Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.)

Eagleton, G. E.; Tanzi, A. S.; Mayes, S.; Massawe, F.; Ho, W. K.; Kuswanto, K.; Stephenson, R. A.; Khan, T. N.

Abstract

Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) is a viny, leguminous, vegetable crop of humid regions in Southern Asia and New Guinea. In 1975, a review of 36 underexploited tropical plants by a US National Academy of Sciences select committee highlighted winged bean's promiscuous nodulation and nitrogen fixation across tropical soil types; its high protein content in all plant parts; and favorable amino acid and fatty acid composition in the mature seed. The panel recommended an expanded research effort. This led to a comprehensive assessment of the agronomic potential for production of winged bean's edible components—vegetable pods; seed; tuberous roots, and leafy shoots—in countries across its traditional geographic range and beyond. Research since then has continued to investigate three key limitations to winged bean's expanded use: a relatively high moisture requirement; indeterminate growth habit and delayed maturity, exacerbated by daylength sensitivity; and hard-seededness that constrains germination and food-processing possibilities. Landrace evaluation and conventional breeding, aided by innovative phenotyping and genomic-assisted methods, hold promise of overcoming such constraints. The aim would be to develop winged bean ideotypes suited to a range of cropping scenarios.

Citation

Eagleton, G. E., Tanzi, A. S., Mayes, S., Massawe, F., Ho, W. K., Kuswanto, K., Stephenson, R. A., & Khan, T. N. (2023). Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.). In Neglected and Underutilized Crops: Future Smart Food (437-486). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-90537-4.00022-3

• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Oct 1, 2024
• Pages: 437-486
• Book Title: Neglected and Underutilized Crops: Future Smart Food
• Chapter Number: 17
• ISBN: 9780323905374
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-90537-4.00022-3
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/19466031
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323905374000223?via%3Dihub