What is included in legumes? What about legumes?

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I really love making homemade drinks, and this is quite justified, because they turn out very tasty and healthy, unlike chemical mixtures sold in stores. This time my choice fell on homemade lemonade.

The name suggests the use of lemon as the main ingredient. But this decision seemed boring to me; I really wanted something unusual. Not everyone knows, but this drink can be made much tastier using an orange as a base. This is how the lemonade will turn out brighter in appearance and richer in taste. You can easily get rid of the slight bitterness of this fruit using one trick, which I will share with you in the recipe.

Now I suggest you start preparing...

Nutritional value of the dish per 100 grams.

BZHU: 0 /0 /5.

Kcal: 20.

GI: low.

AI: low.

Cooking time: 20 minutes + 3 hours to freeze fruit.

Number of servings: 8 tbsp (2 l).

Ingredients of the dish.

• Orange - 250 g (1-2 pcs).
• Water - 2 l.
• Citric acid - 1-2 g (1/4 tsp).
• Sugar - 100-150 g (1/2 tbsp).

Recipe.

Let's prepare the ingredients. Wash the oranges thoroughly under the tap.

One is enough for this recipe. ripe fruit about 10 cm in diameter, but if you want to get a more pronounced and rich taste of the drink, you can take two or three citrus fruits. Experiment and you will find your favorite proportions.

Place the oranges in a bowl and pour boiling water over them for 1-2 minutes. This procedure will help remove waxy deposits.

Then wipe the citrus fruits dry with a towel and place them in the freezer for at least 2 hours to reduce the bitterness of the peel.

I freeze several fruits at once and take them out if necessary.

Without wasting time, boil the required amount of water (2 liters) and cool.

Let the oranges thaw so that they can be cut into large slices.

Grind the resulting product using a meat grinder or blender.

Pour the puree obtained from one fruit with cooled boiled water (2 tbsp).

Let the mixture sit for about 10-15 minutes.

Then filter the drink through a sieve into a carafe or other suitable container. Throw away the cake.

Add sugar (1/2 tbsp) to the bowl.

Legumes are known all over the world. They are most often cultivated for food. They contain more vegetable protein and microelements necessary for humans.

General characteristics

Legumes are a huge family of dicotyledonous plants. The legume family has more than 18,000 thousand varieties, which represent many various genera. Leguminous plants can be represented by trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and annuals.

The legume family is divided into three main subgroups, these are such subgroups as: Caesalpinia, Mimosa, Legume or as it is also called – Moth. The differences between these subgroups are only in the structure of the inflorescence; otherwise, their descriptions are very similar.

All types of legumes have quite similar external structure, but, nevertheless, there are still some differences between all plants. It is according to them that each legume plant can be classified as one species or another.

The main difference between plants is the peculiar structure of the fruit, which is called a bean or pod. The pod is a single-locular fruit with two symmetrical valves. It contains seeds that are tightly attached to the valves.

The legume plant is most often multi-seeded, but single-seeded varieties are also found. Beans can come in different sizes and shapes.

The legume plant is distinguished by flowers of irregular, asymmetrical shape. They are collected in cone-shaped or apical inflorescences. There can be a different number of flowers in one inflorescence. If there is only one flower, then, as a rule, it is large in size. If there is more than one, then the inflorescence is collected by many small flowers. The leaves are arranged alternately and are usually compound. Representatives with simple leaves are quite rare.

The plant of the legume family is distinguished by the specific structure of its rhizome. On the root system there are colonies of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which form small nodules, penetrating into the cells of the rhizome.

During their life activity, nitrogen-fixing bacteria synthesize nitrogen from the atmosphere and transform it into an accessible form. Due to this property, legumes are classified as green manure, saturating the soil useful microelements and preventing the active proliferation of weeds. Some legumes can release up to 100-150 kg of nitrogen per year, for example, fodder beans.

Description of species

As mentioned earlier, the Moth family has a huge number of varieties, but the most common are the following species:

• Fruit;
• Feed;
• Decorative.

It is worth talking about each of them in more detail. Representatives that are classified as fruit trees:

• Chickpeas;
• Lentils;
• Peanut;
• Beans;
• Soy.

Let's take a closer look:

Broad beans

Broad beans are an annual or biennial grass that is used in organic farming as green manure.

Broad beans are represented by the following representatives:

• Red clover;
• Alfalfa sowing.

Clover is a herbaceous plant of the legume family. Clover stems can reach a height of 5 to 50 cm. Inflorescences can be of different shades, but purple flowers are most common. It is very often used in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory and expectorant.

Clover is also used as green fodder, and silage is made from it. In addition, essential oil and vitamin concentrates are made from clover leaves.

Alfalfa is another plant in the legume family. Alfalfa in wildlife can grow in fields, meadows and grassy slopes. It, like clover, is used as green fodder for livestock. The stems are pubescent or glabrous, strongly branched in the apical part. The stems can reach 80 cm in length. The inflorescences are purple or rich yellow.

Decorative

Such plants include:

• Acacia.

Lupine is an ornamental herbaceous annual or perennial. Lupine can also be presented as a shrub or subshrub. Lupine is popular not only as a flower for decorating flower beds, but also as a raw material for the production of oils. Vegetable oil obtained from lupine is similar in properties to olive oil.

In addition, lupine is used as green fodder. The rhizome of lupine is powerful and can reach 1-2 meters in length. The inflorescences are represented by long tassels, which consist of many flowers. The color of the flowers can be different - pink, lilac, purple or red.

Silver acacia is a tree native to the southeast coast of Australia and Tasmania.

Silver acacia is also popularly called mimosa. The crown of the acacia is spreading, the tree trunk can reach a height of 10 - 12 meters.

Young stems of the tree are olive green. Acacia flowers are copper-yellow, round, fluffy, and have a pleasant aroma. Inflorescences are formed by a large number of flowers.

The list of legumes can be continued for a very long time. This is one of the most common families in the world. Legumes can grow in different climatic and natural conditions and in terms of distribution they can be second only to cereals.

