1. Fabales “bean or pea family”
Family, Fabaceae
Old name, Leguminosae
3 subfamilies
Mimosaceae
Fabaceae
Caesalpiniaceae

2. What is a legume? Ca. 18,000 known species Dicots
Distinctive flowers and pods
Seeds rich in oil (up to ca. 50%) and protein (e.g., 15-50%)
Flowers are bilaterally symmetrical

3. Legume examples Foods Forage Trees peas alfalfa peanuts red clover
soybeans
kidney & pinto beans
green beans
fava beans
lima beans
chick-peas (Garbanzo beans)
black-eyed peas
lentils
Forage
alfalfa
red clover
white clover
sweet clovers
vetches
cowpeas
Trees
mesquite
locust (honey & black)
mimosa
broad bean or fava bean (Vicia faba) is native in northern Africa and southwest Asia. It was the major bean of antiquity and is still used for cover, green manure, and forage
mesquite (Prosopis) in southwestern United States
honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) in eastern North America
Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica) in eastern North America
among the most exotic trees and shrubs in the tropics are the 500 or so species of Cassia in eastern North America, northeast Africa, and India. The leaves of some are laxative and are cultivated for medicinal use while others are grown as ornamental plants or for their timber or firewood
peanuts or groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) support the economies of many nations in temperate and tropical regions
as too do soybeans (Glycine max)
alfalfa provide animal fodder
as do red clover (Trifolium) and white clover (Melilotus)
also vetches (Vicia species)
and cowpeas (Vigna species).
kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) originated in Central America, as too did
snap beans
green beans
pinto beans
sieva bean (Phaseolus lunatus)
lima bean (Phaseolus limensis)
scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus)
locoweed are some species of Astragalus poisonous to livestock on the prairies of the central United States

8. Agroforestry Leguminous trees are important agroforestry species.
left, Albizzia alba maintains its green growth through the dry season in Burkina faso, providing fodder for livestock; the residues in the foreground are of millet which is grown during the rainy season.
right: Leucaena leucocephala in the Philippines: these trees, less than 2 years old, will be cut to provide firewood.

9. Legumes: The Nitrogen Specialists
Free nitrogen gas (N2) + lots of energy yields ammonia (NH3)
Catalyzed by the enzyme, nitrogenase, produced by bacteria in root nodules
NH3 attached to amino acids, to yield high-N amino acids, proteins, & plants

11. Nitrogen fixation
Nodules on white lupins
N-fixing bacteria (e.g., Rhizobium species) infect roots of legumes & induce formation of specialized nodules
Process relieves legumes of dependence on available forms of soil nitrogen
Ammonium, nitrate
Correlates with ‘high protein’
17-31%
Nodules on white clover growing in a test tube. Nodules are about 1 mm wide. The red color is due to leghaemoglobin.
Rhizobia infect roots of legumes and induce formation of specialized nodules. Inside the nodules, these bacteria are transformed into enlarged, non-growing cells called bacteroids. They are bathed in a hemoglobin, leghaemoglobin, a molecule which like the hemoglobin of our blood reflects red light, and imparts pink to red coloration to the nodule interior. These nodules contain a hemoglobin that functions in the same manner as hemoglobin in animals except that it binds oxygen more tightly. The hemoglobin keeps the free oxygen level in the nodule low but high enough for the bacteria to survive, but low enough that the oxygen senstitive enzyme (nitrogenase) that is responsible for nitrogen fixation remains functional. Using energy supplied by the plant, the bacteroids fix N2, converting it first to ammonia, and then to organic N compounds which are released and taken up by the host plant.

