Faba Bean: Breeding, Production, Cultivation and Uses

Vicia faba (L.), commonly known as faba or fava bean is one of the oldest legume crops in the world, cultivated in 66 countries worldwide. Faba bean is a multifunctional crop used as food for humans, fodder for livestock, and to enhance soil fertility and health. Faba beans are climate resilient pulse crops that are rich in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, dietary fibre, levodopa, flavonoids, polyphenols. Despite being a nutritionally rich crop, faba beans have received little attention from scientists towards its genetic advancements unlike other legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, and beans. Faba beans have a low yield, as they are highly susceptible to diseases and pests and have limited consumer acceptance due to their change in taste after being cooked. These issues must be addressed through innovative breeding technologies to make faba beans fit for consumer preferences and farmers' fields. In this book we have covered all aspects of faba beans including their origin, domestication, cultivation, production, production constraints, breeding approaches, uses and future directions. The chapters were drafted by reputed authors and thoroughly reviewed by editors. We believe that this book will act as a standard reference for students, researchers, farmers, policy makers and other stakeholders.