Legumes, or Moths (lat. Fabaceae = Leguminosae = Papilonaceae)- a family of dicotyledonous plants, many of which have high nutritional value, and some of which are grown as ornamental plants. Herbaceous representatives of this family are able to bind and retain atmospheric nitrogen in the soil. The family contains about 24 and a half thousand species of annual and perennial plants, united in more than 900 genera. The family is represented by three subfamilies - Caesalpiniaceae, Mimosaceae and Boboves proper, or Motylkoves. Representatives of subfamilies differ primarily in the structure of the flower.

Humankind has been eating some legumes since the Stone Age, and in different countries the same legume product was treated differently. For example, in Greece peas were the food of the poor, and in France they were included in delicious menu king, in Ancient Egypt Lentil bread was an everyday dish, and in ancient Rome this plant was considered medicinal.

Legume family - description

In terms of the breadth of their range, legumes are second only to cereals. In countries with temperate, boreal, subtropical and tropical climates, leguminous plants make up a significant part of the flora. One of the indisputable advantages of legumes is the ability to adapt to a wide variety of natural conditions.

The leaves of legumes are alternate, usually complex - trifoliate, pinnate or palmate, with stipules, but there are also plants with simple leaves. Bisexual flowers are collected in axillary or terminal capitate, racemose, semi-umbellate or paniculate inflorescences. The upper large petal of leguminous plants is called a sail, the side petals are called oars, and the fused or stuck together lower petals are called a boat. The legume fruit is usually a dry, most often multi-seeded pod, or bean, with two valves that open when ripe.

Sometimes a ripe bean breaks up into single-seeded parts, but there are plants with a single-seeded bean that, even in a ripe state, does not open on its own. Legume seeds usually have large cotyledons without endosperm.

Fruit legume plants

Peas

- a genus of herbaceous plants of the legume family. Peas are one of the oldest members of the family, introduced into cultivation about 8,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region, which consisted of Mesopotamia, the Levant, and prehistoric Syria and Palestine. From there, peas spread west to Europe and east to India. Peas were cultivated both in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome - mention of them was found in the works of Theophrastus, Columella and Pliny. During the Middle Ages in Europe, peas became one of the poor people's main food resources because they could be stored dry for a long time. We cooked peas with lard.

And the first recipe for a dish made from green peas was found in a book by Guillaume Tirel, written in the 13th century. Eating green peas became fashionable during the time of Louis XIV, and the peak of popularity of this culture came in France in the 19th century. In 1906, a work was published in which more than two hundred varieties of peas were described, and in 1926 the Bonduelle Society was formed, which organized the production of frozen green peas, which still holds the lead in the production of canned and frozen vegetables.

Peas appeared in America thanks to H. Columbus, who brought its seeds to Santo Domingo. It is known that American President Jefferson, famous for his love of agronomy, collected a collection of cultural samples, which served as the basis for the development of early ripening pea varieties. In 1920, the American inventor Clarence Birdseye proposed a method of freezing green peas, which was quickly mastered by Europeans, and in the state of Minnesota they erected a monument to peas - a giant green statue.

Peas (lat. Pisum sativum)– a type species of pea, a climbing annual, widely cultivated as a forage and food plant. The feathery leaves of peas end in branched tendrils with which the plant clings to the support. Peas have large stipules. The moth-like pea flowers are white, purple or pink. The seeds are slightly compressed spherical peas enclosed in a dense pod.

Varieties of seed peas are divided into three groups:

• shelling peas, the spherical peas of which have a smooth surface. Second and first courses are prepared from dry grains of hulled varieties. They contain a lot of starch and are used both in food industry, and for the production of bioplastics;
• Brain peas are so called because their peas, when ripe, shrivel and look like a miniature brain. The seeds of the marrow variety have a sweet taste and are often mistaken for sugar snap peas. Brain varieties are used mainly for preparations - usually the light varieties are canned, and the dark ones are frozen. Brain peas are not suitable for cooking because they do not boil;
• sugar peas - these varieties do not have a parchment film in the pods. When dried, sugar seeds become very wrinkled due to their high moisture content.

Pea seeds are a source of carbohydrates and vegetable protein, but their main nutritional value lies in the high concentration of mineral salts and trace elements - one pea includes almost the entire periodic table. In addition, the seeds contain fatty acids, natural sugars, dietary fiber and starch. The seeds of the crop contain B vitamins, as well as vitamins A, H, K, E, PP.

Despite the cold resistance of the crop, it is grown only in sunny areas. Soils for peas need to be moist, but not wet, neutral and light - preferably loamy or sandy loam. Peas grow best after pumpkin or nightshade crops. In the fall, it is advisable to fertilize the area for peas with humus or compost at the rate of half a bucket per m² or apply mineral fertilizers in the amount of 30-40 g of superphosphate and 20-30 g of potassium chloride per m², and in the spring, immediately before planting, you need to fertilize the soil with ammonium nitrate at the rate of 20 -30 g per unit area.

The best shelling pea varieties are considered to be early ripening Hezbana, Tires, Alpha, Corvin, Zamira, Misty, early ripening Gloriosa, Vinko, Asana, Abador, mid-early Ashton and Sherwood, mid-ripening Viola, Matrona, Nicholas, Twin and late-ripening Resap variety.

Of the sugar varieties, the very early peas Meteor, as well as Beagle, Little Marvel, early ripening varieties Medovik, Detsky Sugar, early ripening Calvedon, Onvard, Ambrosia, mid-early Sugar Oregon, Alderman, mid-ripening Zhegalova 112, Oscar and late-ripening Inexhaustible 195 have proven themselves well.

Among the brain varieties, early-ripening Vera peas, mid-ripening Debut and late-ripening Belladonna 136 are popular.