12. Nitrogen fertilizer Energy intensive, from industrial process
With increasing energy costs, movement to grow more legumes
"Yard Long Beans" are growing on raised beds next to paddy rice in a traditional Sorjun farming system in Indonesia

13. Soybean “poor man’s meat” cooked to inactivate trypsin inhibitor
Far East
Liquid: drinks, sauces
Powder
Curd, cheese
Immature plants (Sprouts)
West
Oil
Meal
Non-food uses
Ink
Cosmetics
Fabric
Biodiesel fuel
Soybean
Trypsin is a digestive enzyme, and presence of the inhibitor interferes with digestion; heat inactivates the inhibitor
Oil - margarine, shortening, mayonnaise, salad oils and dressing
**soy oil is the leading vegetable oil
Meal - feed for pigs and chickens Dried beans are crushed in water, heated; liquid decanted off is soy milk - basis for nondairy infant formulas in U.S. Solid portion left is okata - cottage cheese like. Tofu is made from soy milk via a curdling process. Tofu is flavorless but has a good texture and is used as a meat substitute. Soy sauce is made from okara via a process involving fungi and salt water.
Origin in northeastern China, germ plasm base is being destroyed. Only recently became popular in West and U.S. is currently largest producer of soybeans, little is used directly in U.S. but texturized vegetable protein (TVP) may change that. Henry Ford had an obsession with soybeans and wore a suit made of soy fabric.
Soybean can also be employed for making "biodiesel fuel". Cleaner, but more expensive than petroleum diesel. So blend Uses reprocessed cooking oil from fast food.

14. Soy sauce
Fermenting soybeans in brine

15. Soy milk raw soy beans soaked overnight then drained.
beans pulverized as boiling water poured over them.
resultant mash will have the consistency of mashed potatoes.
mash is ladled into boiling water, like dumplings, and allowed to boil gently for about 10 minutes.
CRUCIAL STEP: certain enzyme in the bean is broken down during this time. If the enzyme is not destroyed, the Soy protein will not be humanly digestible.
resulting slurry is filtered. The liquid is Soy Milk, and the pulp is called Okara.
Okara is good for mixing with flour to make bread, feeding to thepigs, or fertilizer.
It is a well known fact that soaked soybean makes much better soy milk and have higher soy milk yield than directly grinding dry soybean.  During the soaking process, soybean takes in water and "produce" soymilk inside the soybean in a "biological" process. After 6 hours of soaking, the beans more than double its size and swell with soymilk. Grinding the soybean at this time is just to extract the soy milk out from the beans. 
In comparison, grinding dry soybean and mix it with water to make soy milk is a pure mechanical process and produces lower quality soy milk and has lower soy milk yield. It is somewhat like making soy milk with pre-ground soy flower and water. Another comparison is to squeeze orange juice out of fresh orange verses mix water with orange concentrate. You know that fresh squeezed orange juice is much better than that made from orange concentrate. 

16. Tofu: soy curd
Boil soymilk for 5 to 10 minutes. Cool down to about 170 to 180 degree F.
Prepare coagulant
Calcium sulfate or magnesium chloride
Pour the prepared coagulant solution slowly into the soymilk while gently stirring the soymilk.
Transfer coagulated dispersion into a mold lined with cheesecloth.
Store in cold water, change soaking water daily.
Prepare coagulant – dissolve either one teaspoon Nigari (natural magnesium chloride) or two teaspoons natural calcium sulfate in one cup of warm water.  Less coagulant produces softer tofu, More produces harder tofu.

17. Tempeh: Fermented soybean cake
Favorite food and staple source of protein in Indonesia for 100s of years.
Firm texture and a nutty mushroom flavor.
De-hulled soybeans are soaked overnight, cooked for about 30 min.
Fermented with tempeh starter.
Rhizopus mold binds the soybeans into a compact white cake
produces natural antibiotic agents
36 to 48 hours incubation at about 30°C.
Tempeh: Fermented soybean cake

18. Miso mixture of soybeans, salt and rice, fermented by fungi
Addition of different ingredients and variations in length of aging produce. different types of miso that vary greatly in flavor, texture, color and aroma.
Household art in Asian countries, comparable to the American practice of canning foods.
In Japan, different types of miso are prepared and evaluated much the way Westerners judge fine wines and cheeses.

19. Soy phytoestrogens Lower cholesterol levels, especially LDL
Lower blood pressure
Reduce risk of breast and prostate cancer
Reduce symptoms of menopause & risks of osteoporosis

20. Common bean
Phaseolus vulgaris - kidney, navy, pinto, black, green, string, wax, snap, among others; 2nd most important after soybeans.
Origin - Central and South America about 3000 y.b.p. Historically grown with corn, wild plants are vines and corn was used as a prop for vines. Nitrogen fixation helped corn.

21. Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)
Originated in Peru; > 15,000 varieties
Flowers above ground, after pollination the flower stalk pushes the fruit into the soil, fruit matures underground into a pod. Seed has two large cotyledons.
Seed contains 45%-50% oil, 25%-35% protein.
50% of U.S. crop used for peanut butter.
Promoted by George Washington Carver to reinvigorate southern agriculture after the Civil war.
Peanut butter is uniquely America food first developed by a St Louis physician in the 1890s as a nutritious and easily digested for for invalids who had difficulty chewing
Peanut oil in margarine, shortening, salad dressing, cooking oil, certain soaps, variety of cosmetic and industrial products such as shaving cream, plastics and paints

22. George Washington Carver
-Agricultural chemist
-College professor
-Revolutionized Southern Agriculture
-crop rotation methods
-agricultural products
-Philanthropist & Role model

23. Lima beans
Phaseolus lunatus - close relative of common bean, used mainly in dry form.
Origin in Central America 7-10,000 y.b.p.
Some cultivars contain cyanogenic compounds ----> cyanide.

24. Vicia faba annual grain legume originating in the Near East
seed types:
Large: broad bean or Windsor bean
Medium: horse bean
Small: faba bean or tick bean
grain for animal feed
forage crop or as a green manure
“Faba nuts”
"Faba nuts", deep fried in hot olive oil are a popular alternative to salted nuts in northern Africa and the Mediterranean.
Persons with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency are highly allergic to faba beans and its pollen - "favism".
G6PD deficiency is the most common enzyme deficiency globally, affecting some 400 million persons.
Hemolytic anemia (lysis of red blood cells)

25. Maize and beans Java, Indonesia
Traditional staples in Central and South America
Nutritionally complementary
Beans rich in amino acids deficient in corn and vitamin niacin
Corn rich in amino acids deficient in beans
Ecologically complementary
Poly-cropping
Crop rotations
Well adapted to low inputs
Both originate in Central & South America
Beans are planted a few weeks after the maize to allow the maize to get a head start; note wide spacing of maize, beans cover ground between maize suppressing weeds.
The corn provides stalks for climbing beans (photo below).
The beans have nodules which fix nitrogen; corn consumes excess free mineral N in the soil, which stimulates more nitrogen fixation by beans, resulting in more N inputs to the system.
The broad-leaf beans cover soil between the more vertically oriented corn, reducing habitats for weeds.
Increased habitat heterogeneity increases the degree of regulation of pests by natural enemies
Burkina Faso

26. Essential amino acids Does not reflect ‘importance’
Not manufactured by body
Must be consumed in diet
isoleucine
leucine
tryptophan
lysine
methionine
phenyalanine
threonine
valine
histidine
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Twenty amino acids are needed to build the various proteins used in the growth, repair, and maintenance of body tissues. Eleven of these amino acids can be made by the body itself, while the other nine (called essential amino acids) must come from the diet. The classification of an amino acid as essential or nonessential does not reflect its importance, because all 20 amino acids are necessary for health.
Red: low in grain, high in beans
Green: high in grain, low in beans

27. Grazing Management Alfalfas Clover Lespedezas Sweet clover
Most plant species sown for pastures belong to one of 2 plant groups:
Grasses
Legumes
Advantages of mixtures
soil enrichment
balanced diet for livestock
Alfalfas
Clover
Lespedezas
Sweet clover
Bird’s foot trefoil

28. Suppresses weed growth Reduces erosion Green manure
Cover crop
Suppresses weed growth
Reduces erosion
Green manure
Plowed under instead of harvested
Enhance soil fertility
Above: Red clover growing amongst corn stubble, in early June. The clover was under-sown into the corn crop the previous year (below).

29. Wildlife habitat
Provide essential cover for different life- stages of wildlife.
Partridge pea and lespedeza, are an important food source for upland birds.
Lupine is the primary food for the Karner Blue butterflies in the Oak Openings region, and both are endangered.