Advanced Topics in Leguminous Research for Agriculture Sustainability, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Physiology and Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 7874

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Interests: agricultural science; livestock farming; agroforestry; grassland management; animal nutrition; leguminous plants; wildlife management; wildlife–human interactions
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Guest Editor
Departmento Tecnología de Alimentos, INIA-CSIC, Ctra. de La Coruña km 7.5, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: bioactive compounds; novel food product legume-based; processed legumes; animal and human nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Leguminous plants are among the most widespread in the world and have colonized varied and extreme environments. They have played a key role in agriculture for their ability to fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility and have been used for human and animal nutrition for millennia as vegetal source of protein and carbohydrates.

In the last few decades, grain legumes have gained even more attention as food and feed because of their high nutritional value and potential beneficial compounds, including dietary fibres, resistant starch, micronutrients, and bioactive phytochemicals.

In addition, integrated legume cropping–livestock farming systems could represent valuable solutions for a more sustainable agriculture and animal farming, especially in a scenario of climate change, and have a significant potential to provide ecosystem services in semi-natural habitats.

This Special Issue of Plants will highlight the advanced issues in leguminous research regarding their role in agriculture sustainability, maintenance and improvement of ecosystem services and human well-being. In particular, the manuscripts should address one or more of the following (not exhaustively) listed topics: (i) genetic diversity and taxonomy structure, (ii) genomic selection and agronomic solutions to improve nutritional capacity and resistance to harsh conditions, (iii) nutrients, bioactive compounds and biofortification, (iii) role in human and animal nutrition, with focus on innovative food and feed solutions, (iv) sustainability and ecosystem services of legume-based cultivations, semi-natural and natural vegetation.   

For each of the listed topics, a reasoned, updated review is also welcome.

Dr. Riccardo Primi
Dr. Mercedes Martín Pedrosa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bioactive compounds
  • soil fertility
  • healthy compounds
  • pulses
  • fodder
  • novel foods
  • genetic selection
  • biodiversity
  • crop–livestock integration
  • ecosystem services
  • sustainability
 