Chickpeas

chickpeas, or lamb peas, or bladder, or nahat, or shish, or chickpeas (lat. Cicer arietinum)– a leguminous crop, especially popular in the Middle East. Chickpeas are the basis for many traditional Middle Eastern dishes, including falafel and hummus, as chickpeas have been cultivated in the region for seven and a half thousand years. Chickpeas entered the territory of Rome and Greece Bronze Age, and even then several varieties of chickpeas were known. In Rome, it was believed that these peas stimulated menstruation, promoted sperm production and lactation, and had a diuretic effect.

At the beginning of the 9th century, chickpeas were already grown everywhere in Europe, and in the 17th century they were considered more nutritious and less gas-forming than seed or vegetable peas. Today, chickpeas grow in 30 countries around the world, but they are grown commercially mainly in North Africa, Turkey, Pakistan, India, China and Mexico.

Chickpea is a herbaceous, self-pollinating annual with an erect, branched stem reaching a height of 20 to 70 cm and covered with glandular hair. Depending on the variety, branching may begin at the base of the stem or in its middle part. The root system of chickpeas is taprooted, the main root reaches a length of one hundred centimeters or more, but the bulk of the roots lie at a depth of 20 cm. Tubers containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria are formed at the ends of the roots. The leaves of chickpea are also pubescent, complex, odd-pinnate, consisting of 11-17 obovate or elliptical segments.

The color of the leaves, depending on the variety, can be green, yellow-green, bluish-green, and sometimes green with a purple tint. During flowering, small white, blue, yellow-green, purple or pink five-membered flowers open on one-two-flowered peduncles. The chickpea fruit is an oval, oblong-oval or rhombic bean, 1.5 to 3.5 cm long, with a parchment-like inner layer. Seeds in the amount of one or two can be colored straw-yellow, greenish or bluish-violet.

There is such a pattern: varieties with white flowers produce light seeds, and varieties with pink and purple flowers produce dark seeds. When ripe, the beans with seeds do not crack. Chickpea grains can have an angular shape reminiscent of a ram's head, they can be round or angular-rounded, similar to the head of an owl. Based on size, there are small-, medium- and large-seeded chickpea varieties.

Chickpea sprouts contain high-quality fats and proteins, a lot of calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamins A and C, essential acids tryptophan and methionine. The grains contain protein, oil, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, PP, A and C.

In agriculture, chickpea is an intercrop that dry conditions replaces steam - it is used as a precursor for grain crops. Chickpeas are the most frost-resistant, heat-resistant and drought-resistant of legumes. In addition, there is no need to apply nitrogen fertilizers to chickpeas, since they themselves are able to extract this element from the air and supply it to the soil. Chickpeas do not require high quality soils, but they will not grow well in weedy or heavy clay soils. Choose well-lit areas with loose, well-drained soil for chickpeas.

Lentils

Edible lentils, or ordinary, or cultural (lat. Lens culinaris)– a herbaceous annual of the Lentil genus of the Legume family, one of the oldest crops, widely cultivated as a forage and food plant. This plant has been known for a long time: even in the Old Testament it is mentioned that Esau exchanged his birthright for lentil stew.

Lentils originated from southeast Asia, but they are grown in all countries with temperate and warm climates. In South America and Australia, lentils are the basis of many national dishes; in India and China they are considered the same national product as rice, and in Germany they are used to prepare a traditional Christmas dish.

The root of lentils is thin, few-branched and pubescent. The erect, branched stem reaches a height of 15 to 75 cm. The alternate, short-petioled, pair-pinnate leaves end in a tendril. The stipules of lentils are entire, semi-lance-shaped. Thick peduncles are crowned with an axis. Small white, pink or purple flowers, collected in racemes, open in June-July. Hanging rhombic beans about 1 cm long and up to 8 mm wide contain from 1 to 3 flattened seeds with an almost sharp edge. The color of the seeds depends on the variety.

Lentil fruits contain large number iron and vegetable protein, easily digestible by the human body, however, the content of tryptophan and sulfur amino acids in lentils is not as high as in other legumes. And it contains less fat than peas. One serving of lentils contains 90% of your daily folic acid requirement. Lentils also contain soluble fiber, which improves digestion, potassium, calcium, iron and phosphorus, as well as manganese, copper, zinc, iodine, cobalt, molybdenum and boron, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins C, A, PP and group B, as well as isoflavones, which suppress breast cancer.

Lentils, unpretentious to growing conditions, nevertheless have their own preferences. For example, she prefers loose fertilized sandy loam and loamy soils with a neutral reaction. It grows in heavy soils, and even in acidified ones, but it will not give a good harvest in such soil. Add sand to clayey soil and lime to acidic soil, and then you can sow lentils. The best predecessors for lentils are corn, potatoes or winter crops.

There are six varieties of lentils:

• brown, intended mainly for soups. It cooks quickly, especially after pre-soaking, and has a nutty aroma;
• green is unripe brown lentils, which are added to salads, meat and rice dishes;
• yellow – unripe brown lentils without skin;
• red lentils are lentil grains without shells, so the process of preparing puree or soup from them takes only 10-12 minutes;
• black lentils, or Beluga - very small lentils, similar to beluga caviar, which after cooking retain both their color and shape;
• French green lentils, bred in the town of de Puy, which are considered the most delicious and refined. It has a mild aroma, an original marble pattern and soft skin. French lentils retain their shape during cooking, so they are used to make soups, salads, casseroles, and are also served as a side dish for fish and meat.

Beans

- a genus of the Legume family, uniting almost one hundred species growing in warm and temperate climates. The most popular species of the genus is the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), whose homeland is Latin America. Varieties of common beans are distinguished by a variety of shapes and colors of leaves, flowers and fruits. Both seeds and pods of this bean are used for food. ancient plant, which was cultivated in America by the Aztecs. After Columbus's second voyage, beans came to Europe, where they were first grown as an ornamental plant, and only from the end of the 17th century they began to be cultivated as a vegetable crop.

The height of beans can reach from 50 cm to 3 m. Its highly branched and pubescent stem can be straight or curly. The leaves of beans are trifoliate, pair-pinnate and long-petiolate. Flowers of white, violet and dark purple color, located on long stalks of 2-6 pieces, are collected in axillary racemes.

