Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek var. radiata] is an important food and cash legume crop in Asia. Development of short duration varieties has paved the way for the expansion of mungbean into other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. Mungbean productivity is constrained by biotic and abiotic factors. Bruchids, whitefly, thrips, stem fly, aphids, and pod borers are the major insect-pests. The major diseases of mungbean are yellow mosaic, anthracnose, powdery mildew, Cercospora leaf spot, halo blight, bacterial leaf spot, and tan spot. Key abiotic stresses affecting mungbean production are drought, waterlogging, salinity, and heat stress. Mungbean breeding has been critical in developing varieties with resistance to biotic and abiotic factors, but there are many constraints still to address that include the precise and accurate identification of resistance source(s) for some of the traits and the traits conferred by multi genes. Latest technologies in phenotyping, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics could be of great help to understand insect/pathogen-plant, plant-environment interactions and the key components responsible for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. This review discusses current biotic and abiotic constraints in mungbean production and the challenges in genetic improvement.

Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek var. radiata] is an important grain legume globally, providing a high-quality plant protein source largely produced and consumed in South and East Asia. This study aimed to characterize a mungbean diversity panel consisting of 466 cultivated accessions and demonstrate its utility by conducting a pilot genome-wide association study of seed coat color. In addition 16 wild accessions were genotyped for comparison and in total over 22,000 polymorphic genome-wide SNPs were identified and used to analyze the genetic diversity, population structure, linkage disequilibrium (LD) of mungbean. Polymorphism was lower in the cultivated accessions in comparison to the wild accessions, with average polymorphism information content values 0.174, versus 0.305 in wild mungbean. LD decayed in ∼100 kb in cultivated lines, a distance higher than the linkage decay of ∼60 kb estimated in wild mungbean. Four distinct subgroups were identified within the cultivated lines, which broadly corresponded to geographic origin and seed characteristics. In a pilot genome-wide association mapping study of seed coat color, five genomic regions associated were identified, two of which were close to seed coat color genes in other species. This mungbean diversity panel constitutes a valuable resource for genetic dissection of important agronomical traits to accelerate mungbean breeding.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek var. radiata) is an important food crop cultivated on over 6 Mha throughout the world. Its short duration of 55–70 days, capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen, and exceptional grain nutritional profile makes the crop a staple for smallholder and subsistence farmers. In Australia, mungbean is grown as a high-value export crop and established as a main summer rotation for dryland farmers. A major threat to the integrity of the industry is halo blight, a bacterial disease leading to necrotic lesions surrounded by a chlorotic halo that stunts and ultimately kills the plant. Caused by Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola, this seed-borne disease is extremely difficult to control, resulting in significant yield loss and production volatility. The challenge of managing halo blight is exacerbated by a wide host range that includes many legume and weed species, and the presence of multiple epidemiologically significant strains. Molecular technologies could play a pivotal role in addressing these issues. This review synthesises current and emerging technologies to develop improved management strategies for the control of halo blight in mungbean.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek var. radiata) is a significant food and cash crop grown in tropical and subtropical regions. Mungbean production and consumer demand have increased substantially over the last two decades, owing to its agronomic, nutritional and economic benefits. Despite increased breeding efforts and the expansion of mungbean production in various agro‐climatic regions, further production is hindered by low yield and variability, which is partly attributed to the impacts of abiotic stress. Abiotic stress impacts on the physiology, morphology and reproductive ability of mungbean which influences yield. Exposure to abiotic stresses at the reproductive stage is considered the most critical for yield production. In this review, we evaluate how abiotic stress impacts mungbean growth and productivity when occurring during the reproductive stage and traits that may confer adaptation. We present the limitations of current research including limited number of genotypes, lack of field experiments and detailed experimental information. We highlight the opportunities to exploit new tools and technologies, such as high‐throughput phenotyping platforms, gene editing, and genomic selection, to accelerate breeding efforts to develop more resilient mungbean cultivars for today and tomorrow.

Yellow mosaic disease (YMD) affects several types of leguminous crops, including the Vigna species, which comprises a number of commercially important pulse crops. YMD is characterized by the formation of a bright yellow mosaic pattern on the leaves; in severe forms, this pattern can also be seen on stems and pods. This disease leads to tremendous yield losses, even up to 100%, in addition to deterioration in seed quality. Symptoms of this disease are similar among affected plants; YMD is not limited to mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) and also affects other collateral and alternate hosts. In the last decade, rapid advancements in molecular detection techniques have been made, leading to an improved understanding of YMD-causing viruses. Three distinct bipartite begomoviruses, namely, Mungbean Yellow Mosaic India Virus (MYMIV), Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV), and Horsegram Yellow Mosaic Virus (HgYMV), are known to cause YMD in Vigna spp. Vigna crops serve as an excellent protein source for vegetarians worldwide; moreover, they aid in improving soil health by fixing atmospheric nitrogen through a symbiotic association with Rhizobium bacteria. The loss in the yield of these short-duration crops due to YMD, thus, needs to be checked. This review highlights the discoveries that have been made regarding various aspects of YMD affecting mungbean, including the determination of YMD-causing viruses and strategies used to develop high-yielding YMD-resistant mungbean varieties that harness the potential of related Vigna species through the use of different omics approaches.