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Production and Improvement Practices of Winged Bean (Psophocarpus

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Emerging Trends
in

Crop Improvement

Chief Editor
Ashutosh Singh

Co-Editors
Abhishek Kumar
Anshuman Singh
Prashant Vikram
Published By: Rubicon Publications

4/4A Bloomsbury Square,

Bloomsbury Square,
London, WC1A 2RP, England
Email: info@[Link]

Authors: Ashutosh Singh, Abhishek Kumar, Anshuman Singh and Prashant

Vikram

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reproduced in this publication and apologize if permission and
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material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so that we
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© Rubicon Publications
Edition: 1st
Publication Year: 2023
ISBN:
Pages: 395
Price: £20
 Contents

S. No. Chapters Page No.

1. Genes, QTLs and Molecular Markers Conferring 01-22
Disease Resistance in Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea)
(*Ajay Nikhil A.D.S.S, Gupta A.R.S.S.H, Sirisha H, Aneesha N, Bhupendra
Kumar Singh, Ashutosh Singh and Anshuman Singh)

2. Molecular Markers for Studying Genetic Diversity in 23-50

Rice Blast Pathogen
(Smita Tiwari, *R.P. Singh, Mamta Sing)

3. Potential Application and Achievement of Genome 51-71

Editing Techniques for Improvement of Rice (Oryza
sativa L.) for Useful Traits
(*Ashutosh Singh, Jyotsana Mishra, Ritu Gaur, Manoj Kumar Singh,
Ajaya Kumar Rout, Abhishek Kumar, Anshuman Singh, Sanjay Kumar
Singh, Akanksha Tiwari, Alok Kumar Singh, Sirisha H. and Shalini
Purwar)

4. Production and Improvement Practices of Winged Bean 73-94

(Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L.): A Multi–Purpose
Vegetable Legume
(*Jitendra Kumar Tiwari, Ashish Kumar Tiwari, Dinesh Thakur and Sonal
Tiwari)

5. Entailing Next-generation Genome Sequencing for 95-108

Advancement of Crop Breeding
(*Abhishek Kumar, T.R. Das, Ashutosh Singh, Jyotsana Mishra, Gaurav
Sharma, Sharwan Kumar Shukla, Gupta A.R.S.S.H., Akanksha Tiwari,
Bijay Kumar Behera, Shalini Purwar, Alok Kumar Singh, Chandu Singh,
Anshuman Singh, Ajaya Kumar Rout and Ritu Gaur)

6. Towards Next Generation Wheat Improvement in 109-148

South Asia
(*Prashant Vikram, Deepmala Sehgal, Anuradha Singh, Ritu Gaur,
Ashutosh Singh)

7. Physiological and Molecular Approaches for 149-170

Development of Drought Tolerance in Crop Plants
(Ashutosh Srivastava, Tilak Raj, Nidhi Jarngal, Anil Kumar Dogra,
Chandu Singh and *Ashutosh Singh)
8. Recent Trends of Genomic-Assisted Breeding for 171-186
Development of Drought Tolerance in Major Cereal
Crops
(*Sharwan Kumar Shukla, Abhishek Kumar, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Shalini
Purwar, Anshuman Singh, T.R. Das, Ashutosh Sharma, Alok Kumar Singh
and Ashutosh Singh)

9. Improved Production Technology and Breeding 187-201

Approaches for Varietal Development of Spine Gourd
(Momordica dioica Roxb.)
(*Ashish Kumar Tiwari, Sonal Tiwari, Kiran Tigga, Saraswati Pandey,
Devendra Upadhyay and Jitendra Kumar Tiwari)

10. Genes, QTLs and Associated Molecular Markers 203-223

Conferring the Resistance for Major Disease Resistance
in Rice
(*Gupta A.R.S.S.H., Ajay Nikhil, A.D.S.S., Sirisha H., Aneesha N.,
Ashutosh Singh, Bhupendra Kumar Singh, T. R. Das and Anshuman
Singh)

11. Biofortification of Cereals to Prevail Over Hidden 225-251

Hunger
(*Amit Kumar, Santanu Kumar Sahoo, Satti Ganesh Prakash Karthikeya
Reddy and Anshuman Singh)

12. Biotechnological Approaches for Development of 253-270

Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants
(Ashutosh Singh, Anil Kumar Dogra, Tilak Raj, Abhishek Kumar, Chandu
Singh and *Ashutosh Srivastava)

13. Molecular Approaches for Development of Drought 271-290

Resilient in Chickpea Cultivars
(*Sirisha H, Aneesha N, Nikhil A.D.S.S., Gupta A.R.S.S.H., Ashutosh
Singh and Anshuman Singh)

