New varieties of mungbean are providing a fast food for south Asia that is not only highly nutritious, but can be squeezed into a vacant niche in between other major food crops.

With the price of meat well over what most people in the world can afford, looking for practical alternative sources of protein becomes a matter of survival.

Legumes with their high protein content are a great option. Mungbean in particular has 24% easily digestible protein, high iron content, and significant amounts of calcium, phosphorus, and some essential vitamins. It is also highly versatile - eaten as appetizing bean sprouts for salads and side dishes, sautéed, turned into noodles or delicious dhal, providing the base for exotic soups or even used as a mouth-watering bread filling.

Scientists in South Asia, in a project supported by the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC), looked at how mungbean production could be improved in the region not only to provide cheap protein but also to raise the income of farmers.

Through the project’s three-year multi-locational and multi-seasonal trials conducted in the region, Bangladesh and India were able to develop and release improved cultivars with high yields of 1.5 tonnes per hectare, maturing evenly in only 60-65 days. Such fast evenly maturing varieties are preferred because they can be grown in between other major crops and harvested before the onset of rains. Other varietal features developed were large shiny seeds and resistance to thrips and mungbean yellow mosaic virus.

Several improved mungbean varieties were developed and evaluated during the project including the World Vegetable Center's UPM 98 or Pant Mung-5 (photo); India’s SML 668, NM-92, Pusa Bold (Pusa Vishal); Bangladesh’s IPK-1040-94, BARImug 2 and BUmug 2; and Nepal’s VC 6372 (45-8-1). Most of these are now being distributed through seed dispersal and technology dissemination programs in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia.

For some of these varieties the benefits were very obvious. For instance, the extraordinary Pusha Vishal is an extra-short duration variety which matures in only 55 days and yields up to 43.3% over the traditional varieties. Pant Mung-5, on the other hand, is resistant to MYMV, Cercospora leaf spot, and Anthracnose diseases.

“The benefits of this project are currently being extended to some of the poorest areas of South Asia,” World Vegetable Center Director General Thomas Lumpkin said. Even so, he asks governments in South Asia to “support mungbean research and development activities, and help develop policies ensuring appropriate market price for mungbean and other legumes.”

The next task of the breeding programme will be to work with farmers to produce varieties with better drought tolerance for use in marginal and semi-arid situations. Farmers also need more research on management of insects such as pod borer, white fly and weevils and the control of diseases such as Cercospora leaf spot and powdery mildew.

Armed with new varieties from the World Vegetable Center, farmers are now much better able to take advantage of mungbeans in their cropping systems to grow healthy fast food.