198 isolates of fungi belonging to section Flavi were isolated from 99 samples of Bambara groundnut seeds collected in the three agro-ecological zones of Burkina Faso. From the 198 isolates, 28 were identified as Aspergillus flavus. Then, we investigated their potential for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and B2 (AFB2) production by growing them on rice at 25°C for 7 days. AFB1 and AFB2 were extracted and quantified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). All of the strains (28) produced AFB1 at concentrations ranging from 46.987 μg kg–1 to 1080.320 μg kg–1. However, AFB2 was produced by 26 strains with concentrations ranging from 47.200 μg kg–1 to 1760.240 μg kg–1. Globally, most of the tested strains produced higher levels of AFB1 than AFB2. The results obtained point out the risk associated with post-harvest fungi and the need for the development of storage technics to control them, for food security.

Nutritional significance, value‐added applications, and consumer perceptions of food legumes: A review

AbstractLegume crops are widely grown worldwide and a primary source of proteins across many least developed countries. These food crops are inherently produced in environmentally sustainable manner and are also an economical source of plant‐based proteins versus animal‐based proteins. The nutrient composition of legumes is very rich, that is, high content of protein, fiber, and bioactive compounds and relatively lower carbohydrates than cereal crops. Although food legumes are a staple in more than 70 countries mostly in Asian, African, and South American regions, the per capita consumption in the Western countries continues to be low in spite of legumes' demonstrated health benefits. However, emerging consumer trends and preferences toward heathy foods, animal protein alternatives, and environmental concerns can enhance the consumption of legume‐based foods. The functional attributes of legume ingredients (e.g., thickening, water‐holding index, gelation, emulsification, and foaming capacity) make legumes suitable for replacing proteins from other sources. The development and marketing of legume‐based ingredients for use in various value‐added food applications have been increasing. The value‐added use of pulse protein isolates and concentrates is expanding fast with substantial use as meat extenders/replacers and meat analogs, milk substitutes, and gluten‐free applications. To increase the utilization of legumes, including legume‐based foods, it is important to focus on research and development efforts that promote “easy‐to‐cook”/prepare foods for consumers, who often avoid legumes due to long cooking times. Addressing this aspect of convenience is particularly critical in developed countries due to the busy lifestyles of consumers and potentially increase legume consumption.