14. Protection and Breeding Scenario of Tomato (Solanum 291-312

lycopersicum L.) for Advancement in Production
(Devendra Upadhyay, *Jitendra Kumar Tiwari, Saraswati Pandey,
Padmakshi Thakur and Bharti Jha)

15. Prospects of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Improvement for 313-330

Drought Prone Environments
(*Prashant Vikram, Deepmala Sehgal, Anuradha Singh, Ritu Gaur,
Ashutosh Singh)
16. Genomic-Assisted Approaches to Improve Rice 331-352
Cultivars for Yield, Quality and Stress Tolerance
(*T.R. Das, Ashutosh Singh, Jyotsana Mishra, Akanksha Tiwari, Manoj
Kumar Singh, Abhishek Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, N.A. Khan, Alok
Kumar Singh, Chandu Singh, Shalini Purwar)

17. Improvement of Major Cereal Crops through Genome 353-374

Editing Approaches: Challenges and Achievements
(*Abhishek Kumar, Manoj Kumar Singh, Ashutosh Singh, Anshuman
Singh, Ritu Gaur, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Shalini Purwar, N. A. Khan, Alok
Kumar Singh, Jyotsana Mishra)

18. Crop Improvement Strategies for Climate Resilient 375-395

Agriculture
(*Rumana Khan, A. Nishant Bhanu, Sharwan Kumar Shukla, Ashutosh
Srivastava, R.V. Charitha Reddy, Ajay Nikhil A.D.S.S., Gupta A.R.S.S.H.,
Sirisha H., Aneesha N.)
 Chapter - 4
Production and Improvement Practices of Winged Bean
(Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L.): A Multi–Purpose
Vegetable Legume
Jitendra Kumar Tiwari, Ashish Kumar Tiwari, Dinesh Thakur and Sonal Tiwari

Abstract
Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L.) is one of the protein
rich vegetable crops, frequently cultivated in the tropical regions. Winged
bean is an underutilized vegetable having ability to fight malnutrition and
provide dietary supplementation. India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indo-China, China, Papua and New Guinea
are the major Asian countries under which winged bean are cultivated.
Among the vegetable legumes, winged bean has high nitrogen fixing
capacity with multiple nodules in the root system. The leaves contain
superior quality of protein. Large number of germplasm and local collections
of the winged beans are available with considerable diversity. Due to extent
amount of the diversity in terms of trait variability, nutritional profile and oil
contents, the future breeding program of winged bean may provide strength
to the crop improvement for yield, nutritional constituents and environmental
adaptability. Thus winged bean is recommended for commercial cultivation
for enhancing diversity in the field conditions which leads to increase the
soil health and when it reaches to plate of hungry people, it leads to increase
human health and helps in solving the malnutrition problems.
Keywords: Adaptation, breeding practices, climatic change, crop
improvement, production strategy, genetic Resources, multi-nutritional
profile
1. Introduction
Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) (2n = 2x = 18, 26) also
known as the Goa bean, Four-angled bean, Four-cornered bean, Manila bean,
Cigarillos and Dragon bean. Winged bean is an annual or perennial vine that
thrives well in hot and humid tropical conditions. It is a tropical perennial
vine species that is cultivated mainly at a subsistence scale in hot and humid

Page | 75
countries across India, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific islands, with
a presence in a number of African countries as well. The winged bean is
popularly known as “One Species Supermarket” because of its nutritionally
rich green pods, tuberous roots, leaves, immature and mature seeds (Tanzi, et
al., 2019). Leaves are eaten like spinach, flowers as salad and tubers as
processed or raw food and seeds are used in different form of processed
food. Initial interest was drawn to high crude protein and oil content in
seeds, which are comparable to soybean. Its vining nature and nitrogen
fixation activity has made it be used as a cover crop and also incorporated
into rotation or intercropping systems. As such, winged bean could be a good
candidate for diversifying diets to improve nutritional security, based on
complex and more sustainable agricultural systems. Besides its nutritional
qualities, winged bean is also a potential crop to have climatic resilience for
suboptimal weather conditions. It can tolerate adverse crop growing
situations like drought, flood, heat and biotic stresses as well to a greater
extent than other major staple crops.

