The Beans and the Peas: From Orphan to Mainstream Crops presents a comprehensive literature resource on the most important food legume crops previously known as "orphans," but which are increasingly becoming mainstream as their production opportunities have been improved through genetic improvement and biotechnology, and their role as an important nutrient source gains urgency. This book focuses on 12 important food legumes and discusses all relevant aspects on their economic importance, crop statistics, botany, and their general description. It also provides exhaustive information on plant genetic resources and their use, genetic improvement, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, improved varieties, agronomy, seed system, and use of information and communication tools in each individual food legume.Development of innovative biotechnological tools, genetic transformation, and the genome sequencing information has also been covered in each chapter providing the readers with state-of-the-art information on pulses. All chapters have been supported by relevant figures, illustrations, and tables, which make the contents accessible and easy to understand.Each of the chapters has been authored by globally known scientists/researchers presenting up-to-date information on various aspects of food legumes. This book provides a current and comprehensive treatise to the readers and will be tremendously helpful in furthering their academic and research pursuits.

Dr. Aditya Pratap is a Principal Scientist in the Crop Improvement Division, ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur. He has worked on genetic improvements of crop plants including Vigna species, wheat, triticale, rapeseed-mustard and chickpea and been associated with the development and release of 13 crop varieties including 8 in green gram, 3 in rapeseed-mustard and one in facultative winter wheat including worlds’ first earliest variety of mungbean, Virat. He has been team lead for several national and international collaborative projects and has been one of the leading partners in “Establishing International Mungbean Improvement Network”. He has >150 publications and has edited 5 books. His research interests include distant hybridization, doubled haploidy breeding, plant tissue culture and molecular breeding. He is the recipient of the prestigious Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship, USA and also the ICAR-Lal Bahadur Shastri Outstanding Young Scientist Award. Dr Sanjeev Gupta is the Project Coordinator, ICAR- All India Coordinated Research Project on MULLaRP Pulse crops (Mungbean, Urdbean, Lentil, Lathyrus, Rajmash and Peas) at Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur. His years of research experience have resulted nearly a dozen high yielding cultivars in grain legumes. He developed world’s earliest maturing mungbean variety‘Virat’. As a national coordinator on pulses he has participated in several national and international projects including as principal Investigator on Molecular marker assisted breeding for MYMIV and powdery mildew resistance , Shuttle Breeding Programme among SAARC Nations and Climate Resilient Agriculture Research. His special interest in molecular breeding led to the mapping and tagging of Yellow mosaic resistant gene in Vigna mungo. He has published extensively in internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals and has edited six books on pulses. He is the recipient of several awards for his research and literary contributions.