In terms of safe food and a healthy food supply, beans (Phaseolus spp.) are a significant source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals especially for poor populations throughout the world. They are also rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic and oleic acids. From the past to the present, a large number of breeding studies to increase bean yield, especially the common bean (P. vulgaris L.), have resulted in the registration of many modern varieties, although quality and flavor traits in the modern varieties have been mostly ignored. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to compare protein, fat, fatty acid, and some mineral content such as selenium (Se), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) of landraces to modern varieties. The landrace LR05 had higher mineral contents, particularly Se and Zn, and protein than the modern varieties. The landrace LR11 had the highest linoleic acid. The landraces are grown by farmers in small holdings for dual uses, such as both dry seed and snap bean production, and are commercialized with a higher cash price. The landraces of the common bean are, not only treasures that need to be guarded for the future, but also important genetic resources that can be used in bean breeding programs. The results of this study suggest that landraces are essential sources of important nutritional components for food security and a healthy food supply.

Genetic resources of the genus Cicer L. are not only limited when compared to other important food legumes and major cereal crops but also, they include several endemic species with endangered status based on the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The chief threats to endemic and endangered Cicer species are over-grazing and habitat change in their natural environments driven by climate changes. During a collection mission in east and south-east Anatolia (Turkey), a new Cicer species was discovered, proposed here as C. turcicum Toker, Berger & Gokturk. Here, we describe the morphological characteristics, images, and ecology of the species, and present preliminary evidence of its potential utility for chickpea improvement. C. turcicum is an annual species, endemic to southeast Anatolia and to date has only been located in a single population distant from any other known annual Cicer species. It belongs to section Cicer M. Pop. of the subgenus Pseudononis M. Pop. of the genus Cicer L. (Fabaceae) and on the basis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence similarity appears to be a sister species of C. reticulatum Ladiz. and C. echinospermum P.H. Davis, both of which are inter-fertile with domestic chickpea (C. arietinum L.). With the addition of C. turcicum, the genus Cicer now comprises 10 annual and 36 perennial species. As a preliminary evaluation of its potential for chickpea improvement two accessions of C. turcicum were field screened for reproductive heat tolerance and seeds were tested for bruchid resistance alongside a representative group of wild and domestic annual Cicer species. C. turcicum expressed the highest heat tolerance and similar bruchid resistance as C. judaicum Boiss. and C. pinnatifidum Juab. & Spach, neither of which are in the primary genepool of domestic chickpea. Given that C. arietinum and C. reticulatum returned the lowest and the second lowest tolerance and resistance scores, C. turcicum may hold much potential for chickpea improvement if its close relatedness supports interspecific hybridization with the cultigen. Crossing experiments are currently underway to explore this question.

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A large seed size in the kabuli chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is important in the market not only due to its high price but also for its superior seedling vigor. The double-podded chickpea has a considerable yield and stability advantage over the single-podded chickpea. The study aimed at (i) integrating extra-large-seeded and double-podded traits in the kabuli chickpea, (ii) increasing variation by transgressive segregations and (iii) estimating the heritability of the 100-seed weight along with important agro-morphological traits in F2 and F3 populations. For these objectives, the large-seeded chickpea, Sierra, having a single pod and unifoliolate leaves, was crossed with the small-seeded CA 2969, having double pods and imparipinnate leaves. The inheritance pattern of the extra-large-seeded trait was polygenically controlled by partial dominant alleles. Transgressive segregations were found for all agro-morphological traits. Some progeny with 100-seed weights of ≥55 g and two pods had larger seed sizes than those of the best parents. As outputs of the epistatic effect of the double-podded gene in certain genetic backgrounds, three or more flowers or pods were found in some progeny. Progeny having imparipinnate leaves or two or more pods should be considered in breeding, since they had higher numbers of pods and seeds per plant and seed yields than their counterparts.