Figure 1: Field view of wined bean in its vegetative stage

Increasing awareness about the role of agrobiodiversity in sustainability,
socio-economic resilience and human health is helping in re-diversifying
agro-biodiversity utilising neglected and underutilised crop species (Khoury
et al. 2014; Dwivedi et al. 2017). Realizing the importance of such crops, in
1974, the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) constituted a committee
to carry out “an extensive survey of underexploited tropical plants” as
possible crops for the future and winged bean was identified with
exceptional merits for promotion among agricultural research community

Page | 76
(NAS, 1975a and NAS 1975b). Despite the good qualities of the crop and
international attention, winged bean cultivation could not be extended to the
non-traditional areas (Tanzi et al, 2019). Recognising the importance of the
crop amid changing climatic conditions and health awareness among the
human society, winged bean is considered as one of the future crops which
will play crucial role in world food and nutritional security. Recent
technologies like genomics and phenomic tools along with precision
agriculture practices can play very important role in enhancing the crop
productivity.
2. Botanical description of the plant
Winged bean belongs to the genus Psophocarpus which belongs to the
legume family Fabaceae and sub-family of Papilionoideae. Knowing more
about the relationships between the species of Psophocarpus is important for
future winged bean breeding and improvement. The wild progenitor of
winged bean has remained somewhat enigmatic given the absence of wild
Psophocarpus in Asia, leading to one suggestion that the true wild
progenitor is now extinct (Verdcourt and Halliday, 1978). Morphological
phylogenetic analyses of the nine species in the genus have come to varied
conclusions. In particular, the position of P. grandiflorus - a wild species
found throughout East Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
Ethiopia is inconsistent. Some studies suggest this species is closely related
to, if not the progenitor of, winged bean (Verdcourt and Halliday, 1978;
Smartt, 1980; Maxted, 1990; Harder and Smartt, 1992), while others suggest
P. grandiflorus is more distantly related in the genus (Nur Fatihah, et al.,
2012). The most recent morphological analysis places winged bean
alongside P. scandens and P. palustris in subgenus Psophocarpus, with P.
scandens the closest wild species to winged bean (Fatihah, et al., 2012). Few
attempts to cross winged bean with other members of the genus have been
reported; however, one successful cross between winged bean and P.
scandens has been made following several attempts (Haq, 1982). Identifying
the true wild progenitor(s) may assist in the breeding of winged bean and
would be necessary to understand the genetic changes associated with
domestication. Relatively few studies have investigated the domestication
genetics of legumes, except for studies of common bean (Bitocchi, et al.,
2012; Schmutz, et al., 2014), and therefore, little is known about the genes
and alleles that were under selection by early farmers. This may contribute to
the observation that genetic enhancement of legumes remains slow relative
to other crops (Foyer et al., 2016). As a first step to solve this lack of
investigation, more work is needed to identify wild ancestors of legume

Page | 77
crops. Breeding with crop wild relatives has the potential to introduce novel
variation for crop improvement (Dempewolf, et al., 2017).
2.1 Plant description
The plants are herbaceous perennial but mainly grown as annual. They
are climbing in nature along with wiry stem that climbs to a height of 4 m
and above if the stacking provided is tall enough (Figure 1). The stem is
usually green but certain varieties have stem with a shade of purple, pink or
brown. Leaves are trifoliate, alternate, subtended by a stipule oval to ovate
on the entire margin. The inflorescence is axillary, raceme, bearing many
flowers. Inflorescence is axillary and is 4-10 flowered racemes. Calyx tube is
long. It is a vine crop. The height of the vines varies between 3 and 4 meters.
The colour of flower varies from white to deep purple, blue, bluish white etc.
The plant bear pods of different length and shape. Based on the shape, pods
are of four types namely, rectangular, semi-flat, flat on sides and flat on
suture. Pods have frilly borders having green, pink, purple or red colour
which is 6 and 9 inches in length. Pods are 4 angled, 15-22 cm long, 2-3 cm
broad with each angle continuing into a much crisped and papery wing. Pod
wings may be undulated, dented or serrated. Individual pod contain 5-20
seeds. The seeds are smooth, shiny and globular in shape with an average
weight of 250 mg. Seeds are burst out from ripe pods and the colour of seed
changes to brownish at the time of ripening. Seeds are round in shape that
emits an aroma which is similar to asparagus. (Figure - 2)

Figure 2: (A) Flowers of winged bean, (B) Fruiting stage- in this stage it is
used for vegetable purpose, (C) Maturity stage, (D) Seeds of winged bean

