Legumes: Past, Present, and Future

Legumes have been part of the cropping system of nearly every human culture but virtually never the principal food source. Their main contribution appears to have been the provision of new fixed nitrogen to the agricultural system, at the same time providing valuable protein and some essential amino...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioscience 1978-09, Vol.28 (9), p.565-570
Main Author: Delwiche, C. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Beans
Fixation
Food
Foodborne illnesses
Foodways
Forage
Legumes
Nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation
Plants
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Legumes have been part of the cropping system of nearly every human culture but virtually never the principal food source. Their main contribution appears to have been the provision of new fixed nitrogen to the agricultural system, at the same time providing valuable protein and some essential amino acids as supplement to cereal and root diets. Increasing costs of energy for industrial nitrogen fixation and the ability to alter the legume-Rhizobium system probably will result in a more general use of leguminous crops both as a nitrogen source and directly for food.
ISSN:0006-3568
1525-3244
DOI:10.2307/1307511