Earliness in crop plants has a crucial role in avoiding the stress of drought and heat, which are the most important challenging stressors in crop production and are predicted to increase in the near future due to global warming. Furthermore, it provides a guarantee of vegetable production in the short growing season of agricultural lands in the northern hemisphere and at high altitudes. The growing human population needs super early plant cultivars for these agricultural lands to meet future global demands. This study examined de novo super-early progeny, referred to as much earlier than that of the earlier parent, which flowered in 13–17 days and pod setting in 18–29 days after germination, discovered in F2 and studied up to F5 derived from interspecific crosses between garden pea (P. sativum L.) and the most distant relative of pea (P. fulvum Sibth. et Sm.). De novo super-early progeny were found to be earlier by about one month than P. sativum and two months than P. fulvum under short day conditions in the F5 population. In respect of days to flowering and pod setting, de novo super-early progeny had a relatively high level of narrow sense heritability (h2 = 82% and 80%, respectively), indicating that the selections for earliness in segregating populations was effective for improvement of extreme early maturing varieties. De novo super-early progeny could be grown under heat stress conditions due to the escape ability. Vegetable types were not only high yielding but also free of any known undesirable traits from the wild species, such as pod dehiscence and non-uniform maturity. It could be considered complementary to “speed breeding”, possibly obtaining more than six generations per year in a suitable climate chamber. Not only de novo super-early progeny but also transgressive segregation for agro-morphological traits can be created via interspecific crosses between P. sativum and P. fulvum, a precious unopened treasure in the second gene pool. Useful progeny obtained from crossing wild species with cultivated species reveal the importance of wild species.

The chickpea leafminer, Liriomyza cicerina (Rondani), is one of the most destructive insect pests of cultivated chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in the Mediterranean region under field conditions. For sustainable and environmentally friendly chickpea production, efforts have been devoted to managing the leafminer via decreasing the use of insecticides. Breeding of new resistant varieties is not only an efficient and practical approach, but also cost-effective and environmentally sensitive. To improve resistant varieties, breeders need reliable biochemical selection criteria that can be used in breeding programs. The first objective was to investigate the possible introgression of resistance to the leafminer from C. reticulatum Ladiz. (resistant) to C. arietinum (susceptible), then, to estimate inheritance of resistance to the leafminer for efficient breeding strategies, and finally, to study organic acid contents as selection criteria. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and their parents were evaluated using a visual scale of 1–9 (1 = free from leafminer damage and 9 = mines in more than 91% of the leaflets and defoliation greater than 31%) in the field under natural infestation conditions after the susceptible parent and check had scores of >7 on the visual scale. Superior RILs were found for resistance to the leafminer, and agro-morphological traits indicating that introgression of resistance to leaf miner from C. reticulatum to C. arietinum could be possible using interspecific crosses. The inheritance pattern of resistance to the leafminer in RILs was shown to be quantitative. Organic acids, including oxalic, malic, quinic, tartaric, citric and succinic acids in RILs grown in the field under insect epidemic conditions and in the greenhouse under non-infested conditions were detected by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In general, organic acids were found to be higher in resistant RILs than susceptible RILs. Path and correlation coefficients showed that succinic acid exhibited the highest direct effects on resistance to the leafminer. Multivariate analyses, including path, correlation and factor analyses suggested that a high level of succinic acid could be used as a potential biochemical selection criterion for resistance to leafminer in chickpea. Resistant RILs with a high seed yield resembling kabuli chickpea can be grown directly in the target environments under leaf miner infestation conditions.

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The gene effects of Cicer reticulatum on both double‐podding as qualitative traits and yield criteria as quantitative traits in interspecific hybridization with cultivated chickpea (Cicer arietinum) have not yet been elucidated, despite the easy acquisition of hybrid progeny between two species. This study sought to answer three questions concerning qualitative and quantitative traits in reciprocal crosses between C. arietinum and C. reticulatum. (i) Is there a similarity in the gene effects of flower colour, pigmentation and double‐podded traits in reciprocal interspecific crosses? (ii) What are the expressivity and penetrance of the double‐podded trait in interspecific crosses? (iii) Which heterosis predicts the occurrence and the extent of transgressive variation? The materials for this study were F1, F2 and F3 progeny derived from a reciprocal cross between C. arietinum and C. reticulatum. As qualitative traits, purple flower colour, pigmentation and single‐podded traits in C. reticulatum were governed by a dominant single gene. Purple flower colour and pigmentation were detected to be linked traits as all progeny had the same phenotypes. As quantitative traits, yield criteria in progeny which were double‐podded had higher values than the single‐podded counterparts. Expressivity and penetrance of the double‐podding trait were superior in progeny derived from C. reticulatum × C. arietinum. The results showed that fruitful heterosis was more useful than residual heterosis in F3 as residual heterosis was mostly negative and fruitful heterosis was suggested in self‐pollinated species such as chickpea that lacks inbreeding depression. Interspecific transgression was significant with respect to chickpea improvement because it represented a potential source of novel genetic variation.