Page | 78
2.2 Origin and distribution
The native habitat of winged bean is yet uncertain. Controversy exists
among the workers about the origin of winged bean. The plant is cultivated
especially in the tropical areas. The countries like Indonesia, Papua New
Guinea, Myanmar and India are the probable centres of origin (Pickersgill,
1980 and Khan, 1982).
2.3 Diversity among the germplasm lines
The diversity of this crop has been observed in Papua, New Guinea,
Mauritius and India. However, maximum variation occurs in Papua, New
Guinea (Khan, 1978; Hymowitz and Boyd, 1977). In India, it is grown in the
states like Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh and Karnataka by the tribal peoples as a backyard crop. The
results of trials encourage its successful cultivation in North Indian plains
also. Large number of germplasm lines has been introduced to India by
NBPGR, New Delhi.
3. Adaptation amid changing climatic conditions
In the changing scenario of climatic adaptability and increasing world
population, there is an immediate need to carry out research for diverse and
nutritious crops with the ability to withstand stress or suboptimal conditions
(Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007; Campbell, et al., 2016). Winged bean can
tolerate drought, flood, extreme temperature, pests and diseases to a greater
extent than other major staple crops. Diversification of global food system
with this vegetable can prove to be an effective instrument in addressing the
extreme weather patterns or the effects of long-term climate change while
tackling the problem of dietary imbalances being faced by the world today.
It is estimated that food supply must double by 2050 to cope with the
impact of climate change and population pressure on global food systems.
The diversification of staple crops and the systems in which they grow is
essential to make future agriculture sustainable, resilient and suitable for
local environments and soils. Considerable morphological variation exists in
winged bean especially in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
(Khan, 1976; Harder and Smartt, 1992). One notable feature of the winged
bean is that almost all parts of the plant can be eaten from the seeds, pods
and flowers to the leaves and tuberous roots (Haq, 1982; Khan, 1976), with
the stems and leaves used as fodder. It also serves well in crop rotation
because of the nitrogen fixation capability (Rahman, et al., 2014).

Page | 79
4. Improved production practices
Winged bean crops cultivated across the world do not need special
production practices because they are able to survive under sandy soil with
low water requirements. They are able to survive in the hot and humid
environmental condition, fluctuated climatic and water deficit condition. The
improved production practices of the winged bean are presented here.
4.1 Soil & climatic requirements
The land is ploughed at a depth of 3-4 cm to maintain fine tilth. The
purpose of land preparation is to provide the necessary soil conditions which
enhance the plant and root growth. The sandy to heavy clays, well-drained
sandy loam, rich in organic matter having a pH of 4.3-7.5 is preferred. Hot
and humid climate is ideal for the cultivation of winged bean. It can tolerate
15.4 to 27.5°C temperature and 700-4100 mm annual rainfall (Duke, 1981).
However, a temperature range of 20-30°C is optimum for its growth,
flowering and fruiting. Temperature above 25°C promotes vegetative
growth, whereas, temperature between 20-25°C are well suited for flowering
and fruiting. Day temperature of 30°C and night temperature of 22°C is most
favourable for vegetative growth while to promote enlargement of storage
root, 24°C day temperature and 13°C night temperature is beneficial.
Flowering is observed from mid-September to October when short day
condition prevails. Despite of prevailing short day condition, temperature
above 32°C or below 18°C inhibits flowering. The crop grows well up to an
elevation of 2000 m.
4.2 Method of sowing and seed rate
Winged bean is mainly propagated through seeds. Stem cutting can also
be used under specific circumstances. The seed rate is 15-20 kg/ha. Seeds
have a hard seed coat and should be pre-soaked for one to two days before
sowing. The seeds are sown at a depth of 3-4 cm. Seeds germinate within 5-7
days after sowing. Optimum mean temperature for growth of the crop is
25°C. North-South orientation of trellis is best for proper sun exposure.
Optimum spacing is reported to be 90 cm x 90 cm for pods and 45 cm x 45
cm for seed purpose. A spacing of 30 cm x 20 cm can be followed in case of
dwarf types (Dua, et al., 2009).
4.3 Time of sowing
Normally the winged beans are sown at the onset of monsoon in June-
July. The crop grown for tubers should be grown in August- September since
early sowing results in profuse vegetative growth and may inhibit
tubulisation.