Bean fruits are curved or straight, almost cylindrical or flattened hanging beans, 5 to 20 long and 1-1.5 cm wide. The color of the pod varies from pale yellow to dark purple. The beans contain from two to eight elliptical seeds of white or dark purple color, solid or speckled, spotted or mosaic.

Bean seeds contain proteins, carbohydrates, fatty oil, carotene, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, essential amino acids, flavonoids, sterols, organic acids (malonic, citric and malic), as well as vitamins - ascorbic and pantothenic acids, thiamine and pyridoxine. Raw beans, especially those with red seeds, contain lectins that need to be neutralized by boiling for 30 minutes. Bean proteins are similar in composition to meat proteins. Soups, side dishes and canned food are prepared from beans. In some cases, beans are a dietary product.

The bean leaves are used to prepare an extract that lowers blood sugar and increases diuresis. In folk medicine, rheumatism, hypertension and salt metabolism disorders are treated with infusions of bean leaves.

Beans are grown in light, well-drained soil fertilized with compost or humus. In composition it can be loam or sandy loam. It is better to locate the site on a southern or southwestern slope protected from the wind. Bean varieties are divided into three groups:

• with shelled or grain beans - these varieties are distinguished by the presence of an internal dense parchment layer, so they are usually grown for grain;
• with semi-sugar beans - in these varieties the parchment layer is not so dense or appears already at a late stage of grain development;
• with sugar or asparagus beans - these are the most valuable and delicious varieties, since their pods lack a parchment layer.

Early-ripening beans are represented by the following varieties: Flat long, Priusadennaya, Saksa 615, Caramel, Shakhinya, Zolotoy Nectar, Belozernaya 361. Of the mid-ripening varieties, the most popular are Motolskaya Belaya, Pation, Moskovskaya Belaya, Yubileynaya 287, Fiery Red, Pobeditel, Violetovaya, and from For late beans, the varieties most often preferred are Blue Hilda, Queen Nekar and Krasivy Yas. If you decide to grow green beans, then the best varieties of this variety are Indiana, Bergold, Deer King, Gina asparagus, Panther, Olga, Paloma Scuba and Pencil Pod.

Of the climbing bean varieties, the most commonly cultivated are Violetta, Gerda, Turkish, Golden Neck, Mavritanka, Lambada, Fatima, Pobeditel and Purple Queen, and among the bush varieties, the most famous are Butter King, Caramel, Indiana and Royal Purple Pod.

Soybeans

It is an annual herbaceous plant, a species of the Soybean genus of the Legume family. Soybeans are grown in Southern Europe, Asia, South and North America, South and Central Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Soybean, like other legumes, is one of the oldest cultivated plants - the history of its cultivation goes back at least five thousand years: mention of soybean was found in Chinese literature dating back to the third or fourth millennium BC. However, there is also an opinion that soybean as a cultivated plant was formed even earlier - 6-7 thousand years ago.

Soybean was introduced into the culture in China, and then it spread to Korea and Japan. The plant entered Europe in 1740 through France, and in 1790 it was brought to England, although the plant began to be widely cultivated in Europe only in 1885. In 1898, many soybean varieties were brought to the United States from Asia and Europe, and in the early thirties of the last century, this crop was grown in America on an area of ​​1 million hectares. In the Russian Empire, the first soybean crops were planted in 1877 on the territory modern Ukraine- in the Tauride and Kherson provinces.

Currently, genetically modified soybeans are included in many products. The world leader in the production of GM soybeans is the American company Monsanto.

Food soybeans have earned popularity due to the following characteristics:

• high productivity;
• high protein content;
• excellent results in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis;
• the presence in the composition of plant grains of the most valuable substances - vitamins E, PP, A, group B, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, chlorine, sodium, iron, manganese, copper, aluminum, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, iodine, linoleic and linolenic acid ;
• unique properties that allow the production of healthy products from soybeans - soybean oil, milk, flour, meat, pasta, tofu, sauce and others.

In addition to the fact that soybean is used as a healthy and inexpensive substitute for meat and milk, it is included in the feed for young farm animals.

The soybean root system is taprooted, the main root is thick but not very long, and the lateral roots can extend to the sides underground for two meters. Soybean stems are thin or thick, erect, creeping or curly, well branched, from 15 to 200 cm or more in height. Lateral shoots extend from the stem at different angles, forming a spreading, semi-spreading or compact bush. Both the stems and shoots of soybeans are covered with yellow, white or brown hair.

When ripe, the soybean stem becomes brown-yellow or red. Soybean leaves are alternate (except for the first two opposite ones), usually trifoliate, with small stipules. The shape of the leaves, depending on the variety, can be rhombic, broadly ovoid, oval, wedge-shaped with blunt or pointed tips. In most varieties, when the fruits ripen, the leaves fall off, which greatly facilitates harvesting. Small white or purple soybean flowers are collected in axillary racemes - sometimes short and few-flowered, and sometimes multi-flowered and long.

Soybean fruits are straight, sword-shaped, slightly curved or crescent-shaped beans, convex or flat, light, brown or brown, with reddish pubescence, from 3 to 7 cm long and from 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide. The beans contain from 1 to 4 grains - oval, round, oval-elongated, flat, convex, large, medium or small, green, yellow, brown, black, with a gray, light or dark brown scar.

Soybeans are drought-resistant, but if you want a good harvest, the soil in which they grow must be well moistened. It is better to grow soybeans in areas with fertile loamy or sandy loam soil, located in the open sun, but protected from the wind.

The soybean variety has six varieties:

• semi-cultural;
• Indian;
• Chinese;
• Korean;
• Manchurian;
• Slavic

On the basis of these subspecies, soybean selection was carried out, which resulted in many varieties and hybrids. Varieties of the Manchurian and Slavic subspecies and their hybrids are common in the territory of the former CIS. The most popular varieties in the south of Russia and Ukraine can be considered Amethyst, Altair, Ivanka, Vityaz 50, Bystritsa 2, Kievskaya 98, Chernovitskaya 8, Romantika, Terezinskaya 2, Deimos, Polesskaya 201, Ros, Veras, Yaselda, Volma, Pripyat and Oressa . In the conditions of the middle zone, the varieties Svetlaya, Kasatka, Okskaya, Lazurnaya, Harmony, Sonata, Lidiya, Yankan, Aktai, Nega 1, Mageva and others are most often grown.

