Origin, domestication, taxonomy, botanical description, genetc diversity
and breeding of dolichos bean (lablab purpureus (l.) sweet)
Authors:   K.R.M. Swamy
Published: July 2023

Dolichos [Lablab purpureus (Dolichos lablab)] is a genus (Lablab) of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and the subfamily Faboideae. Dolichos bean (Lablab purpureus. L.) is an important vegetable legume crop grown throughout the country. The alternate Scientific Names are Dolichos benghalensis Jacq., Dolichos lablab L., Dolichos purpureus L., Lablab niger Medikus, Lablab purpurea (L.) Sweet, Lablab vulgaris (L.) Savi, Vigna aristata Piper. The common names in English are Australian pea (South America), bonavist bean, bonavista pea, field bean, hyacinth bean, lablab bean, pig-ears, poor man's bean, rongai dolichos, Tonga bean, Musical Bean, Sweet Pulse and Wild Bean. In India it is known by different names in different languages viz., Avare, ballar, chapparadavare, chikkadikai chikkuda, mochai numulu, mochakotta sem, pavta, shim, sin bean, val, wal; urahi, urchi, uri (Assamese); rajashimbi (Bengali); bhatvas, shimi, sem (Hindi); capparada-avare, avare, avare baele (Kannada); amara, avara (Malayalam); hawai uri (Manipuri); anvare, kadavebaala, pandhre pavate (Marathi); nispavah (Sanskrit); avarai, motchai (Tamil); chikkudu, adavichikkudu, alsanda (Telugu). Hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) is widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Southeast Asia. It is a multipurpose tropical legume valued as a vegetable, pulse, fodder and green manure crop. Dolichos bean or Hyacinth bean or Indian bean [(Lablab purpureus L.) Sweet] is a multi-utility and multi-beneficial leguminous crop. It is grown for vegetable, pulse, fodder, green manure, cover crop, medicine and ornamental purpose. Apart from being draught tolerant, it has high adaptability to wide range of production conditions. It also improves soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitrogen and adding more organic carbon to soil. Despite its multi-utility and multi-benefits, Dolichos is still an underutilized and unexplored crop in terms of area under cultivation and efforts towards its genetic improvement. It is a potential crop for sustainable agriculture in dry land ecosystems assuring food and income security to small and marginal farmers of this region. Thus, attention should be given for comprehensive genetic improvement and conservation of plant genetic resources of Dolichos. Two cultivated type’s viz., Lablab purpureosu var. typicus and L. purpureus var. lignosus. Former is vegetable type cultivated for its soft and edible pods and latter is the field bean cultivated for dry seeds as pulse. Both varieties are cross compatible. Eevaluation of L. purpureus germplasm, indicated that the pod characters are significant in L. purpureus sp. purpureus, but it flowers only seasonally. On the other hand, pod characters of L. purpureus sp. uncinatus are not good, though it flowers throughout the year. Therefore, starting the crop improvement programme for enhancing yield throughout year, it is essential to collect information on the reproductive biology of both the sub-species. The most recent research points to lablab being a native to eastern and southern Africa where it was domesticated and subsequently dispersed across Africa and Asia (pre 2000 BC). 100 g of green pods contain 6.7 g carbohydrates, 3.8g carbohydrates, 3.8 proteins, 1.8 g fibre, 210 mg calcium, 68.0 mg phosphorus, 1.7 mg iron. Hyacinth bean, also known as field bean or dolichos bean, is grown throughout tropical regions of Asia, Africa and America. In India, it is grown as a field crop in Tamil Nadu., Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In Kerala, the photo sensitive pole types are grown in homesteads by trailing to bower for its tender fruits which are used as cooked vegetable. Dry beans are also used in various vegetable preparations. In this review article on Origin, Domestication, Taxonomy, Botanical Description, Genetic Diversity, Breeding, Uses, Nutritional Value and Health Benefits of Dolichos Bean are discussed.