Page | 80
4.4 Integrated nutrient management
Being a leguminous crop, winged bean holds prolific nodulation
capacity. This legume crop does not need inoculation with nitrogen fixing
bacteria for its vigorous growth as it has ability to grow quickly and it
enriches the soil with nitrogen especially under ploughed condition. Tropical
soils are generally deficit in nitrogen but winged bean thrives well even in
poor soils reflecting its ability to fix the atmospheric nitrogen. In acidic soil,
winged bean reflects the symptoms of Aluminium toxicity similar to other
legumes. The crop requires 20 tonnes/ ha FYM and application of fertilizer
dose of N:P:K at [Link] kg / ha. Full dose of P and K and split dose of
nitrogen is applied at the time of sowing while remaining dose of nitrogen is
top dressed 40 to 60 days after the sowing.
4.5 Staking
Staking is a very important practice to obtain good and quality yield in
winged bean due to indeterminate stem growth. Several methods of stalking
are in practice depending on the uses of crop and availability of resources.
For instance, tuber yield plants are allowed to trail across the ground but if
the legume is grown exclusively for the pods short stalks are used for
continuous picking of green tender pods. Support of the vine is also essential
for higher seed production.
4.6 Weed control
Winged bean is a fast growing crop and provides plant cover within one
month of sowing. However, one hand weeding 15-20 DAS is required to
control weeds during early growth period
4.7 Plant protection
There are no major reports of incidence if disease and insect-pest on
winged bean in India. However, false rust (Synchytrium psophocarpi), leaf
spot (Pseudocercospora psophocarpi) are the important fungal diseases.
Similarly, Maruca testulalalis and Hermoceplachna signatipennis and root
knot nematodes may affect the crop. Therefore suitable plant protection
measures may be taken to minimize yield losses (Dua, et al., 2009).
4.8 Harvesting and postharvest management
Harvesting of shoots and leaves is done while they are still tender.
Green pods can be harvested from about 10 weeks after sowing. Fresh pod
yield ranges between 5-10 t/ha. Tuberous root yield range between 5-10 t/ha
while the seed yield ranges from 1 to 1.5t/ha. Winged bean can be stored in a

Page | 81
plastic bag tightly tied at the neck to keep them fresh. The shelf life of the
pods can be increased to 4 weeks under storage temperature of 10°C and the
90% relative humidity.
5. Crop Improvement
Crop improvement is the practice to improve the crops against various
biological stresses, yield attributing traits and quality parameters. Breeders
have future perspective of crop improvement in the case of winged bean
because of the presence of large numbers of diverse germplasm lines.
Identification of traits governing yield and yield attributing traits, quality and
oil content related traits are the primitive practices for the future breeding
program for the improvement of winged bean. Introgression of these traits
from wild crop relatives and working germplasm lines into cultivars may
provide strength to the winged bean cultivation across the globe.
Furthermore, molecular marker based genotyping of the winged bean may
also give strength to understand the genetic diversity pattern and also in the
identification of the trait of intersect for incorporation into leading crop
cultivars through marker–assisted backcross breeding.
5.1 Availability of genetic resources and local collections of winged bean
Considerable variation exists in germplasm lines of winged bean
especially in regard to its morphological and chemical attributes. This
provides scope for the plant breeders to look for the improvement of the
seed, vegetable, tuber yield and quality aspect of the system. Variation in
leaf size has been noted by Khan (1976) in the collection made from Papua
New Guinea. As regards the leaf shape, deltoid, ovate and lanceolate types
are on record in most of the Asian countries. Green pigmentation on the stem
is common in most countries. A great diversity has been noted in pod colour
by Khan (1976) in Papua New Guinea. The larger variation in pod length has
been observed in Indonesia and Philippines. Phenotypic variability in green
pod yield has been reported by Satyanarayna, et al., (1978). Genotypic and
phenotypic variability for green pod yield has been recorded by Erskine and
Kesavan (1981). Variation in tuber yield (Bala and Stephenson, 1978),
number and size of nodules (Kay, 1979) and in secondary and tertiary root
development within the material obtained from different geographical
origins, have also been recorded.
Genetic variation in protein and oil content of dry seeds has been
reported by Harding and Lopez, (1978) from their analysis of germplasm
lines of Papua New Guinea while Newell and Hymowitz (1979) succeeded
in recording the same attributes from winged bean tubers. Eagleton, et al.

