BIOBASICS Question of the Week?

What are leguminous crops? Explain and Exemplify.

BIOBASICS Solution: The term 'Legume' is derived from the Latin word legumen (with the same meaning as the English term), which is in turn believed to come from the verb legere "to gather." A legume in botanical writing is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or a fruit of these specific plants.A common name for this type of fruit is a pod, although "pod" is also applied to a few other fruit types, such as vanilla. A pulse is an annual leguminous crop yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape, and color within a pod. Pulses are used for food and animal feed. The term "pulse", as used by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry grain. This excludes green beans and green peas, which are considered vegetable crops. Also excluded are crops that are mainly grown for oil extraction (oilseeds like soybeans and peanuts), and crops which are used exclusively for sowing (clovers, alfalfa).

Legumes are rich in essential amino acid lysine but contain relatively low quantities of the methionine. Since grains like Wheat or Rice are poor in lysine content and high in methionine, so grains are usually teamed with legumes in vegetarian diets e.g. Dal and Rice or Wheat bread in India.

Well-known legumes include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, soy, and peanuts.