Grain legumes
Pulse crops are an important and major source of protein for the vast population of Asia. Of the six major pulse crops (mungbean, urdbean, lentil, grass pea, rajmash and field pea) mungbean and urdbeans are cultivatedon over6 millionha in India,which is more than 25% of the area under all pulse crops (Dixit et al., 2000). In India, 8 mutant cultivars of mungbean (VignaradiataL.Wilczek),4ofurdbean(blackgram– VignamungoL.Hepper)and3oflentil(Lensculinaris Medik.) with high yielding capacity have contributed several million dollars to the country’s agriculture.