Page | 82
(1978) and Wong (1981) have reported genetic variation in regard to the
photoperiodic responses of the plant. More desirable types possessing
general or specific attributes could be screened. Thus, several such
collections were identified for green pods, 4 for fodder, 4 tolerant to
frost/cold, 7 in tuber yield and 6 as good seed types. Some promising
accessions were designated as GRWB strains (Genetic Resources Winged
Bean strains). Similarly, accessions rich in protein contents were selected for
multiplication.
5.2 Available genetic resources at national bureau of plant genetic
resource
Promising accessions for green vegetable also possessed semi-dwarf
plant habit, condensed internodes, early flowering (97-105 days), medium
long tender pods of pale green or green colour and very good fruiting.
Among them six were indigenous collections viz. IC 17004, IC 17006, IC
26169. IC 26942, IC 26944 and IC 26949; and 13 were exotic collections -
EC 27884, EC 38826-1, EC 38954, EC 38955, EC 38957, EC38957 A,
EC38959, EC 114273-1, EC 116887, EC 116886, EC 116884, EC118031
and EC118345. Five accessions were double podded viz. IC 17006, IC
26949, EC 27884, EC 38955 and EC 116887 and triple podded accession
was EC 116889. The four promising accessions for green forage production
were IC 15018, EC 27884, EC 27885 and EC 111074. These were promising
fodder types possessing traits like vine habit, quick growth and regeneration,
with abundant vegetative growth. The foliage is light green to dark green in
colour. For tuber yield (under north Indian plains) the promising accessions
were IC 17006, EC 27884, EC 27885, EC 38958, EC 38959, EC 111073 and
EC 116886. The accessions tolerant to early frost (under north Indian plains)
were IC 25100, IC 25102, EC 111073, EC 111074, EC 121909 and EC
38959. These exhibited relatively better tolerance to ground frost during
early winter in north Indian conditions. The accessions found to be
photosensitive under Delhi conditions are IC 15018, EC 121909, EC
121910, EC 121914 and EC 121915.
5.3 Biological behaviour and breeding strategies
The winged bean is largely a self-pollinated crop but Erskine (1978) has
reported up to 7.6% cross pollination. Senanayake (1978) indicated out
crossing is mainly possible due to longer receptivity of the stigma after
opening of flowers. The crosses were attempted by Erskine and Bala (1976)
and they succeeded in standardizing the crossing technique in winged bean.
They recorded that in field only 20.9% crossed flowers set pods whereas

Page | 83
about 57.9% crossed flowers produced seeds under shade house condition.
Kothekar, et al., (1995) reported 40% successful cross pollination in winged
bean mutants under field condition. Erskine (1978) pointed out that
characters like stem, calyx, pod colour/ shape/ specking are controlled by
single gene. The linkage was found to prevail between stem and calyx colour
and also between pod wing colour and specking. The dominance of purple
over green for all colour characters and dominance of rectangular over flat
pod shape has been noticed by Erskine and Khan (1977). Khan (1976)
reported correlation between five seed yield characters for the germplasm
lines from Papua New Guinea. Haq, et al., (1982) observed strong
correlation between seed yield and pod number per plant. Erskine (1978)
observed low heritability in seed yield from his diallele crosses. High
heritability for green pod yield with high genetic gain has been recorded by
Satyanarayana, et al., (1978) in case of winged bean.
5.4 Improvement of higher yield
Crop improvement can also come from selectively breeding different
varieties with complementary qualities, for example morphological
characteristics, nutrition, abiotic tolerance, and pest resistance. An
understanding of the partitioning of genetic variation in crops is therefore
important to begin to identify and locate genetically distinct varieties and
potentially understand the genetic basis of traits of interest (Hawkes, 1991;
Mickelbart et al., 2015). In this investigation we addressed the following two
objectives. First, using a molecular phylogenetic approach, we investigate
the relationships between members of the genus Psophocarpus, in particular
focusing on identifying the close relative(s) of winged bean. Second,
employing population genetic approach and using microsatellite markers to
resolve the partitioning and levels of genetic variation in the crop. From
agronomic standpoint, winged bean has been little studied despite rapid
advancement in legume genomics in the last decade. Exploiting modern
genomics/breeding approaches for genetic resource characterization and the
breeding of early maturing, high yielding, determinate varieties which are
disease resistant and free of anti-nutritional factors along with developing
consumer friendly value-added products of local significance are great
challenges and opportunities in the future that would boost cultivation of
winged bean in the tropics.
6. Varieties developed and released for cultivation
Research and development of the winged bean legumes are not focused
because this crop in not under the main stream of production. It is generally

Page | 84
cultivated by the tribal peoples but now it is adopted by the other farmers. In
last decades, the presence of quality proteins, minerals, vitamins, bioactive
compounds and edible oil contents made it an important crop. However, the
availability of the large number of diverse germplasm lines make the change
of breeding strategy for the varietal development and improvement. In
context to varietal development of the winged bean using diverse group of
germplasm, varieties like IWB-1, IWB-2, AKWB has been released by
central varietal committee are available in the table–1.
Table 1: List of winged bean varieties released

