Table Of ContentPLANT GENETIC RESOURCES OF LEGUMES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture
VOLUME39
Scientific Editor
R.J. Summerfield, The University ofR eading, Department ofA griculture, P.O. Box 236, Reading
RG6 2AT, Berkshire, UK
Scientific Advisory Board
J. Hamblin, Research Director, Export Grains Centre Ltd., WA, Australia
H.-J. Jacobsen, Universiit Hannover, Hannover, Germany
Aims and Scope
The book series is intended for readers ranging from advanced students to senior research scientists
and corporate directors interested in acquiring in-depth, state-of-the-art knowledge about research
findings and techniques related to all aspects of agricultural biotechnology. Although the previous
volumes in the series dealt with plant science and biotechnology, the aim is now to also include
volumes dealing with animals science, food science and microbiology. While the subject matter will
relate more particularly to agricultural applications, timely topics in basic science and biotechnology
will also be explored. Some volumes will report progress in rapidly advancing disciplines through
proceedings of symposia and workshops while others will detail fundamental information of an
enduring nature that will be referenced repeatedly.
The titles published in this series are listed at the end oft his volume.
Plant Genetic Resources
of Legumes in
the Mediterranean
Edited by
NIGEL MAXTED
University of Birmingham
and
SARITA JANE BENNETT
Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CL/MA)
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, BV. .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 978-90-481-5613-9 ISBN 978-94-015-9823-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-015-9823-1
Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2001
Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 200 I
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
Contents
Preface
VJI
List of Contributors Xl
Color Plates XV
Section 1 Introduction
1 Conservation, Diversity and Use of Mediterranean Legumes
Nigel Maxted and Sarita Jane Bennett
2 Ecogeographic Environment of the Mediterranean 33
Sarita Jane Bennett and Nigel Maxted
3 Legume Diversity in the Mediterranean Region 51
Nigel Maxted and Sarita Jane Bennett
Section 2 Genetic Diversity of Legumes in the Mediterranean
4 Clovers (Trifolium L.) 79
Emma-Jane Lamont, Aziza Zoghlami, Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton and Sarita Jane Bennett
5 Medics (Medicago L.) 99
Jean Marie Prosperi, Geoff Aurich!, G. Genier and Richard Johnson
6 Chickpeas (Cicer L.) 115
Richard Hannan, Nevin A<;ikgoz, and Larry D. Robertson
7 Lentils (Lens L.) 125
Morag Ferguson and William Erskine
8 Vetches (Vicia L.) 134
Mark van de Wouw, Dirk Enneking, Larry D. Robertson and Nigel Maxted
9 Grasspea and Chicklings (Latltyrus L.) 159
Ashutosh Sarker, Ali Abd El Moneim and Nigel Maxted
10 Peas (Pi.mm L.) 181
Nigel Maxted and Mike Ambrose
v
Maxted and Bennett Contents
11 Lupins (Lupinus L.) 191
Wallace Cowling
12 Minor and under-utilised legumes 207
Sarita Jane Bennett, Clive Francis and Bob Reid
13 Root-nodule Bacteria 231
John G. Howieson
Section 3 Conservation of Legumes in the Mediterranean
14 Ex Situ Conservation of Grain Legumes 245
Larry D. Robertson and Nigel Maxted
15 Ex Situ Conservation of Forage Legumes 263
Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton, Steve Hughes and Nigel Maxted
16 In Situ Conservation 292
Nigel Maxted, Ayfer Tan, Ahmed Amri and Jan Valkoun
Section 4 Utilisation of Legumes in the Mediterranean
17 Utilisation of Grain Legume Diversity 311
William Erskine, Kaddambot Siddique, Tanveer Khan and Wallace Cowling
18 Utilisation of Forage and Pasture Legume Diversity 327
Kenneth Street, Larry Robertson and Nigel Maxted
Section 5 Afterword
19 Future Conservation and Utilisation Priorities 357
Nigel Maxted and Sarita Jane Bennett
vi
Preface
Genetic erosion, that is the loss of genetic diversity, of the Earth's biological resources is
notoriously difficult to quantity, but few would disagree that the Twentieth Century has seen a
massive and exponential loss of native plant diversity in the Mediterranean Basin. This careless
eradication of species and loss of genetic diversity from a botanical and agricultural 'hot-spot' of
diversity is a result of human intervention and continues apace today. It can be directly linked to the
introduction of modern agricultural practices and lack ofs ustainable development, which in turn have
negative economic, political and social consequences for the region. Plant genetic diversity forms the
biological basis for sustainable agriculture and directly contributes to food security for the regions
growing human population, but while recent conservation efforts in the Mediterranean have had
beneficial effects, the still diminishing Mediterranean flora can accurately be described as a 'Flora in
Crisis'.
