LEGUME CROPS

Legumes are cultivated crops in the family Fabaceae.They produce small compact grains that are rich in protein.A legume fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces(opens along a seam)on two sides.
Legumes could be classified as either grain or forage legumes.Grain legumes are consumed by man and livestocks or animals.examples are cowpea,soybean,groundnuts,pigeon pea
Forage legumes provide nitrogen rich fodder for livestock use.among them are alfafa,clover,lentils,lupins,gliricidia,leucanea,stylosanthes etc
They fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbiotic relationship with bacteria(rhizobia)found in root nodules of these plants.This ability to fix nitrogen reduces fertilizer costs for farmers and gardeners who grow legumes and allow legumes to be used in crop rotation programmes to replenish soils that has been depleted of nitrogen.
The nitrogen fixing ability of legumes is enhanced by the availability of calcium in the soil and reduced the presence of ample nitrogen.Legume seed and foliage have a comparatively higher protein content due to additional nitrogen that legumes receive through nitrogen fixation symbiosis.The high protein content maked them desirable crops in agriculture

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