Legume Genomics and Genetics 2015, Vol.6, No.3, 1-7
2
can be demonstrated by having more than 150
documented local vernacular names (MMPND). The
importance of field bean as a food crop has been
documented in archeo-botanical findings in India prior
to 1,500 BC (Fuller, 2003). Presently, lablab bean is
common in Africa, extending from Cameroon to
Swaziland to Zimbabwe through Sudan, Ethiopia,
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania (Skerman et al., 1991).
In South and Central America, East and West Indies,
Asia, China and India, lablab bean is cultivated as an
annual crop (Whyte et al., 1953).
The wild forms of lablab bean are believed to have
originated in India (Deka and Sarkar, 1990) and were
introduced into Africa from south-east Asia during the
eighth century (Kay, 1979).
Lablab
was synonymous
with the genus
Dolichos
following Linnaeus and is
now designated as the monotypic genus
Lablab
. Three
subspecies are recognized in
L.
purpureus
: i) ssp.
uncinatus
: the wild ancestor with small, scimitar
shaped pods of about 40 mm x 15 mm; ii) ssp.
purpureus
:cultivated as a pulse crop, which has larger,
scimitar-shaped pods, 100 mm x 40 mm and includes
commercial varieties; and iii) ssp.
bengalensis
:Asiatic
origin, has linear-oblong shaped pods, longer than
other subspecies, up to 140 mm × (10~25) mm. Although
pod shape has significant morphological differences, it
is widely believed that ssp.
bengalensis
and ssp.
purpureus
are genetically very similar.
The cultivated species
Lablab purpureosu
var.
typicus
Prain
and
L. purpureus
var.
lignosus
Prain
were
reported by Purseglove (1968) and Sivasankar et al.
(1971) with the former as a vegetable type cultivated
for its soft and edible pods and the later for dry seeds
as a pulse. The filed bean pods are oblong, flat and
broad, firm-walled and fibrous, contain 4-6 seeds with
their long axis at right angles to the suture and seeds
almost rounded, white, brown or black. The plant
emits a characteristic oily odour and both varieties are
cross compatible.
It is a multipurpose crop grown for pulse or vegetable
for human consumption or as forage for animals
(Murphy and Colucci, 1999; Hendricksen and Minson,
1985). In addition to its cultivation as a food and forage
crop, lablab bean is often grown as a weed suppressor,
as a cover crop to prevent soil erosion and also as a
green manure crop (Cameron, 1988). Dolichos bean is
a versatile crop able to be cultivated in a range of
climates and soil types (Liu, 1996; Murphy and Colucci,
1999; Pengelly and Maass, 2001).
In spite of these advantages, Lablab bean has not been
extensively used and this crop is neglected by farmers
as well as consumers for varied reasons such as its
plant type
i.e.
viny nature which need support, long
duration of crop, dwarf genotyypes having low yielding
potential and presence of antinutritional factors etc..
Effort are being made to conduct research to extend
both technical and practical knowledge about the bean
so that its full potential may be tapped. Most of the
research on improving lablab bean as a food crop is
currently in Asia with limited work in Africa (Deka,
1990; Mahadev and Byragowda, 2005). At the Ankur
Research foundation, Nagpur efforts are being made
to improve the selected traits like growth habit,
earliness, yield, nutritional and anti-nutritional traits.
1 Results
1.1 Varietal improvement
Bushy determinate variety of Lablaab bean
‘
Ankur
Goldy’ is consumed as a vegetable) and Field
bean ’Ankur-1732’ consumed as a pulse were developed
by hybridization followed by pedigree selection.
Determinate cultivars Ankur Goldy, Arka jay, Arka
vijay and Konkan bhushan are improved cultivars
with good pod traits have good acceptability by the
farmers and consumers as they do not require any
support for growth. Indeterminate varieties Dipali and
Dasara are high yielding varieties although late but are
potent forage cultivars.
The productivity of the viny types is higher than that
of the dwarf types. But Ankur Goldy has comparable
productivity to that of viny types. The field bean
variety Ankur 1732 is a high yielder and its productivity
is higher as compared to HA-3. The phenotypic and
economically important characters of
Lablab purpureus
varieties are given in Table 1
.
1.2 Status of Nutritional factors present:
In the pod, crude fiber varied from 13.8%~33.1% with
the highest in indeterminate cultivar Dasara and
lowest in Dipali also an indeterminate variety. While
the highest % protein is reported in determinate
cultivar Ankur Goldy (27.5%), the lowest in determinate
early cultivar Arka vijay (17.7%). The range for free
amino acid content varied from is 0.2~0.5 mg/100 g of
