The last decade has witnessed dramatic changes in global food consumption patterns mainly because of population growth and economic development. Food substitutions for healthier eating, such as swapping regular servings of meat for protein-rich crops, is an emerging diet trend that may shape the future of food systems and the environment worldwide. To meet the erratic consumer demand in a rapidly changing world where resources become increasingly scarce due largely to anthropogenic activity, the need to develop crops that benefit both human health and the environment has become urgent. Legumes are often considered to be affordable plant-based sources of dietary proteins. Growing legumes provides significant benefits to cropping systems and the environment because of their natural ability to perform symbiotic nitrogen fixation, which enhances both soil fertility and water-use efficiency. In recent years, the focus in legume research has seen a transition from merely improving economically important species such as soybeans to increasingly turning attention to some promising underutilized species whose genetic resources hold the potential to address global challenges such as food security and climate change. Pulse crops have gained in popularity as an affordable source of food or feed; in fact, the United Nations designated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, proclaiming their critical role in enhancing global food security. Given that many studies have been conducted on numerous underutilized pulse crops across the world, we provide a systematic review of the related literature to identify gaps and opportunities in pulse crop genetics research. We then discuss plausible strategies for developing and using pulse crops to strengthen food and nutrition security in the face of climate and anthropogenic changes.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different shading regimes [i.e., 60% (heavy), 30% (moderate), and 0% (control)] on 25 traits associated with the morphological features, photosynthetic gas exchange and agronomic characteristics of winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), an underutilized protein-rich legume from the tropics. Collectively, 80% of the studied variables displayed significant differences (P<0.05) between at least two shade treatments. Shading generally showed most pronounced effect on the physiological traits of the legume, whereby the stomatal conductance, photosynthetic and transpiration rate differed significantly among plants for all treatments. The non-shaded plants were observed to have superior growth and physiological responses than the shaded plants. Interestingly, the moderately shaded plants exhibited the highest yield per plant, which significantly differed from the non-shaded and heavily shaded plants. This indicated that winged bean can adapt to partial canopy cover, making it a potential nitrogen-fixing cash crop which can be planted together with fruit or oil trees in commercial plantations.

The natural timing devices of organisms, commonly known as biological clocks, are composed of specific complex folding molecules that interact to regulate the circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms, the changes or processes that follow a 24-h light–dark cycle, while endogenously programmed, are also influenced by environmental factors, especially in sessile organisms such as plants, which can impact ecosystems and crop productivity. Current knowledge of plant clocks emanates primarily from research on Arabidopsis, which identified the main components of the circadian gene regulation network. Nonetheless, there remain critical knowledge gaps related to the molecular components of circadian rhythms in important crop groups, including the nitrogen-fixing legumes. Additionally, little is known about the synergies and trade-offs between environmental factors and circadian rhythm regulation, especially how these interactions fine-tune the physiological adaptations of the current and future crops in a rapidly changing world. This review highlights what is known so far about the circadian rhythms in legumes, which include major as well as potential future pulse crops that are packed with nutrients, particularly protein. Based on existing literature, this review also identifies the knowledge gaps that should be addressed to build a sustainable food future with the reputed “poor man’s meat”.