Asparagus bean immature pods and seeds are popular as food products for healthy and functional nutrition. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was used to compare metabolomic profiles of seeds and pods yielded by old Chinese landraces and the modern cultivars ‘Yunanskaya’ and ‘Sibirskiy razmer’. About 120 compounds were identified. The content of a majority among groups of compounds was higher in pods than in seeds. The amount of free amino acids in pods was 47 times higher, polyols and phytosterols 5 times higher, phenolics 4 times higher, and organic acids and saponins 3 times higher than in seeds. Differences were found in the relative content of compounds. Among phenolic compounds, the dominant one for seeds was protocatechuic acid, and for pods 4-hydroxycinnamic acid. Only polyols were identified in seeds, but pods additionally contained ethanolamine, phytol, and phytosphingosine. The ratio for nonsaturated/saturated fatty acids was 2.2 in seeds and 1.4 in pods. Seeds contained more stigmasterol, and pods more β-sitosterol. Aglycones of saponins were identified: cycloartenol in seeds, α- and β-amyrins in pods. Oligosaccharides dominated in both seeds and pods. Landraces manifested higher protein content in pods, while modern cultivars had pods with higher contents of organic acids, polyols, monosaccharides, and fatty acids. The results obtained confirm the high nutritional value of asparagus bean seeds and pods, and the prospects of their use in various diets.

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Relevance. Currently, there is an interest in this country in vegetable varieties of Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdc. However, a small number of varieties adapted to different cultivation conditions prevents a wider distribution of this crop. The present work was aimed at creating new vegetable cowpea varieties adapted to the climatic conditions of southern regions of Russia.Materials and methods. The study was carried out in 1998-2018 in the Astrakhan Province (Astrakhan Experiment Station) and in 2012-2018 in Primorsky Territory (Far East Experiment Station). Vegetable cowpea accessions from the global VIR collection were studied.Results. Many years of breeding have resulted in creation of such varieties as ‘Astrakhanskaya krasavitsa’, ‘Kaspiyskaya zarya’, ‘Zhemchyuzhina Kaspiya’ and ‘Lyanchihe’, which were included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2019. All varieties are characterized by earliness, high productivity, excellent quality of vegetable pods, high protein content in pods in the technical ripeness phase (29.5-33.5%), and by low demand to the soil fertility. ‘Zhemchyuzhina Kaspiya’, ‘Astrakhanskaya krasavitsa’ and ‘Kaspiyskaya zarya’ are tolerant to high temperatures, air drought and soil salinity. The growing season for these varieties lasts 62-68 days in the Astrakhan Province under irrigation, while technical ripeness of pods occurs in 46-50 days. The green pod yield is 16.1–28.2 t/ha and the seed yield is 1.91-2.71 t/ha. The ‘Lyanchihe’ variety tolerates humidity well; its growing season in southern Primorsky Territory is 97-110 days, and pods reach technical ripeness in 61-70 days. The green pod yield is 21.0-24.0 t/ha, and that of seeds is 2.38-2.64 t/ha. The released varieties will broaden the range of vegetable crops cultivated in this country and improve the quality of nutrition of the population.

Background. The problem of a deficit in vegetable protein and the need to diversify agricultural produce require involvement of new and little-known crops, such as cowpea, in the production. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a high-protein leguminous crop; its breeding and production have been intensified in Russia only in recent years. The study of the VIR collection, carried out at the Institute’s branch in Astrakhan, makes it possible to disclose the crop’s breeding potential. Objective: Studying the range of variability and tracing the relationships of economically valuable traits in vegetable (green pod) cowpea under the conditions of Astrakhan Province.Materials and methods. In 2008‑2010, a study was implemented at an experiment plot of the Astrakhan branch of VIR. Thirty- three accessions of green pod cowpea from the VIR collection were studied to analyze the variability of 12 phenotypic traits. Positive and negative correlations were identified between the following characters: interphase periods (flowering, industrial ripeness and seed maturation), shape of the shrub, lengths of the stem and to the first pod, length and weight of the pod, number of seeds per pod, presence of a parchment layer and fiber in pod valves, pod yield per plant, number of pods and peduncles, seed weight per plant, and weight of 1000 seeds.Results and conclusion. Medium variability was observed for such characters as the interphase periods ‘shoots–industrial ripeness’ and ‘shoots– seed maturation’, number of seeds per pod, and weight of 1000 seeds: the coefficient of variation (CV) was 15‑18%. High variation was registered for the length and weight of the pod (CV = 26‑32%), shrub shape, stem length, and length of the stem up to the first pod (CV = 35‑37%). The widest ranges of variability were demonstrated in the quantitative yield characters of cowpea accessions: number of pods per plant (CV = 33‑49%), number of flower stalks (CV = 38‑51%), and seed weight per plant (CV = 38‑44%), which means that cowpea yield is quite susceptible to weather conditions. During the three years of studying, the lowest levels of variability in economically valuable traits were characteristic of the accessions of the early-ripening group: k‑668 and k‑873 (China); mid- ripening group: k‑971 (India); and late-ripening group: k‑141 (China). Cowpea pod productivity depended to the greatest degree from mean values of the number of pods per plant (r = 0,73) and the number of peduncles (r = 0,71). The identified correlations in the productivity components make it possible to optimize the selection of accessions promising as source materials for the development of new high-yielding cultivars.

Background. Сowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a thermophilic crop; in most countries it is grown for grain and vegetable uses. Positive results of open-field cowpea production in the southern regions of Russia and the possibility of its cultivation on infertile soils in hot and dry climate imply the need to develop new cultivars suitable for wider introduction into Russian agriculture. It is of paramount importance for cowpea breeders to know the patterns of variability in the relationships among agronomic traits and their characteristics in cultivars grown for different uses (grain and vegetable). Besides, acceleration of the breeding process to a large extent depends on the knowledge of the traits that make it possible to differentiate the source material according to its intended purpose.Materials and methods. For three years, 315 cowpea accessions of various origin from the VIR collection were studied in Astrakhan Province, Russia. Eight useful agronomic characters were examined. The variability and relationships of these characters were assessed in cultivars grown for grain and vegetable purposes using multivariate statistical analyses.Results and discussion. The characters that differentiate grain and vegetable cowpea accessions were identified: the type of seed coat surface, the presence of fiber in ventral and dorsal pod sutures and a sclerenchyma layer in pods valves, and pod length. Discriminant functions were calculated for identification and classification of accessions according to their grain and forage uses. The character (presence of depressions or longitudinal striae on the seed coat surface) diagnosing vegetable cowpea cultivars was pinpointed. Characters associated with high seed yield were identified. For grain cultivars such character is the weight of 1000 seeds, while for vegetable cultivars it is a large-seeded and long-fruit pod.