The underrated mungbean could improve food and nutrition security
A recent article in the Guardian newspaper extols the virtues of mungbean, a crop on which WorldVeg has been working on for decades. Written by an Australian journalist who visited WorldVeg headquarters in November and published in the Australia new section – its leading title belies the Australian sense of humor – ‘Fibre-rich, with fewer farts…”
Not only do mungbeans contain the myriad nutritional benefits of legumes in general, as a rich source of protein, fiber, antioxidant polyphenols and essential vitamins and minerals, they also have a few special qualities. Mung beans are easy to digest, rich in micronutrients, and have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fever and heatstroke as well as other conditions including hypertension, gastrointestinal problems and inflammation.
The article introduces the International Mungbean Improvement Network (IMIN), led by WorldVeg with partners including the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and explains how “careful screening has revealed varieties with greater resistance to pathogens like powdery mildew, anthracnose and fusarium wilt, and pests such as cowpea aphid, thrips and stem fly. A wild beach variety could help breed lines that can tolerate salinity and improved lines have shortened the bean’s growing time.”
“We have got varieties that mature in 50 days,” the regional director of IMIN in South and Central Asia, Dr Ramakrishnan Nair, says. This makes mungbeans – one of the only summer rotation options among legumes – ideal to plant between other crops such as rice or wheat, enriching the soil with nitrogen and supplementing smallholder farmers’ incomes.
See the full story by Natalie Parletta in The Guadian, Australia news, 2 February 2024
