Vegetable legumes are an essential source of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, along with health-promoting bioactive chemicals. The demand for the use of either fresh or processed vegetable legumes is continually expanding on account of the growing consumer awareness about their well-balanced diet. Therefore, sustaining optimum yields of vegetable legumes is extremely important. Here we seek to present d etails of prospects of underexploited vegetable legumes for food availability, accessibility, and improved livelihood utilization. So far research attention was mainly focused on pulse legumes’ performance as compared to vegetable legumes. Wild and cultivated vegetable legumes vary morphologically across diverse habitats. This could make them less known, underutilized, and underexploited, and make them a promising potential nutritional source in developing nations where malnutrition still exists. Research efforts are required to promote underexploited vegetable legumes, for improving their use to feed the ever-increasing population in the future. In view of all the above points, here we have discussed underexploited vegetable legumes with tremendous potential; namely, vegetable pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), dolichos bean (Lablab purpureus), and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), thereby covering the progress related to various aspects such as pre-breeding, molecular markers, quantitative trait locus (QTLs), genomics, and genetic engineering. Overall, this review has summarized the information related to advancements in the breeding of vegetable legumes which will ultimately help in ensuring food and nutritional security in developing nations.

Blackgram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) is an important tropical and sub-tropical short-duration legume that is rich in dietary protein and micronutrients. Producing high-yielding blackgram varieties is hampered by insufficient genetic variability, absence of suitable ideotypes, low harvest index and susceptibility to biotic-abiotic stresses. Seed yield, a complex trait resulting from the expression and interaction of multiple genes, necessitates the evaluation of diverse germplasm for the identification of novel yield contributing traits. Henceforth, a panel of 100 blackgram genotypes was evaluated at two locations (Ludhiana and Gurdaspur) across two seasons (Spring 2019 and Spring 2020) for 14 different yield related traits. A wide range of variability, high broad-sense heritability and a high correlation of grain yield were observed for 12 out of 14 traits studied among all environments. Investigation of population structure in the panel using a set of 4,623 filtered SNPs led to identification of four sub-populations based on ad-hoc delta K and Cross entropy value. Using Farm CPU model and Mixed Linear Model algorithms, a total of 49 significant SNP associations representing 42 QTLs were identified. Allelic effects were found to be statistically significant at 37 out of 42 QTLs and 50 known candidate genes were identified in 24 of QTLs.

Grain legumes are well known as staple sources of soluble protein worldwide. Pea is essentially the most quickly growing crop for immediate human consumption and has the potential for higher effect as being a protein supply for foods processing apps. Pea seeds are an essential source of plant-based proteins. The better acceptance of pea protein-rich food is due to pea manifold attributes, excellent functional qualities, high vitamin value, accessibility, and comparatively small cost. Pea proteins are not merely nutritional amino acids but are an indispensable source of bioactive peptides that offer health benefits. This chapter focuses on the present information of isolation methods, extraction, and of seed proteins in pea. Overall, we believe that analogous research and advancement on pea proteins would be required for further more substantial increase in pea protein utilization is envisaged.

Background: Study of phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) reveals the extent of phenotypic and genotypic variability in given population, respectively. Correlation and path analysis helps in identifying suitable selection criteria for improving the crop yield.Methods: Plant material comprised of 68 genotypes belongs to early maturity group of pigeonpea and experiment conducted during Kharif 2015-16 in randomized complete block design with two replications. Result: Traits, seed yield per plant (GCV=51.56%, h2=97.13%, GAM=104.67%) and number of pods per plant (GCV= 49.01%, h2=99.07%, GAM=100.49%) had high values of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), heritability (h2) and genetic advance as % of the mean (GAM) which indicated their additive genetic control. Plant height and number of seeds per pod recorded moderate to low heritability coupled with low GAM, indicating non-additive genetic control for these characters. Correlation analysis has revealed significant and positive association of seed yield per plant with number of pods per plant, plant height, secondary branches per plant, 100-seed weight and primary branches per plant. Path coefficient analysis identified number of pods per plant, secondary branches per plant and 100-seed weight as major traits affecting seed yield per plant directly and indirectly. The number of pods per plant and 100-seed weight should be given greater emphasis for improvement of seed yield in pigeonpea.

Until recently, precise location of genes and marker assisted selection was long thought in legumes such as blackgram due to lack of dense molecular maps. However, advances in next generation sequencing based high throughput genotyping technologies such as QTL-seq have revolutionized trait mapping in marker-orphan crops. Using QTL-seq approach, we have identi ed a large effect QTL for resistance to Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) in blackgram variety Mash114. MYMIV is devastating disease responsible for huge yield losses in blackgram, greengram and other legumes. Mash114, a blackgram variety developed by Punjab Agricultural University, India showed consistent and high level of resistance to MYMIV since last nine years. Whole genome re-sequencing of MYMIV resistant and susceptible bulks derived from RILs of cross KUG253 X Mash114 identi ed a large effect QTL (qMYMIV6.1.1) spanning 3.4 Mbp on chromosome 6 explaining 70 per cent of total phenotypic variation.This region was further identi ed as an inter-speci c introgression from ricebean. The annotation of the introgressed segment suggested presence of clusters of disease resistance domains of which nine candidate genes were found to have role in virus resistance. Linkage mapping using KASP markers developed from these nine candidate genes identi ed the 500 kb genomic region equaling 1.9 cM on genetic map linked with MYMIV. The three KASP markers closely associated with MYMIV originated from serine threonine kinase, UBE2D2 and BAK1/ BRI1-ASSOCIATED RECEPTOR KINASE genes. These KASPs can be used for marker assisted transfer of introgressed segment into suitable backgrounds of Vigna species. Key MessageHere, we report identi cation of a large effect QTL conferring Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus resistance introgressed from ricebean in blackgram variety Mash114. The tightly linked KASP markers would assist in marker-assisted-transfer of this region into Vigna species infected by MYMIV.