Legumes are members of the family Fabaceae or Leguminosae and include economically important grain legumes, oilseed crops, forage crops, shrubs, and tropical or subtropical trees. Legumes are a rich source of quality protein for humans and animals. They also enrich the soil by producing their own nitrogen in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. International centers and national institutes ...

Inoculation of forage and grain legumes with rhizobia is an important process to maximize biological N2 fixation capacity in these crops. Inoculation has the potential of increasing dry matter yield, N yield, and residual N levels. However, yield responses to inoculation are not universal in the region. In fields that have previously grown the same grain legume crop (i.e. contain an endemic rhi...

The architecture of the inflorescence, the shoot system that bears the flowers, is a main component of the huge diversity of forms found in flowering plants. Inflorescence architecture has also a strong impact on the production of fruits and seeds, and on crop management, two highly relevant agronomical traits. Elucidating the genetic networks that control inflorescence development, and how the...

Application of inadequate quantities of fertilizers limits maize yield in Ghana. Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of Mucuna pruriens, Canavalia ensiformis, and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) on maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield under 4 mineral fertilizer N levels in a rotational system. The legumes were established in April of 1996 and 1997 at Ejura in the forest-savanna tra...

The low and declining productivity of many tropical soils are the major constraints limiting the realization of the improved genetic potential of crops that are now available. The need to take appropriate measures to check this decline in soil productivity is urgent as the rate of deterioration is on the increase and if not checked will have serious implications for future food demands of the i...

Legumes, broadly defined by their unusual flower structure, podded fruit, and the ability of 88% of the species examined to date to form nodules with rhizobia (de Faria et al., 1989), are second only to the Graminiae in their importance to humans. The 670 to 750 genera and 18,000 to 19,000 species of legumes (Polhill et al., 1981) include important grain, pasture, and agroforestry species. Cohe...

Pulse, pasture and grain legumes are important for maintaining productivity in many agricultural systems. The formation of effective nitrogen-fixing symbioses between legumes and root nodule bacteria is essential for many legumes in agriculture. In many situations, soil inoculation with effective strains of root nodule bacteria is required for maximising legume yields. A key strategy to enhance...

Grain legume production in Europe has recently come under scrutiny. Although legume crops are often promoted to provide environmental services, European farmers tend to turn to non-legume crops. It is assumed that high variability in legume yields explains this aversion, but so far this hypothesis has not been tested. Here, we estimate the variability of major grain legume and non-legume yields...

Introduction Research at CLIMA has indicated that Lathyrus cicera and L. sativus (grasspea) have potential as grain legumes on 100 000 to 300 000 ha of neutral to alkaline soils in low-to-medium rainfall areas of southern Australia. They do not have serious disease problems and are envisaged as low maintenance/low cost crops for the purposes of green manure, managing herbicide resistant weeds, ...