However, since the early 1960s there has been a movement to halt the loss of plant diversity
and enhance its utilisation. This initiative was under-scored by the Convention on Biological
Diversity that not only expounds the need to conserve biological diversity but links conservation to
exploitation and development for the benefit of all. Article 8 oft he Convention clearly states the need
to develop more effective and efficient guidelines to conserve biological diversity, while Article 9,
along with the F AO International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources, promotes a
complementary approach to conservation incorporating both in situ and ex situ techniques.
It has been argued that the most important component ofbiodiversity is the genetic diversity
of plants, those crop and forage species used to feed humans and livestock. Plant genetic diversity
in both cultivated and wild species provides the raw material for further selection and improvement,
and has enabled breeders to develop cultivars to feed to the expanding human population within the
Mediterranean region and throughout the temperate world. However, formal plant breeding is a
relatively recent activity, and farmers have been nurturing the crop and forage species that originated
in the Mediterranean Basin and North West Asia for millennia.
The careless eradication of species and loss of genetic diversity is threatening and clearly
impeding crop improvement. The Convention on Biological Diversity recognises the link between
conservation and sustainable utilisation, as well as the need to improve the efficiency of conservation
activities. As a result the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which
has a major international responsibility for global food security, established the System-wide Genetic
Resources Programme (SGRP) to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the CGIAR's
contribution to Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) conservation and
sustainable utilisation. The sixteen CGIAR centres currently hold about half a million accessions in
trust for humanity. To help increase transparency and ensure maximum use of conserved diversity,
the CGIAR published 'Biodiversity in Trust: Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources in
CGIAR Centres' in 1997. This text reviewed the status of the CGIAR collections, providing details
of botany, distribution and agronomy ofthe most important PGRF A species. Although the CGIAR
system contains very large and significant collections of PGRF A species, their collections are not
vii
Maxted and Bennett Preface
exhaustive. The World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources
(WIEWS) database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which contains
information on national PGRF A programmes, indicates that there are 6.1 million PGRF A accessions
held worldwide. Therefore, there is a need to further enhance transparency in a complementary
manner, by focusing attention on particular regions and plant families. As with the CGIAR volume,
we hope to stimulate more effective genetic conservation oflegume diversity in the Mediterranean
region, and ensure improved and sustainable utilisation.
Why legumes oft he Mediterranean? Leguminosae species are ofm ajor economic importance
(second only to the Gramineae), and the diverse herbaceous species of sub-family Papilionoideae
provide a particularly rich source of protein for human and animal foods. Numerous Leguminosae
species are exploited throughout temperate and tropical agro-ecosystems. Within the temperate
regions of the world, the highest concentration oflegume species is found in the Mediterranean (91
genera, 1,956 species and 495 subspecific taxa (Med-Checklist Database: Berendsohn, pers. comm.).
The Mediterranean Basin with South-West Asia is undoubtedly a "hot-spot" for legume PGRFA
diversity. It is the centre of diversity for the four major temperate legume crops: peas, chickpeas,
lentils and faba beans, which all originated in this region. The region also contains two ofN.I.
Vavilov's centres of major crop plant diversity. The Asia Minor Centre is important for Cicer
arietinum (secondary centre), Lens culinaris, L. orienta/is, Vicia ervilia, Pisum sativum, various
forage plants such as Medicago sativa, Trifolium re!l71pinatum, Trigonella foenum-graecum,
Onobrychis spp., Lathyrus cicera, and several Vi cia spp.; and the Mediterranean Centre is important
for Viciafaba, V. sativa, Lathyrus ochrus, large-seeded Cicer arietinum, Hedysarum coronarium
and Omithopus sativus. Therefore, legumes and the Mediterranean region are a vital resource for
world agriculture.
We have divided the book into four sections and 19 chapters. Section 1 introduces the
subjects of conservation and use oflegume diversity, the Mediterranean ecosystem and taxonomy of
legumes. Section 2 reviews the taxonomic and genetic diversity of legume species found in the
Mediterranean, largely based on generic summaries. Each chapter summarises generic taxonomy,
centre of diversity, ecogeographic distribution, genetic diversity distribution, conservation status,
conservation gaps and research needs. There is also a discussion of the importance of rhizobia to the
maintenance oflegume diversity. Section 3 reviews ex situ and in situ conservation activities in the
region, while Section 4 reviews how legume genetic diversity is currently being used both within the
Mediterranean and other regions of world where Mediterranean genetic resources are exploited.
