Overcoming chronic malnutrition in a future warming world: the key importance of mungbean and vegetable soybean

Abstract

Malnutrition or 'hidden hunger' severely stunts human potential due to imbalanced diets and a lack of vital vitamins and minerals. Hunger and obesity are its extremes. Hardy, multipurpose legumes that can be used as vegetables or grains by smallholders or large enterprises and with multiple manufacturing uses have a vital role to play in overcoming growing malnutrition in South Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Population growth over the next 40 years will require a doubling of food production in developing countries and climate change will make achieving this goal more uncertain. Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilzcek) and vegetable soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) can be consumed as highly nutritious vegetables or grains and are well suited to smallholder production under adverse climatic conditions. Both are well established in intensive cropping systems in Asia, but are little known elsewhere. Recent collaborative plant breeding efforts in Asia produced high yielding, disease-resistant mungbean varieties that mature synchronously in 60-65 days. This revolutionized the industry, allowing the crop to be added to smallholder rice/wheat rotations and leading to a major increase in global production Vegetable soybeans are larger and more nutritious than grain soybeans, but constitute less than 2% of global soybean production. Well known as fresh vegetables in East Asia, they are highly suited to smallholder agriculture or home gardens, producing among the highest yields of crop protein per unit area. More promotion and minor adaptive research can make these regional successes more widely available to help overcome malnutrition.Keywords Mungbean Á Vegetable soybean Á Malnutrition Á Smallholder Malnutrition in a warmer worldThe changing nature of malnutrition A balanced diet is essential for good health and human development. Malnutrition is primarily a problem of poverty, but it is also influenced by social and cultural factors. Excess energy consumption resulting in obesity is an extreme result of malnourishment, as is undernutrition and starvation. Imbalanced diets are widespread in developing and developed nations. Good health depends on the availability, affordability, and acceptability of the foods essential to a balanced diet, including legumes.

Potential of Underutilized Traditional Vegetables and Legume Crops to Contribute to Food and Nutritional Security, Income and More Sustainable Production Systems

“…Half of the worldwide mungbean production is generated in India (3 million hectares), followed by China and Myanmar [72]. Mungbean is a good source of dietary protein with high contents of folate and iron compared with many other legume crops [73]. As it is a short duration legume, it fits well into the fallow period between rice-rice, rice-wheat, rice-potato-wheat, maize-wheat, cotton, and other cash crop cropping systems in use across the Indo-Gangetic plain.…”

Perspectives and Challenges for Sustainable Management of Fungal Diseases of Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek var. radiata]: A Review

“…Mungbean seeds is a good source of dietary protein for humans including marginal people, and people who live in areas with less access to meat or where people are mostly vegetarian (AVRDC, 2012). Mungbean sprouts and green pods contain high level of vitamins and minerals (Keatinge et al, 2011;Nair et al, 2015).…”

Adaptation Study of Mung Bean (Vigna Radiate) Varieties in Raya Valley, Northern Ethiopia

“…Ketinge, et al [4] Stated that mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) is an essential short duration, self pollinated diploid legume crop with high nutritive significances and nitrogen fixing capacity. It is an eco-friendly food grain leguminous crop of dryland agriculture with wealthy basis of proteins, vitamins, and minerals.…”