Diversity, conservation and utilization of grain legumes: A potential source for food and nutritional security in Nepal

Grain legumes are precious crops of Nepal in terms of the dietary protein supplement ample concentration of micronutrients, and role in crop intensification and ameliorating soil fertility. About 11% of the cultivated area is occupied by grain legumes that include lentil, chickpea, grasspea, fieldpea, fababean, pigeonpea, soybean, blackgram, horsegram, ricebean, cowpea, and mungbean. About 100 genera and 379 species of legumes are distributed in diverse agroecological zones ranging from terai to the alpine region of Nepal, with growth habits ranging from annual to perennial shrubs. Out of the 379 species of legumes which include grain, vegetable, and forage legumes, 262 are native, and 20 species belonging to the sub-group Papilionacae are used as food legumes. Highest food legume species diversity has been recorded in Macrotyloma (34 spp.), followed by Crotalaria (18 spp.), Vigna (15 spp.), Lathyrus (7 spp.), Vicia (6 spp.), Cajanus (5 spp.), Trigonella (5 spp.) and Phaseolus (4 spp.). Other genus having 1-3 species includes Cicer (3 spp.), Mukuna (3 spp.), Glycine (2 spp.), Canavila (2 spp.), Pisum (2 spp.), Lablab (2 spp.), Pachyrrhizus (1 sp.), Psophocarpus (1 sp.), Lens (1 sp.) and Cyamopsis (1 sp.). Research on grain legumes was initiated in 1976 and a systematic collection of grain legume landraces was done in 1987 by the Grain Legumes Research Program (GLRP). Past collection missions organized in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and other institutes have resulted in the collection of 1107 landraces and provided an opportunity for their inclusion in the variety improvement program. National Agricultural Genetic Resources Center (NAGRC) has conserved 2936 landraces of different legumes, 951 landraces have been kept in gene banks of ICARDA center, while GLRP Khajura has active collections of 218 landraces and 627 exotic germplasm of various legume crops. Varietal improvement programs resulted in the development of 51 varieties, while 6 varietes were registered and two varieties were de-notified in food legumes (lentil, chickpea, soybean, cowpea, black gram, mungbean, pigeon pea, rice bean, faba bean, grass pea, and kidney bean).