Peanut

Peanuts, cultivated or underground peanuts, or groundnut (lat. Arachis hypogaea) is an important agricultural plant grown on an industrial scale. Actually, calling peanuts a nut is incorrect; in fact, it is a legume grass native to South America. Peanuts were well known to the natives of Peru even before the Conquest. The Spaniards brought peanuts to Europe and the Philippines, and the Portuguese to India and Macau, as well as to Africa, from where they came to North America along with black slaves. Peanuts were first fed to pigs in the States, but during the Civil War they were consumed by soldiers of both armies.

At that time, peanuts were the food of the poor, but they were not grown en masse as a food crop, and only in 1903, agrochemist George Washington Carver, while studying peanuts, invented more than 300 products from them, including cosmetics, drinks, dyes, medicines, and soap. , insect repellent and even printing ink. The scientist convinced farmers to alternate the cultivation of cotton and peanuts in the same field, and since then this crop has become one of the main crops in the southern states of America. In the territory of the former USSR, peanuts are grown in Central Asia, in some places in Transcaucasia and Ukraine, as well as in the southern regions of Russia.

Peanuts- an annual plant with a height of 25 to 70 cm with a taproot branched root system, erect, inexpressively faceted, pubescent or bare stems, recumbent or upward-directed branches, branched shoots, alternate pubescent pair-pinnate leaves from 3 to 11 cm long. The petioles of the leaves are grooved, and the leaves themselves consist of two pairs of pointed elliptical leaflets and large, elongated, entire, and also pointed stipules fused with them. Whitish or yellow-red peanut flowers, collected in 4-7 pieces in few-flowered racemes, bloom in early June or early July.

The fruits are indehiscent oval and swollen beans from 1.5 to 6 cm long with a cobweb pattern on the porous peel, which, when ripe, bend to the ground, burrow into it and ripen there. Each bean contains from 1 to 5 oblong grains the size of beans, covered with dark red, grayish-yellow, cream or light pink skin. The fruits ripen in September or October.

Peanut seeds are saturated with fatty oil, which includes glycerides of stearic, palmitic, oleic, linoleic, lauric, behenic and other acids. In addition to oil, grains contain proteins, globulins, glutenins, starch, sugars, amino acids, vitamins E and B, magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Peanuts are used in the food industry for the preparation of confectionery and main courses, as well as the famous peanut butter. The medicinal properties of peanuts, which are a powerful antioxidant, are also well known.

Peanuts are grown on light loams, sandy loams and sands. The site should be sunny and protected from the wind. There are four varieties of peanuts:

• Runner– productive varieties that are grown mainly for processing into oil, for example, Dixie Runner, Early Runner, Bradford Runner, Egyptian Giant, Georgia Green, Rhodesian Spanish Bunch and others;
• Virginia– varieties with the largest grains, from which salty and sweet nuts are produced. These include the group of North Carolina varieties (7, 9, 10C, 12C V11), the group of Virginia varieties (C92, 98R, 93B), as well as the varieties Wilson, Perry, Gregory, Gul, Shulamit, and others;
• Spanish (Spanish)– varieties with medium-sized grains covered with red-brown skin. These nuts are good in chocolate or sugar coating, they contain a lot of oil and are used as raw materials. Varieties of this variety include Dixie Spanish, Argentine, Spanet, Spantex, Shafers Spanish, Star, Comet, Florispan, Spuncross, O'Lin, Spanko and others;
• Valencia– sweet nuts of this type are covered with a bright red skin. They are most often sold fried. This variety includes the varieties Tennessee White and Tennessee Red.

Forage legumes

Vetch

Common vetch, or peas (lat. Vicia)– a genus of flowering plants of the legume family, representatives of which grow in damp forests, steppes and shrubs, in flooded meadows, forest edges of temperate regions. Humanity grows some types of vetch for decorative purposes, but for the most part, plants of this genus are used for feed or as green manure.

The genus is represented by both annual and perennial plants with climbing or erect stems, pinnate leaves ending in an tendril or straight bristles, and almost sessile flowers, solitary or collected in axils of 2-3 pieces. Vetch fruits are cylindrical, flat-compressed multi-seeded or two-seeded beans. Vetch is a good honey plant.

Vetch is readily eaten by cattle, and this has a good effect on the quality of milk, however, in its rotted form, the plant can cause miscarriage in cows. Vetch hay is an excellent feed for adult livestock, but is harmful to nursing mares, calves, foals and lambs. Vetch straw is nutritious but difficult to digest, so it is added to other feed in small portions. Vetch chaff boiled in boiling water is an excellent feed for pigs.

For green fertilizer, vetch is grown as an intermediate crop, and as a green manure it is of interest as a precursor for seedlings of peppers, tomatoes and other garden plants. Vetch is sown on cultivated and moist nutrient soils with a slightly acidic reaction. Swamp, acidic, saline and dry sandy soils are not suitable for its cultivation. The most famous varieties of common vetch are Nikolskaya, Lyudmila, Barnaulka, Lgovskaya 22 and Vera.

Clover

- a genus of plants in the legume family. The most famous cultivated species of this genus is red or meadow clover (Latin Trifolium pratense), which grows naturally in Europe, North Africa, Central and Western Asia.

Clover- sometimes a biennial, but more often a perennial herbaceous plant, reaching a height of 15 to 55 cm. Its stems are branched, ascending, the leaves are trifoliate, as indicated by the species name, with finely toothed broadly ovate lobes of whole leaves with cilia along the edges. The globular inflorescences of red or white clover are often arranged in pairs and are usually covered by the upper leaves. The fruit of clover is an ovoid, single-seeded bean. The seeds are round or angular, yellow-red or purple. Clover blooms in June-September, and its fruits ripen in August-October.

