Indian Society of Genetics & Plant Breeding
This chapter reports that pulse crops (rich in protein) and
cereals (rich source of carbohydrate) are an excellent
combination for balanced human diet. Crop rotation of
legumes with cereals enriches the soil because legumes fix
nitrogen in soil in a symbiotic association with Rhyzobium
species. Pulse breeders have been confined to the primary
gene pool (GP-1). Exploitation of secondary (GP-2) and
tertiary (GP-3) gene pools for crop improvement is hampered
because of pre and post-zygotic barriers. National and
international research institutes have conducted extensive
plant exploration to collect primitive cultivars, land races,
and wild relatives before the spread of high yielding
varieties and environmental destruction eliminates them.
These invaluable materials are being deposited in medium
and long-term storage of gene banks. Breeders have
achieved substantial gain in the yield of pulse crops by
conventional breeding by producing varieties that are
resistant to abiotic and biotic stresses. Breeders have
produced varieties with high protein content but without
antinutritional elements. Roundup Ready 2 Yield® soybean,
produced through genetic transformation, has
revolutionized the soybean production particularly in the
United States. An example to exploit tertiary gene pool of
soybean is shown. Such approach should be conducted
for other legumes to broaden their genetic base.
Keywords: Grain legume, gene pools, conventional breeding, nutrition, wild species
Year: 2016
Volume: 76
Issue: 4
Article DOI: 10.5958/0975-6906.2016.00059.6
Print ISSN: 0019-5200
Online ISSN: 0975-6906
R. J. Singh info_circle
G. H. Chung info_circle
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