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 579 KiB  
Article
Separate Effects of Foliar Applied Selenate and Zinc Oxide on the Accumulation of Macrominerals, Macronutrients and Bioactive Compounds in Two Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Seed Varieties
by Maksymilian Malka, Gijs Du Laing and Torsten Bohn
Plants 2022, 11(15), 2009; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11152009 - 1 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1773
Abstract
Selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) are important cofactors for antioxidant enzymes. Foliar Se/Zn application is a highly efficient strategy of plant biofortification. However, its effects on the accumulation of macrominerals, macronutrients and bioactive compounds in the pea plant (Pisum sativum L.) have [...] Read more.
Selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) are important cofactors for antioxidant enzymes. Foliar Se/Zn application is a highly efficient strategy of plant biofortification. However, its effects on the accumulation of macrominerals, macronutrients and bioactive compounds in the pea plant (Pisum sativum L.) have been poorly investigated. A two-year pot experiment was performed to study responses of two pea varieties (Ambassador, Premium) to foliar-applied sodium selenate (0/50/100 g Se/ha) and zinc oxide (0/375/750 g Zn/ha) at the flowering stage. Concentrations of Ca, Mg, K, Na, soluble solids (SSC), protein, chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll, total carotenoids and total condensed tannins (TCT) were determined in seeds. Mg concentration in Ambassador and chlorophyll a concentration in Premium were positively affected, in part, by selenate and zinc oxide, respectively. Selenate and zinc oxide increased, in part, protein concentration in Premium. Highest protein concentration was found in Premium treated with 375 g Zn/ha (27.6% DW) vs. the control (26.6% DW). Significant (all p < 0.001) positive correlations were found, among others, between concentrations of Zn and Mg (r2 = 0.735) and between Zn and protein (r2 = 0.437) for Ambassador, and between Mg and protein (r2 = 0.682), between Zn and Mg (r2 = 0.807), as well as between Zn and protein (r2 = 0.884) for Premium. TCT significantly (all p < 0.05) and positively correlated with SSC (r2 = 0.131), chlorophyll b (r2 = 0.128) and total chlorophyll (r2 = 0.109) for Ambassador. This study provides new nutritional data on Se/Zn biofortified peas, important for improving agronomic biofortification of pea plants. Full article
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19 pages, 3598 KiB  
Article
Host Resistance to Uromyces appendiculatus in Common Bean Genotypes
by Reda Ibrahim Omara, Said Mohamed Kamel, Sherif Mohamed El-Ganainy, Ramadan Ahmed Arafa, Yasser Sabry Mostafa, Saad Abdulrahman Alamri, Sulaiman A. Alrumman, Mohamed Hashem and Mohsen Mohamed Elsharkawy
Plants 2022, 11(5), 628; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11050628 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2191
Abstract
Rust, induced by the fungus Uromyces appendiculatus, is one of the most serious bean diseases. The involved mechanisms in rust resistance were evaluated in 10 common bean genotypes during the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 growing seasons. The disease parameters such as final rust [...] Read more.
Rust, induced by the fungus Uromyces appendiculatus, is one of the most serious bean diseases. The involved mechanisms in rust resistance were evaluated in 10 common bean genotypes during the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 growing seasons. The disease parameters such as final rust severity (FRS%), area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) and disease increase rate (r-value) were lower in the resistant genotypes than in highly susceptible genotypes. Biochemical compounds such as total phenols and the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase were increased in the resistant genotypes compared to susceptible genotypes. In the resistance genotypes, the levels of oxidative stress markers such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide (O2•−) increased dramatically after infection. The electrolyte leakage percentage (EL%), was found to be much greater in susceptible genotypes than resistant genotypes. The resistant gene SA14, which was found in genotypes Nebraska and Calypso at 800 bp, had an adequate level of resistance to bean rust with high grain yield potential. After infection, the transcriptions levels of 1,3-D-glucanases and phenylalanine ammonia lyase) were higher in the resistant genotypes than susceptible genotypes. In conclusion, the resistant genotypes successfully displayed desirable agronomic traits and promising expectations in breeding programs for improving management strategies of common bean rust disease. The resistance was mediated by antioxidant enzymes, phenolic compounds, and defense gene expressions, as well as the resistant gene SA14. Full article
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23 pages, 2383 KiB  
Article
Revitalizing Fertility of Nutrient-Deficient Virgin Sandy Soil Using Leguminous Biocompost Boosts Phaseolus vulgaris Performance
by Mahmoud A. Abdelfattah, Mostafa M. Rady, Hussein E. E. Belal, Eman E. Belal, Rahmah Al-Qthanin, Hatim M. Al-Yasi and Esmat F. Ali
Plants 2021, 10(8), 1637; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081637 - 10 Aug 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3015
Abstract
During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, nutrient-deficient virgin sandy soil was examined along with the investigation of the response of Phaseolus vulgaris plants to soil application with biocompost in integration with chemical fertilizers applied to soil and plants. Four treatments (100% of the [...] Read more.
During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, nutrient-deficient virgin sandy soil was examined along with the investigation of the response of Phaseolus vulgaris plants to soil application with biocompost in integration with chemical fertilizers applied to soil and plants. Four treatments (100% of the recommended NPK fertilizer dose (control), 75% NPK applied to soil + 25% foliar spray, 75% NPK applied to soil + 25% foliar spray + leguminous compost (CL), and 75% NPK applied to soil + 25% foliar spray + CL containing Bacillus subtilis (biocompost; CLB)) were applied in a randomized complete block design. The 75% NPK applied to soil + 25% foliar spray + CLB was the best treatment, which exceeded other treatments in improving soil fertility and plant performance. It noticeably improved soil physicochemical properties, including available nutrients, activities of various soil enzymes (cellulase, invertase, urease, and catalase), soil cation exchange capacity, organic carbon content, and pH, as well as plant growth and productivity, and plant physiobiochemistry, including nutrients and water contents, and various antioxidant activities. The results of the 2020 season significantly outperformed those of the 2019 season, indicating the positive effects of biofertilizers as a strategy to combine soil supplementation with NPK fertilizers and allocate a portion of NPK fertilizers for foliar spraying of plants in nutrient-deficient sandy soils. Full article
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