Rice bean (Vigna umbellata) Crop Improvement

Rice bean (Vigna umbellata) Crop Breeding, Origin, Texonomical classification, nutritional attributes, Popular varieties

2. Dr. PratibhaBisen
Dept. Plant Breeding & Genetics
College of Agriculture, Balaghat
JNKVV Jabalpur (M.P.)
Rice bean

3. Legumesarethesecondmostconsumedcropandprovides33%ofdietary
protein.
Ricebean,Vignaumbellata(Thunb.)isakharif-seasonannuallegume.
Itsseedsareconsumedaspulse.
Itisconsideredasaminorlegumeasitisgrowninlimitedareasasintercrop
withmaizeandsorghum.
ItismostlygrowninuplandsthroughoutIndo-Chinaregionextendinginto
NepalandBangladesh.
Itisadaptivetoadiverserangeofenvironmentandcangrowinresource-poor
soil.Itisarichsourceofproteinandminerals,andisresistanttovariouspestsand
diseases.
Introduction

4. Despitebeingahigh-yieldingnutritionallyrichcropmajorityofits
germplasmaccessionsandvarietiessuffersfrommanyundesirableattributes,
includingasynchronousandlatematurity,indeterminategrowthhabit,highpod
dehiscenceandseedshatteringhabit,andenhancedlevelofafewanti-
nutritionalcomponentsascomparedtoothermajorfoodlegumesresulting
underutilizationofthiscrop.
Verylimitedinformationregardinggeneticandgenomicresources,andalack
ofsystematiceffortstowardsphenotypicandgenotypiccharacterizationof
germplasmaccessionsconservedatgenebanksimpedegenomics-assisted
breedingapplicationsandgeneticenhancementofricebean.

5. Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Phaseoleae
Genus: Vigna
Species: V.umbellata
Binomial name
Vignaumbellata
Taxonomical Classification

6. ThecultivatedAsiaticVignaspeciesbelongtothesub-genusCeratotropis,
afairlydistinctandhomogeneousgroup,largelyrestrictedtoAsia,which
hasachromosomenumberof2n=22(exceptV.glabrescens,2n=44).
Therearesevencultivatedspecieswithinthesub-genus,includingmung
beanorgreengram(V.radiata),blackgramoruradbean(V.
mungo),adzukibean(V.angularis)andmothbean(V.aconitifolia)aswell
asanumberofwildspecies.

7. Ricebean'sdistributionpatternindicatesgreatadaptivepolymorphismfordiverse
environments,withitsdistributionrangingfromhumidtropicaltosub-tropical,to
sub-temperateclimate.
ThepresumedcentreofdomesticationisIndo-China.
RicebeanoriginatedfromIndochinaandwasprobablydomesticatedinThailand
andneighbouringregions.
ItisfoundnaturallyinIndia,centralChinaandintheIndochinesePeninsula.
Origin and distribution

8. Ricebeanisamultipurposelegume,sometimesconsideredasneglectedand
underutilised.
Allpartsofthericebeanplantareedibleandusedinculinarypreparations.
Thedryseedscanbeboiledandeatenwithriceortheycanreplacericeinstews
orsoups.
Youngpods,leavesandsproutedseedsareboiledandeatenasvegetables.
Youngpodsaresometimeseatenraw.
Ricebeanisusefulforlivestockfeeding.
Thevegetativepartscanbefedfreshormadeintohayandtheseedsareusedas
fodder.Ricebeanstraw,thecropresidueoftheseedharvest,indudesthestems,
leafyportions,emptypods,andsomeseeds.
Beforefeeding,thewoodyportionsandsoiledormildewedpartsofthestraw
shouldberemoved.
Utilization

9. Morphology
Vignaumbellataisashort-livedperenniallegumeusuallygrownasanannual.
Ithasaveryvariablehabit:itcanbeerect,semi-erectortwining.
Itisusually30-100cminheight,butcangrowupto200cm.
Ithasanextensiverootsystemwithataprootthatcangoasdeepas100-150
cm.
Thestemsarebranchedandfinelyhaired.Theleavesaretrifoliatewithentire,
6-9cmlongleaflets.
Theflowers,bornon5-10cmlongaxillaryracemes,arepapillonaceousand
brightyellow.

10. Thefruitsarecylindrical,7.5-12.5cmlongpodsthatcontain6-10oblong,6-8
mmseedswithaconcavehilum.
Ricebeanseedsareveryvariableincolour,fromgreenish-yellowtoblack
throughyellow,brown.
Yellow-brownishtypesarereportedtobethemostnutritious.
Theredtypegivesitscommonnametothegraininseverallanguages,for
exampleinChinese.

11. Ricebeanforage
Likeotherlegumeforages,freshricebeanforageisrelativelyrichinprotein,
thoughitsconcentrationisextremelyvariable(17-23%DM).
Ricebeanhayandstrawareslightlylessnutritious(16and14%proteininthe
DM,respectively).
Ricebeanforageisalsorichinminerals(10%oftheDMinthefreshforage),
andparticularlyincalcium(upto2%inthefreshforage).
Ricebeanstrawcontainslargeamountsofmineralmatter(morethan20%of
DM)thoughitishighlyvariable.
Nutritional attributes

12. Ricebeanseeds
Ricebeanseedsarerichinprotein(18-26%DM),thoughgenerallyless
thanpea(Pisumsativum)orcowpea(Vignaunguiculata).
Theycontainlimitedamountsoffibreandfat(about4and2%,
respectively).
Theaminoacidprofileiscomparabletothatofothergrainlegumes:itis
relativelyrichinlysine(morethan6%oftheprotein)butpoorinsulphur-
containingaminoacids.Ricebeanshaveahighstarchconcentration,with
reportedvaluesrangingfrom52to57%oftheDM.
Theamylosecontentofthestarchisextremelyvariable,from20to60%.

13. RBL 6
RBL 1
RBL 35
RBL 50
PRR2
BRS 1
POPULAR VARIETIES