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Ecology and Adaptation of Legumes Crops

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Climate Change and Management of Cool Season Grain Legume Crops

Abstract

In this work we present and discuss some of the advances reached in relation to environmental crop management and adaptation to warming climates of legume crops, frequently associated to plant breeding, towards drought tolerance. At the same time, the benefits related to the contribution to the development of an appropriate legumes-based agriculture for arid zones are analyzed. The Leguminosae and Gramineae families are by far the world’s most important sources of food. Legumes include beans, soybeans, peas, alfalfa, and other crops, which supply protein fats, fiber and wood. Through their root nodules, inhabited by Rhizobium bacteria, the legumes also improve the nitrogen balance in the soil. Legumes comprise one of the largest plant families in the world, with near 18,000 species. Most species are tropical and include trees, woody vines, and herbaceous plants. All legume plants bear pods or legumes, which are diversely modified within the family. Most have compound leaves. As regards to warming climates under the effects of climate change, drought is defined as any period during which water deficits in the plant or agroecosystem affect growth and development; in this sense, the duration of drought determines the quantity of damage caused to crops. Two reasons are analyzed to develop programs of breeding and management directed to drought tolerance by means of an environmental understanding and ecophysiological selection of plants, according to their interactions with the environment: The first one is to maximize the productivity and consistently the plant performance, stabilizing or increasing productivity. The second one is to improve the drought tolerance; under this consideration the mechanisms of water conservation, constitute for the plants an important option to survive a drought, although they tend to limit their productive potential. It is concluded that an appropriate ecological management of crops and the ecophysiological selection can constitute a feasible way for agricultural sustainability.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Centro de Investigations Biologicas del Noroeste and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Mexico for financial support, through the Project CONACyT-SEP Inv. Basica 2007-82313. Authors thank Juan Vega, Alvaro Gonzalez and Arturo cruz for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C., La Paz, BCS, 23090, México

    Enrique Troyo-Diéguez, A. Nieto-Garibay & Bernardo Murillo-Amador

  2. Laboratorio de Suelos, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias. INIFAP-CIRNO, Cd. Obregón, Son, México

    J.M. Cortés-Jiménez

  3. Centro Regional Universitario Centro Norte, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Zacatecas, Zac, C.P. 98000, México

    R.D. Valdéz-Cepeda

  4. Universidad Juárez, del Estado de Durango-Facultad de Agricultura y Zootecnia, 35111, Gómez Palacio, Dgo, México

    José L. García-Hernández

Authors
  1. Enrique Troyo-Diéguez
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  2. J.M. Cortés-Jiménez
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  3. A. Nieto-Garibay
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  4. Bernardo Murillo-Amador
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  5. R.D. Valdéz-Cepeda
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  6. José L. García-Hernández
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Enrique Troyo-Diéguez .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Agricultural Research Institute, Morobe Province, Papua, Guinea

    Shyam Singh Yadav

  2. Australian Temperate Field Crops, Collection, Department of Primary Industries (DPI), Horsham, 3401, Australia

    Robert Redden

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Troyo-Diéguez, E., Cortés-Jiménez, J., Nieto-Garibay, A., Murillo-Amador, B., Valdéz-Cepeda, R., García-Hernández, J.L. (2010). Ecology and Adaptation of Legumes Crops. In: Yadav, S., Redden, R. (eds) Climate Change and Management of Cool Season Grain Legume Crops. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3709-1_3

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