International conference on legume crops to be held in Oct

By
Daily Excelsior
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HYDERABAD, Sept 29: Plant scientists from across the globe would assemble here next week to discuss ways to enhance production of legume crops which play an important role in food security in India and other developing countries.
More than 500 scientists from 44 countries would congregate in Hyderabad from October 2-7 for International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics (ICLGG).
The event is being organised by International Crops research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Union Ministry of Agriculture.
This will be for the first time that an International conference on legume will be held in Asia. The earlier conferences were held in the USA, France, Australia and Mexico, Rajeev K Varshney, Principal Scientist, Applied Genomics at ICRISAT, told PTI.
“The 6th ICLGG is a continuous effort to bring together scientists working on research aspects of legume biology in model species using genetic and genomic tools with those working on applied aspects and breeding of crop and pasture species,” he added.
Legume form important constituent of vegetarian food diet globally and complement cereal crops as rich source of dietary protein (ranging from 20-40 per cent).
Major legume crops in India are Chickpea, Pigeonpea, Mung Beans, Urad Beans, Lentils, and Field Peas.
India is a leading producer for majority of pulse crops in the world. India contributes to 25 per cent of legume global production, 27 per cent of consumption and 34 per cent of consumption.
Despite being the largest producer for the majority of pulse crops, India spends significant amount of its foreign currency on the import of legumes.
In the year 2008, India spent about USD 2 billion on the import of legumes.
ICRISAT Director General William D Dar, ICAR Deputy Director General (Crop Science) Swapan Datta and Noble Foundation, USA, Plant Biology Division Director and Senior Vice President Rick Dixon would be the lead speakers at the conference. (PTI)

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