Pulse (legume)

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Pulse (legume)

Pulses are annual leguminous crops yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape and color within a pod, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Pulses are used for food and animal feed.

The term pulses, as used by the FAO, is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry grain. This excludes green beans and green peas, which are considered vegetable crops.

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Encyclopedia

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume Fabaceae native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual plant herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm tall....
s), and crops which are used exclusively for sowing (clovers, alfalfa).

Pulses are important food crops due to their high protein

Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
and essential amino acid

Essential amino acid

File:BakedFish.jpgAn essential amino acid or indispensable amino acid is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized de novo synthesis by the organism , and therefore must be supplied in the diet....
content. Like many leguminous crops, pulses play a key role in crop rotation

Crop rotation

Crop rotation or Crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of Crop in the same area in sequential seasons for various benefits such as to avoid the build up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped....
due to their ability to fix nitrogen

Nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen is taken from its relatively inert molecular form in the Earth's atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds ....
.

World economy

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
is the world's largest producer and the largest consumer of pulses. Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia, or Indochina. The country is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest with...
, Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
are significant exporters, and are India's most significant suppliers, in that order.

Classification

FAO recognizes 11 primary pulses.

Dry beans (Phaseolus
Phaseolus

Phaseolus is a genus in the family Fabaceae of about fifty plant species, all native to the Americas.At least four of the species have been domestication since pre-Columbian times for their beans....
spp. including several species now in Vigna)
- Kidney bean, haricot bean, pinto bean, navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
- Lima bean
  Lima bean
  
  'Phaseolus lunatus' is a legume. It is grown for its seed, which is eaten as a vegetable. It is commonly known as the 'lima bean' or 'butter bean'; it is also known as Haba bean, Pallar bean, Burma bean, Guffin bean, Hibbert bean, Sieva bean, Rangoon bean, Madagascar bean, Paiga, Paigya, ...
  , butter bean (Vigna lunatus)
- Azuki bean
  Azuki bean
  
  The azuki bean is an Annual plant vine widely grown throughout East Asia and the Himalayas for its small bean. The cultivars most familiar in north-east Asia have a uniform red color, but white, black, gray and variously mottled varieties are also known....
  , adzuki bean (Vigna angularis)
- Mung bean
  Mung bean
  
  ||-||}Mung bean, also known as green bean, mung, moong, mash bean, munggo or monggo, green gram, golden gram, and green soy, is the seed of Vigna radiata which is native to India and Pakistan....
  , golden gram, green gram (Vigna radiata)
- Black gram
  Urad (bean)
  
  Urad, also referred to as urad dal, udad dal, urd bean, urd, urid, black matpe bean, black gram, black lentil , or white lentil , is a bean grown in southern Asia....
  , Urad (Vigna mungo)
- Scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus)
- Ricebean (Vigna umbellata)
- Moth bean
  Moth bean
  
  The moth bean , also called mat bean or Turkish gram or Matki/Mataki in Marathi, is a small, xerophyte annual plant trailing herb with small yellow flowers and deeply lobed leaf, grown especially in dry parts of South Asia for its tiny edible beans, which range in color from light brown to dark reddish brown....
  (Vigna acontifolia)
- Tepary bean
  Tepary bean
  
  The Tepary bean is native to the Southwestern United States United States and Mexico and has been grown there by the native peoples since pre-Columbian times....
  (Phaseolus acutifolius)
Dry broad beans
Vicia faba

Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Faba Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean is a species of legume native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere....
(Vicia faba)
- Horse bean
  Vicia faba
  
  Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Faba Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean is a species of legume native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere....
  (Vicia faba equina)
- Broad bean
  Vicia faba
  
  Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Faba Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean is a species of legume native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere....
  (Vicia faba)
- Field bean
  Vicia faba
  
  Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Faba Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean is a species of legume native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere....
  (Vicia faba)
Dry peas (Pisum spp.)
- Garden pea
  Pea
  
  A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the legume Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Although treated as a vegetable in cooking, it is botanically a fruit....
  (Pisum sativum var. sativum)
- Protein pea (Pisum sativun var. arvense)
Chickpea
Chickpea