Vitamin concentrates are obtained from clover leaves, and the essential oil of the plant is used for aromatic baths and the production of homeopathic preparations. Red clover is one of the most valuable crops, which is used as green fodder and from which silage and haylage are made. Clover straw is also used to feed livestock. In folk medicine, clover infusion and decoction were taken as a means for appetite, in the treatment of tuberculosis, cough, whooping cough, bronchial asthma, migraine, malaria, uterine bleeding and painful menstruation. Fresh clover juice was used to wash eyes sore from allergies, and a compress of crushed leaves was used to treat purulent ulcers and wounds.

In cultivation, clover is as unpretentious as in nature, but it is better to sow it in the sun in slightly acidic or neutral soil in which cereal crops previously grew. Before sowing, it is necessary to deeply plow the area and remove weeds from it.

If you are interested in the decorative qualities of the plant, then it is better to sow some variety of creeping clover (Trifolium repens), for example, Atropurpurea, Good Lac, Purpurasens, Swedish pink hybrid clover (Trifolium hybridum) or reddish clover (Trifolium rubens).

Alfalfa

It is a herbaceous plant, the type species of the genus Lucerne. It grows wild in the Balkans and Asia Minor in the steppes, river valleys, dry meadows and grassy slopes, along forest edges, shrubs and pebbles, and is cultivated throughout the world as a forage plant.

The stems of alfalfa are pubescent or bare, tetrahedral, strongly branched in the upper part and reaching a height of 80 cm. They can be straight or recumbent. The rhizome of the plant is thick, powerful, and deep-lying. The leaves are petiolate, entire, oblong-ovate, with leaflets 1-2 long and 0.3-1 cm wide. On long axillary peduncles, a dense capitate multi-flowered raceme 2-3 cm long, consisting of blue-violet flowers, is formed. The fruit of alfalfa is a bean with a diameter of up to 5 mm.

Alfalfa, like clover and vetch, is a honey plant - immediately after pumping out, golden-yellow alfalfa honey thickens to the state of homemade cream. Alfalfa is a valuable agricultural crop, which is grown not only for feed, but also as green manure, and also as green manure for cotton, grain and vegetable crops. Some varieties of the plant are used for food and added to salads. Alfalfa has been grown as a forage plant for six or seven thousand years: from its natural habitat it spread throughout the world with conquering armies. For example, the Persians brought alfalfa to Greece, the Saracens to Spain, and the Spaniards to South America and Mexico, and from there the plant came to Texas and California. Alfalfa is now grown all over the world.

Alfalfa grows on well-drained, highly fertile medium-loamy soils with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Do not sow it on acidic, swampy, saline, clay or rocky soils or where groundwater is high. When growing on poor soils, it is necessary to apply fertilizers, and saline soils require leaching irrigation.

There are about 50 varieties of alfalfa, but the varieties usually grown are Laska, Rosinka, Lyuba, Severnaya hybrid, Bride of the North, Marusinskaya 425, Bibinur, Fraver, Madalina, Kamila and others.

In addition to alfalfa, vetch and clover, legumes, sainfoin, broad beans, canker grass and poultry legume are sometimes grown as forage plants, but these crops are less popular.

Ornamental leguminous plants

Lupine

- a genus of plants in the legume family. The genus is represented by annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as subshrubs and shrubs. The name of the plant is translated as “wolf”, while lupine is often called “wolf beans” among the people. In the wild, lupine can be found in the Mediterranean, Africa, and in the Western Hemisphere it grows in the territory from Patagonia to the Yukon and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. In total, there are no more than 200 species of plants, but the very first to be introduced into cultivation about 4000 years ago was white lupine - in Ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome it was used as food, fertilizer and a medicinal plant. And variable lupine has been cultivated since the time of the Incas.

Interest in lupine is caused by the high content of protein and oil in its seeds, which is close to olive oil in terms of indicators. Since ancient times, lupine seeds and its green mass have been used as livestock feed. The plant is also grown as green manure. You can also use lupine as a green fertilizer - this allows you to keep your land clean and, by growing environmentally friendly vegetables and grains, save expensive fertilizers. Lupine is also in demand in pharmacology and medicine. But in summer cottages this crop is grown as an ornamental flowering plant.

The root system of lupine is taprooted, reaching a depth of 1-2 meters. On the roots there are nodules of bacteria that absorb nitrogen from the air and bind it. Herbaceous or woody stems of lupine, leafy in varying degrees Depending on the species, they reach a height of one and a half meters. Branches are erect, creeping or protruding. The palmately compound alternate leaves are connected to the stem by long petioles.

Alternately, semi-whorled or whorled flowers form a multi-flowered apical raceme up to 1 m long. In zygomorphic lupine flowers, the velum is oval or round, straightened in the middle. The color of the flowers can be cream, yellow, pink, red, purple and different shades of purple. The fruits are leathery, slightly bent or linear beans with an uneven surface that are cream, brown or black in color. Seeds of different types and varieties of lupine vary in size, shape and color. Their surface is fine-mesh or smooth.

Lupine is highly drought-resistant and prefers a temperate climate, although some species can even tolerate very low temperatures. This legume is sown in sandy or loamy soils of neutral, slightly alkaline or slightly acidic reaction. The following types of lupine are grown in culture:

• blue (narrow-leaved) – varieties Nadezhda, Vityaz, Snezhet, Crystal, Raduzhny, Smena;
• yellow – varieties Nadezhny, Narochansky, Prestige, Zhitomirsky, Fast-growing, Academichesky 1, Demidovsky, Fakel;
• white – varieties Gamma, Degas, Desnyansky;
• multi-leaved (belongs to perennials) - varieties Albus (white), Burg Fraulein (boil-white), Schloss Frau (pale pink), Abendglut (dark red), Castellan (blue-violet), Carmineus (red), Apricot ( orange), Edelknabe (carmine), Roseus (pink), Kronleuchter (bright yellow), Rubinkönig (ruby purple), Princess Juliana (white and pink).

