Perennial Grain Legume Domestication Phase I: Criteria for Candidate Species Selection

Brandon Schlautman, Spencer Barriball, Claudia Ciotir, Sterling Herron and Allison J. Miller
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Brandon Schlautman: The Land Institute, 2440 E. Water Well Rd., Salina, KS 67401, USA
Spencer Barriball: The Land Institute, 2440 E. Water Well Rd., Salina, KS 67401, USA
Claudia Ciotir: Saint Louis University Department of Biology, 1008 Spring Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
Sterling Herron: Saint Louis University Department of Biology, 1008 Spring Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
Allison J. Miller: Saint Louis University Department of Biology, 1008 Spring Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: Annual cereal and legume grain production is dependent on inorganic nitrogen (N) and other fertilizers inputs to resupply nutrients lost as harvested grain, via soil erosion/runoff, and by other natural or anthropogenic causes. Temperate-adapted perennial grain legumes, though currently non-existent, might be uniquely situated as crop plants able to provide relief from reliance on synthetic nitrogen while supplying stable yields of highly nutritious seeds in low-input agricultural ecosystems. As such, perennial grain legume breeding and domestication programs are being initiated at The Land Institute (Salina, KS, USA) and elsewhere. This review aims to facilitate the development of those programs by providing criteria for evaluating potential species and in choosing candidates most likely to be domesticated and adopted as herbaceous, perennial, temperate-adapted grain legumes. We outline specific morphological and ecophysiological traits that may influence each candidate’s agronomic potential, the quality of its seeds and the ecosystem services it can provide. Finally, we suggest that perennial grain legume breeders and domesticators should consider how a candidate’s reproductive biology, genome structure and availability of genetic resources will determine its ease of breeding and its domestication timeline.

Keywords: Fabaceae; perennial grain; domestication; ecosystem services; domestication pipeline; crop candidates (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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