Finally, in conclusion we attempt in an Afterword to summarise the future priorities for ex situ and
in situ plant genetic conservation for Mediterranean legumes and highlight some important
development in terms of utilisation.
It should be noted that the many chapters contain summaries of current ex situ gene bank
holdings. When editing this volume it was noted that in certain cases different figures are quoted for
the same taxa in a gene bank. As editors we could have standardised these figures, however, we
preferred to leave the figures as stated by the contributing authors. It should be remembered that any
figures included in a text oft his kind should be seen as being indicative rather than absolute, therefore
small variations in quoted figures have little consequence. By their dynamic nature, gene bank
holdings change regularly as accessions are added or lost. Therefore figures on current holding are
viii
Maxted and Bennett Preface
valid only for a short period, thus if accurate figures are required they should be obtained from the
collection managers or their web sites.
We wish to gratefully acknowledge the following grain and forage legume gene bank curators
for supplying information on their holdings: Australian Temperate Field Crop Collection, Horsham,
Australia; Australian Trifolium Genetic Resource Centre, Perth, Australia; Centre for Legumes in
Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), Australia, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA,
6907, Australia; South Australian Research and Development Institute, Waite Campus. GPO Box
397. Adelaide SA 5001 Australia; Institute for Plant Genetic Resources "K. Malkov", Sadovo,
Plovdiv, Bulgaria; INRA-SGAP Domaine de Melgueil, F34130 Mauguio, France; IDEAS, Unviersite
de Pau et des Pays de I' Adour, Pau, France; BAZ Gene Bank, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig,
Germany; Institut fiir Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany;
Institute of Agrobotany, Tapi6szele, Hungary; Istituto del Germoplasma, Bari, Italy; Centre for
Genetic Resources, Centre for Plant Breeding and Reproduction research, PO Box 16, Wageningen,
Netherlands; N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry, St. Petersburg, Russia; Instituto
Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Madrid, Spain; Nordic Gene Bank, Box 41, Alnarp, Sweden;
Aegean Agricultural Research Institute, Menemen, Turkey; John Innes Centre, Norwich Research
Park, Colney, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK; Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas
Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3EB, UK; USDA-SEA, Plant Genetic Resources Unit,
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington State, 99163, USA; USDA-ARS, Plant Genetic
Resources Unit, Cornell University, Geneva, New York 14456-0462, USA; International Centre for
Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Aleppo, Syria; and International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA; the ICARD A and ICRISAT data
sets were obtained from the System-wide Information Network for Genetic Resources (SINGER).
We also thank ILDIS for supplying data on the distribution oflegume species.
We have attempted to encourage our contributors to look forward rather than simply
reviewing past and current activities. As highlighted above, any text which details current germ plasm
holding or locates current conservation sites alone is in the long term doomed to lose relevance as
these data are by their nature ephemeral; in this sense both ex situ and in situ conservation activities
are dynamic. However, the discussion contained within will, it is hoped, identify sources of genetic
erosion, locate taxonomic and genetic diversity that is not conserved, and promote more efficient
utilisation of conserved material.
Nigel Maxted
Sarita Jane Bennett
July 2000
ix
List of Contributors
Abd El Moneim, Ali International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Aleppo,
SYRIA
Avikgoz, Nevin Aegean Agricultural Research Institute, Menemen, Izmir, TURKEY.
Ambrose, Mike John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich, NR4
7UH, UK
Amri, Ahmed International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Aleppo,
SYRIA
Auricht, Geoff South Australian Research and Development Institute, PRC, GPO
Box 397, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
Bennett, Sarita Jane Co-operative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean
Agriculture, University ofWestern Australia, Nedlands, WA 6907,
AUSTRALIA
Christiansen, Scott Facilitation Unit c/o International Centre for Agricultural Research in
Dry Areas, P.O. Box 2416, Cairo, EGYPT.
Cowling, Wallace Plant Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA
6907 AUSTRALIA
Enneking, Dirk Weuert 15a, D-49439 Steinfeld, GERMANY.
Erskine, William International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Aleppo,
SYRIA
Ferguson, Morag International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics,
Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA
Francis, Clive Co-operative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean
Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6907,
AUSTRALIA
Genier, G. INRA-SGAP Domaine de Melgueil, F34130 Mauguio, FRANCE.
xi