The chickpea is an edible legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Chickpeas are high in protein and one of the earliest cultivated vegetables....
, Garbanzo, Bengal gram (Cicer arietinum)
Dry cowpea
Cowpea

The Cowpea is one of several species of the widely cultivated genus Vigna. Four cultivated subspecies are recognised:*Vigna unguiculata subsp....
, Black-eyed pea
Black-eyed pea

The black-eyed pea, also called black-eyed bean, "??" , lobiya , feij?o-frade , b?r?lce , Chavali/???? ,thatta payir , alasandee , mavromatika , louvi , and d?u tr?ng , is a subspecies of the cowpea, grown around the world for its medium-sized edible bean....
, blackeye bean (Vigna unguiculata )
Pigeon pea
Pigeon pea

The pigeon pea is a perennial member of the family Fabaceae. Other common names are arhar , Rohor , red gram, toovar/toor , tuvaram paruppu ,toovara paruppu ,'togari , Kandi , gandul, guandul, guandu, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea....
, Toor, cajan pea, congo bean (Cajanus cajan)
Lentil
Lentil

The lentil or daal or pulse is a bushy annual plant of the Fabaceae family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 15 inches tall and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each....
(Lens culinaris)
Bambara groundnut
Bambara groundnut

The Bambara groundnut is a member of the family Fabaceae. According to some authors it is Voandzeia subterranea, but others place it in Vigna....
, earth pea (Vigna subterranea)
Vetch, common vetch (Vicia sativa)
Lupin
Lupin

Lupin, often spelled lupine in North America, is the common name for members of the genus Lupinus in the legume family . The genus comprises between 200-600 species, with major centers of diversity in South America and western North America - ) and - in the Mediterranean region and Africa....
s (Lupinus spp.)
Minor pulses include:
Lablab, hyacinth bean
Hyacinth bean

The Hyacinth Bean Savi. ), also called Indian Bean, Egyptian Bean or d?u v?n , is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae that is widespread as a food crop throughout the tropics, especially in Africa, India and Indonesia....
(Lablab purpureus)
Jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), sword bean (Canavalia gladiata)
Winged bean
Winged bean

The Winged bean , also known as the Goa bean and Asparagus Pea and Winged Pea , is a tropical legume plant native to Papua New Guinea....
(Psophocarpus teragonolobus)
Velvet bean, cowitch (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis)
Yam bean (Pachyrrizus erosus)

Protein content
Pulses are 20 to 25% protein by weight, which is double the protein content of wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
and three times that of rice
Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
. For this reason, pulses are sometimes called "poor man’s meat". While pulses are generally high in protein, and the digestibility of that protein is also high, they often are relatively poor in the essential amino acid
Essential amino acid

File:BakedFish.jpgAn essential amino acid or indispensable amino acid is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized de novo synthesis by the organism , and therefore must be supplied in the diet....
methionine
Methionine

Methionine is an a-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2SCH3. This Essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar....
. Grains
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
(which are themselves deficient in lysine
Lysine

Lysine is an a-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. This amino acid is an essential amino acid, which means that humans cannot synthesize it....
) are commonly consumed along with pulses to form a complete protein diet.

Health

Pulses have significant nutritional and health advantages for consumers. They are the most important dietary predictor of survival in older people of different ethnicities, and in the Seven Countries Study, legume consumption was highly correlated with a reduced mortality from coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease

Coronary artery disease is the end result of the accumulation of atheroma within the walls of the Coronary circulation that supply the myocardium with oxygen and nutrients....
.

See also

Bean
Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genus of the Family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed.The whole young pods of bean plants, if picked before the pods ripen and dry, can be tender enough to eat whole, whether cooked or raw....
Common bean
Common bean

The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean....

Legume
Legume

A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae , or a fruit of these specific plants. A legume fruit is a Fruit#Simple fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually Dehiscence on two sides....
Fabaceae
Fabaceae

Fabaceae or Leguminosae is a large and economically important family of flowering plants, which is commonly known as the legume family, pea family, bean family or pulse family....

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