When and where will vetches have an impact as grain legumes?

Abstract

The diversity of the genus Vicia L. (vetches) provides a wealth of domesticated crop plants for Mediterranean and temperate agriculture. The levels of domestication (soft seededness, high grain yield, high harvest index, +/- reduced shattering, +/- high biomass) found in several Vicia spp make them attractive as grain and forage crops for dryland farming. Species such as V. sativa L., V. narbonensis L., V. articulata Hornem. and V. pannonica are candidates for further domestication towards grain legume status. Vetches have an advantage over most of the food legumes in being better suited to hay production and most are thus dual purpose crops. They will have an increasing role as animal protein becomes scarcer and more expensive. Vetches already occupy special niches in farming systems because of their wide adaptation and ability to grow where food legumes are not suited. These include extremes of winter cold and very dry conditions. They may also be considered as alternative leguminous break crops where diseases and pests may otherwise limit the production of traditional food legumes. Despite these inherent advantages, their potential role as food legumes in human diets is largely unexplored. Traditional barriers need to be overcome and breeders will have to ensure that their product is free of toxins. The current program at ICARDA is one of the few in the world aimed at enhancing the value of vetches by improving quality, harvest index and harvestability, while Australian scientists are screening V. sativa, V. narbonensis and V. ervilia collections for genotypes with higher seed production, reduced toxicity and improved palatability. The relative lack of breeding effort in itself is a barrier to domestication.