Developing Seed
Economic
Varieties year and yield Specific features
part
Release (Qt./ha)
It is dual purpose variety
Green pods
AKWB-1 1991, CVRC 10-12 used as vegetable and
and Seeds
pulse.
High yielding, medium
IWB-1 2016, CVRC. Seeds 11-13 duration variety and test
weight is 36-38gm.
This variety amenable for
Green pods
IWB-2 2021, CVRC 13-14 seeds, green pods and
and Seeds
fodder.
It is dual purpose variety
Chhattisgarh
Green pods performing well under
Pankhiya Sem- 2017, SVRC 10-12
and Seeds badi situation at tribal
2
people of Chhattisgarh

7. Nutritional profile and bioactive compounds in winged bean

Winged bean has been recognized as a crop having much promise for
nutritional security in the coming decades. Winged bean tubers are notably
rich sources of starch, protein, and B-complex vitamins. Winged beans
provide adequate amounts of protein minerals, and vitamins. In addition,
Thiamine, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), niacin and riboflavin are some of the B-
complex vitamins embedded in these beans. Some of the essential minerals
such as iron, copper, manganese, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium are
concentrated in them. Manganese is utilized in the human body as a co-
factor for the powerful antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Winged
bean green leaves are an excellent source of fiber, vitamin-C, vitamin-A and
minerals. 100g of fresh leaves provide 45 mg of vitamin-C (75% of
recommended daily value) and 8090 IU of vitamin-A (270% of RDA). As
with several underutilized crops, however, there are anti-nutrition factors in

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winged bean (specifically trypsin inhibitors), requiring thorough soaking,
rinsing and cooking of the dried beans (NAS, 1975a), which may deter more
widespread adoption of winged bean. Protein content (30–39%) of the
winged bean seeds is high (NAS, 1975a; 38–45%, Prakash, et al., 1987) and
comparable to that of soybean. Content of essential amino acids is generally
as high as, or higher than, soybean (Prakash, et al., 1987). It is also relatively
high in vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron (USDA Food Composition
Databases, 2015). In countries where protein deficiency is high, or access to
meat protein is low, winged bean is a candidate to diversify diets and
improve nutrition (NAS, 1975a). Three wild relatives of the winged bean are
cultivated, but on much smaller scales; two in Eastern Africa (P. palustris
Desv. and P. grandifloras R. Wilczek) and one in Southeast Asia, Brazil,
and Jamaica (P. scandens (Endl.) Verdc.) (Zeven and de Wet, 1982; Harder
and Smartt, 1992). Nutritional constituents available with winged bean are
given in the table–2.
Table 2: Nutritive value of winged beans (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) per 100g

Major Source Nutrient Value Percentage of RDA

Energy 49 Kcal 2.5%
Carbohydrates 4.31 g 3%
Protein 6.95 g 12%
Total Fat 0.87 g 3%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Vitamins
Folates 66 µg 16.5%
Niacin 0.900 mg 6%
Pantothenic acid 0.059 mg 1%
Pyridoxine 0.113 mg 9%
Riboflavin 0.100 mg 8%
Thiamin 0.140 mg 12%
Vitamin A 128 IU 4%
Vitamin C 18.3 mg 30%
Electrolytes
Sodium 4 mg <1%
Potassium 240 mg 5%
Minerals
Calcium 84 mg 8%

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 Copper 0.051 µg 5.5%
Iron 1.5 mg 19%
Magnesium 34 mg 8%
Manganese 0.218 mg 9%
Phosphorus 37 mg 5%
Selenium 1.5 µg 3%
Zinc 0.39 mg 3%
(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)
Fresh, young winged bean pods are one of the finest sources of folates.
100 g beans provide 66 µg or 16.5% of daily requirement of folates. Folate,
along with vitamin B-12, is one of the essential components of DNA
synthesis and cell division. Adequate folate in the diet around conception
and during pregnancy may help prevent neural-tube defects in the new-born
baby. Fresh winged beans contain quite a good amount of vitamin-C as 18.3
mg/100g or 31% of vitamin-C. Vitamin-C is a powerful water-soluble
antioxidant and when adequately provided in the diet, it helps in building
immunity against infections, maintaining blood vessel elasticity and offers
some protection against cancers. Tender, immature pods of winged beans are
one of the very low-calorie vegetables as 100g beans carry just 49 calories.
Mature winged bean seeds, however, has 409 calories per 100g and compose
relatively high protein content equivalent to that of soybean protein.
It has been observed that proteins present in legumes have low nutritive
value which is mainly attributed to low amounts of sulphur-containing amino
acids, less digestible proteins and anti-nutritional factors. The principle cause
of low digestibility of proteins is referred to the presence of protease (trypsin
and chymotrypsin) inhibitors and tannins (Kadam and Salunkhe, 1984). The
presence of trypsin inhibitor, hemagglutinin, tannins and phytic acid in
winged bean seeds is well substantiated. The presence of phyto-
hemagglutinin in winged beans has been reported by Renkonen (1948). Jaffe
and Korte (1976) found the presence of α-amylase inhibitor in winged beans.
Combined and possibly synergistic effects of all these factors are responsible
for the toxicity of raw winged bean. To eliminate the negative effect of these
anti-nutritional factors, investigations have been made to reduce certain anti-
nutrients and to improve the nutritional quality. Cerny, et al. (1971)
proposed that if winged bean is similar to the beans of Phaseolus, the phyto-
hemagglutinins can be destroyed by cooking.
The chemical composition and the protein quality of the winged bean
seeds (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus [Link].), which have increasing