Mimosa

- a herbaceous perennial from the genus Mimosa, which includes about 600 species. Mimosa comes from the tropical regions of South America, but as an ornamental plant it is grown all over the world, including in indoor cultivation.

Mimosa reaches a height of 30-70 cm, but sometimes it can grow up to one and a half meters. The stem of the plant is prickly, the leaves are up to 30 cm long, bipinnate, and hypersensitive: at sunset, in cloudy weather, or when touched, they fold and fall. Small purple spherical inflorescences with a diameter of up to 2 cm are formed on long peduncles. The mimosa fruit is a hooked, curved bean that opens when ripe with 2-8 seeds.

Those who decide to grow mimosa pudica in an apartment should know that due to its toxicity, the plant should be kept away from children and pets. In addition, mimosa cannot tolerate tobacco smoke and immediately sheds its leaves in protest.

Acacia

Silver acacia, or whitened (lat. Acacia dealbata)- a species of trees of the Acacia genus of the Legume family, native to the south-eastern coast of Australia and the island of Tasmania. This species grows in southern Europe, in South Africa, in Madagascar, the Azores and the western United States. In everyday life, silver acacia is usually called mimosa, although these crops belong to different genera.

Silver acacia- a fast-growing tree with a spreading crown, growing up to 10-12 m, and its trunk can reach a diameter of 60-70 cm. The bark of the plant is gray-brown or brown, fissured, gum often protrudes from the cracks. The young branches of the plant are olive-green in color with a bluish bloom, like the leaves, for which this acacia received its specific name. Double pinnately dissected alternate leaves 10-20 cm long consist of 8-24 pairs of small elongated leaflets of the first order. Each leaf contains up to 50 pairs of oblong leaflets of the second order, the width of which does not exceed 1 cm. 20-30 fragrant, very small bluish-yellow flowers are collected in heads with a diameter of 4 to 8 mm, which form racemose inflorescences, which in turn make up panicles .

The fruits of silver acacia are elongated-lanceolate, oblong, flat beans of light brown or violet-brown color, from 1.5 to 8 cm in length and up to 1 cm in width. In individual nests of the pods there are very hard black or dark brown elliptical seeds 3 in length -4 mm. The tree blooms from late January to mid-April, and bears fruit in late summer or early autumn. Silver acacia is an excellent honey plant.

Acacia gum contains tannins, flowers contain oil, which contains hydrocarbons, aldehydes, acid esters, acids and alcohol with the smell of ambergris, and flavonoids are found in pollen.

Silver acacia is grown only in warm climates, since it cannot withstand frosts below 10 degrees. It needs to be planted in the sun, protected from gusts of wind, in fertile soil with a neutral reaction. Acacia is drought-resistant, but for the first time after planting it needs constant watering.

Properties of leguminous plants

All leguminous plants have bisymmetrical irregular flowers, collected in axillary or apical heads or racemes. The most characteristic form of flowers is the moth, for which legumes received their second name. Although some believe that legume flowers are more reminiscent of a boat with a sail.

The roots of many legumes have a characteristic feature: growths form on them, in which colonies of nitrogen-fixing bacteria live, absorbing this element from the air and converting it into a form more accessible to plants. This nitrogen serves as food for the plant itself, accumulating in all its organs, and is released into the soil. That is why legumes are grown as green fertilizer and used as green manure.

The nutritional qualities of legume seeds can hardly be overestimated, since due to the protein they contain, they are an inexpensive meat substitute, which is especially important for vegetarians. In addition to protein, legumes contain vitamins and fiber, as well as other substances that are very valuable for the human body. Another advantage of legumes is that they do not accumulate nitrates and toxins, which is why legume feed is so highly valued.

A number of leguminous plants are medicinal, for example, cassia, Japanese sophora, licorice glabra and Ural.

All legumes are grown by sowing seeds in open ground, and the seedling method is used only for heat-loving plants, such as peanuts and beans. Pre-soaking the seed accelerates the emergence of seedlings, but the seeds should be in water for no more than 12 hours, otherwise they may not germinate.

Almost all representatives of the Legume family prefer sandy or loamy soils with a neutral reaction, but a slight shift to the acidic or alkaline side is possible.

Most legumes are in symbiosis with nodule bacteria, which supply the soil with nitrogen. But the ability to absorb nitrogen from the air appears in plants only after flowering, so at the very beginning of growth it is necessary to add complete mineral fertilizer to the soil, including the nitrogen component. It is advisable to sow legumes after crops to which organic matter was added, and in order for nodules with bacteria to form on the roots of plants, it is necessary to use special bacterial fertilizers.

Caring for legumes is simple: weeding, watering, loosening, hilling and protection from diseases and pests.

Different types of legumes have their own characteristics. First of all, this concerns the timing of sowing. Cold-resistant and early-ripening species (peas, beans) manage to produce crops in any climate, and heat-loving crops in middle lane Only early ripening ones (for example, some types of beans) ripen. To grow mid-season plants, you have to resort to the seedling method. But there are crops that can only be grown in warm regions (chickpeas, mung beans).

Most legumes are moisture-loving and require regular soil moisture (peas and soybeans), but there are plants that grow well in dry climates, such as chickpeas and beans.

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§1. General characteristics of grain legumes

National economic importance of leguminous crops. All grain legumes belong to the legume family ( Fabaceae) and have much in common in plant biology, cultivation techniques and the quality of the resulting products. K grain legumes include: peas (sown and field peas, or peas), broad beans, vetch, common beans, lupine (white, yellow, perennial, narrow-leaved), soybeans, lentils, chickpeas.

