Grain Legumes Diversity of Indian National Genebank: A Potential Resource for Food and Nutritional Security

Abstract

In the INGB (Indian National Genebank), a total of 66,283 accessions belonging to 15 genera of 98 species of
grain legumes are conserved, which includes 55,757 indigenous collections and 10,526 exotic collections. Many
novel and unique traits have been identifi ed in the conserved germplasm including resistance to major pests and
disease, agronomic and nutritional value. Conserved legume genetic resources have the potential to mitigate
future climate change and revolutionize the legume breeding programme