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importance in tropical regions as a protein and energy-rich food crop, were
studied. All varieties showed a high protein content (34.3–40.7% on dry
basis) and high oil content (16.4–21.3% on dry basis). Amino acid analysis
showed that winged bean contained all amino acids in sufficient quantity,
with the exception of the sulphur-containing amino acids. The amino acid
content of immature pods was generally lower, whereas, the non-protein
nitrogen content was higher. The seed showed a high content of
hemagglutinins. The in vivo digestibility was relatively low (71%) compared
with other legumes. Protein quality for the non-supplemented winged bean
protein, measured by Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), gave an intermediate
value (1.73 vs casein 3.07) compared with other legumes. The apparent
digestibility gave the lowest value (72.8%) compared with other legumes.
8. Future prospects
The exceptional nutritional quality along with tropical adaptation makes
winged bean a potential candidate for cultivation in the tropical areas of the
world. Past research efforts were hampered by a lack of genetic resources
and knowledge to build critical infrastructure that can spur research efforts.
Recent advancements, especially in the areas of transcriptome sequencing,
marker discovery, tissue culture protocol development etc., provide a
foundation to make genetic and genomic advances. By integrating related
genomic resources such as the soybean and common bean genomes with
multiple sequenced transcriptomes of Psophocarpus, winged bean is now
poised to benefit from comparative genomics. Inferences concerning the
evolution of genome-wide gene content and expression can be made, along
with easy creation of molecular markers for phylogeny, genetic diversity
assessment, population structure analyses, linkage mapping and many other
endeavours that would help to increase our understanding and utilization of
this species.
Winged beans have some anti-nutritive properties, for example, trypsin
and tannin content. However, we are confident that future genetic studies
using site-directed mutagenesis and other breeding techniques can overcome
these challenges to produce viable cultivars adaptable to a variety of
conditions and needs. Winged bean crop is quite susceptible to water
logging, frost and cold weather. Seed germination is a problem in
propagation of winged bean. Most varieties require exposure to photoperiod
and show photosensitivity that limits the plant's success in many regions.
The current knowledge on new genetics and genomic resources to answer
key questions concerning the origin of the cultivated winged bean, trait
specific characterization of germplasm, identification of genes and molecular

Page | 88
markers and contribute to the development of genetic and physical maps.
This new wealth of information and resources will accelerate crop
improvement efforts in winged bean and thus lead to varieties with improved
yield and quality. Winged bean has the potential to play an important role as
a source of income for some resource-poor households living in marginal
upland areas. It also offers malnutrition alleviation and dietary
supplementation for the upland landowners (Engle and Altoveros, 2000).
9. Conclusion
Winged bean is a promising vegetable crop which can resist the adverse
effects of climate change and tolerate marginal upland conditions. It is also
known as “forgotten vegetable”, due to the lack of awareness of its
importance and contribution to human nutrition. The importance of this
underutilized legume increases manifold due to its nutritional value and diet
supplementation of minerals and dietary fibres for the balanced diet in
animal and human consumption. It also supplements daily requirements for
micronutrients. The crop can suitably be grown under vulnerable marginal
uplands brought about by climate change and could play an important role as
a source of income for some resource-poor households living in marginal
upland areas. Establishment of an enabling policy and funding environments
through governmental and non-governmental organizations will be critical to
push forward research and development efforts. Yet, the nutritional potential
of this legume demands such efforts. There is no doubt that renewed
research efforts, particularly those employing genomics technologies, will
thrust winged bean forward and help turn this orphan legume crop into one
of worldwide impact.
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