Improving pulse crops as a source of protein, starch and micronutrients

Pulse crops have been known for a long time to have beneficial nutritional profiles for human diets but have been neglected in terms of cultivation, consumption and scientific research in many parts of the world. Broad dietary shifts will be required if anthropogenic climate change is to be mitigated in the future, and pulse crops should be an important component of this change by providing an environmentally sustainable source of protein, resistant starch and micronutrients. Further enhancement of the nutritional composition of pulse crops could benefit human health, helping to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies and reduce risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. This paper reviews current knowledge regarding the nutritional content of pea (Pisum sativum L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.), two major UK pulse crops, and discusses the potential for their genetic improvement

Effect of mineralogical properties of expansive soil on its mechanical behavior

Expansive soil contains montmorillonite clay mineral; which has tendency to swell by imbibing water in monsoon season and shrink or become harder by leaving cracks in drier seasons. Excessive drying and wetting of soil progressively deteriorates structures over the years and cause severe damage. Some research has been performed on identification of expansive soil and determination of its expansiveness and shrinkage–swelling potential based on its index properties at various wetting–drying conditions. Few researchers worked on the chemical stabilization of expansive soil to improve its mechanical behavior. However, the relationship of mineralogical properties of expansive soil with its shear strength and compressibility parameters is still unexplored; and these parameters are required in bearing capacity and settlement calculations for soil strata. The current research is focused on relationship of mineralogical properties (CEC, SSA, montmorillonite content) of expansive soil with its mechanical behavior including compressibility, shear strength, swelling potential and index parameters. This experimental research has been performed on expansive soil (black cotton soil) covering major part of Bhavnagar, located along the coast line of Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat (India), which has serious construction issues due to its severe shrinkage–swelling behavior.by Bhavini Mehta and Ajanta Sacha

Erysiphe trifolii is able to overcome er1 and Er3, but not er2, resistance genes in pea

Until recently, Erysiphe pisi was thought to be the only causal agent of powdery mildew in pea, but recent studies showed that other species such as Erysiphe trifolii and Erysiphe baeumleri can also cause this disease. Three genes, er1, er2 and Er3, conferring resistance to E. pisi have been reported so far in pea. Previous studies showed that E. trifolii and E. baeumleri were able to overcome er1 resistance, but whether er2 and Er3 were effective against E. trifolii was not known. In this study, pea accessions carrying these three genes were evaluated for resistance to E. trifolii under controlled conditions at 20 and 25 °C. In addition, these accessions were also evaluated under field conditions in Spain and in India. Analysis of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences showed that E. trifolii was the causal agent of powdery mildew symptoms in lines carrying er1 in Spain and that this pathogen was also present in India. Our results showed that E. trifolii was able to overcome er1 and shows that this pathogen can also overcome Er3 resistance in some conditions. In contrast, er2 provided high level of resistance against E. trifolii in all conditions and locations studied. Temperature affected the expression of Er3 against E. trifolii, but not of er1 or er2. The pea accession JI2480, containing er2, was highly resistant and JI2302 containing er1 was susceptible to E. trifolii at both temperatures, whereas P660-4 containing Er3 was resistant at 20 °C but susceptible at 25 °C. The present study also identified sources of resistance effective against both E. pisi and E. trifolii. © 2013 KNPV.Financial support from project AGL2011-22524 (co-financed by FEDER) is acknowledged.Peer reviewe