Grain legumes are cultivated to produce seeds with a high protein content. These crops are divided according to their economic importance into: food, feed, industrial and universal. Beans and lentils are distinguished by high taste and culinary qualities; they are used only in human nutrition. Chickpeas, chickpeas, broad beans, white and yellow lupines are used mainly in the feed industry, although in some countries the seeds of chickpeas and white lupines are eaten. Soybean is used as a technical, food and feed crop, without losing its importance as an oilseed raw material. In terms of versatility of use, soybean has no equal among field plants.

In solving the problem of vegetable protein, a very important, if not decisive, role belongs to legumes. In the seeds of many crops, the protein content is 25 - 30%, and in soybeans and lupine - up to 35 - 45%. Grain legumes not only have high nutritional value themselves, but also improve animal feed utilization of other low-protein crops. The seeds of many legumes contain a large amount of fat: soybeans - 16 - 27%, chickpeas - about 55, which increases the feed value of these crops.

The protein content in the seeds of grain legumes is determined not so much by the genotype of the variety and the growing area, but by the conditions for the symbiotic fixation of air nitrogen - agrochemical indicators of the soil, moisture supply of plants. On acidic, nutrient-poor soils, symbiotic fixation of air nitrogen is inactive or does not occur at all, plants experience nitrogen starvation, as a result, the content of crude protein in green mass and seeds is minimal, and the yield is low. The protein content is similarly affected by the lack of moisture on nitrogen-poor soils, when air nitrogen fixation does not occur and there are few available forms of mineral nitrogen. In this regard, the fluctuation in protein content of the same crop in one area reaches 10–16% or more.

The value of legume seeds lies not only in the high protein content, but also in its usefulness. The content of essential essential amino acids in it is 1.5 – 3.0 times higher than in cereal protein. The advantages of grain legumes over the Poa family crops also lie in the fact that legumes produce more protein per unit area, its quality and digestibility are higher. They provide the cheapest protein, including air nitrogen into the biological cycle, which is inaccessible to other plants. Fixation of air nitrogen occurs in the process of symbiosis of legumes with nodule bacteria of the genus Rhizobium due to light energy accumulated by the plant.

The industrial and raw material importance of legumes lies in the fact that their seeds are used to prepare cereals, flour, canned food and confectionery. Soybean seed oil has nutritional and technical significance; the enzyme urease, like bean protein, is used in medicine. The seeds of some grain legumes (soybeans, china) serve as raw materials for the production of casein and plastics.

All symbiotically fixed nitrogen from the air is removed with the grain legume harvest, but more nitrogen remains in the field with their organic residues than with the organic residues of other crops. Therefore, as a predecessor, they provide a greater yield of the subsequent crop than other predecessors.

Under favorable conditions of symbiosis (pH 6 - 7, sufficient supply of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, boron, molybdenum, the presence of specific strains of nodule bacteria, optimal soil moisture), sowing peas can absorb up to 150 kg/ha during the growing season, fodder beans and soybeans - up to 250, white lupine - up to 300 kg/ha of air nitrogen, while the yield is 3.0 - 4.0 tons of seeds per 1 hectare or more (without the cost of nitrogen fertilizers). In practice, most often the environmental parameters are unfavorable, the activity of the symbiosis is weakened, only 20 - 60 kg of air nitrogen per 1 ha is recorded, the yield is low (1.2 - 1.5 t/ha).

In world agriculture, grain legumes occupy about 13–14% of grain crops. In terms of sown areas, peas and soybeans take first place, followed by lupine. Beans, lentils, china, chickpeas and broad beans are cultivated in small areas.

Morphological and biological features. All grain legumes have a number of common features. Based on the structure of their leaves, grain legumes are divided into three groups: plants with pinnate leaves (peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans); with trifoliate leaves (beans, soybeans); with palmate leaves (lupins).

Plants of the first group germinate at the expense of the epicotyl and therefore do not bring the cotyledons to the surface. They allow deeper seeding, harrowing before and after germination. Plants of the second and third groups grow first due to the stretching of the subcotyledon (hypocotyl) and bring the cotyledons to the soil surface. They require smaller seed placement and cannot be harrowed before germination.

Root system grain legumes have a main tap root, penetrating to a depth of 1–2 m, and numerous lateral roots of the second, third and subsequent orders, located mainly in the arable layer.

Stem grain legumes have a different structure. Peas, vetch, lentils, lentils and some forms of beans have climbing stems. The apical leaves of the pinnate leaves are reduced into tendrils, with the help of which the plants cling to each other. Until the seeds are completely filled, the stems are maintained in an upright position; towards ripening, the stems lie down. In soybeans, lupines, beans, chickpeas, and bush forms of beans, the stems are erect and remain vertical throughout the growing season.

Flowers bisexual, double perianth. The corolla consists of petals of unequal size and shape (boat, sail and wings). The flower has 10 stamens and one pistil. The color of the corolla ranges from white to bright red and purple. Most grain legumes have flowers collected in inflorescences (head, raceme) at the top of the main stem and side shoots.

Fetus- bob It opens with two doors and contains several seeds. After ripening, in most species the beans crack along the longitudinal seams, the bean flaps curl and the seeds are scattered. In chickpeas and some types and varieties of lupine, the beans do not crack. IN lately It was possible to create varieties of soybeans, chin and beans with weak cracking of beans.

Seeds consist of a seed coat and an embryo. The embryo consists of two fleshy cotyledons and an embryonic root and bud enclosed between them, from which the aerial part of the plant is formed. Cotyledons are embryonic leaves; nutrients used during germination are deposited in them.

The following are noted in grain legumes: growth phases: 1 – shoots, 2 – branching of the stem, 3 – budding, 4 – flowering, 5 – formation of beans, 6 – filling of seeds, 7 – complete filling of seeds (beginning of ripening), 8 – complete ripeness.

Temperature Requirements. Based on their relationship to temperature, grain legumes are divided into three groups: the most cold-resistant, cold-resistant and heat-loving. Cold-resistant crops (chickpeas, peas, lentils) tolerate frosts down to -8 °C in the seedling phase, lupine and broad beans up to -6 °C, and soybeans up to -3 °C. Beans are the most sensitive to frost; their seedlings die at a temperature of -1 °C. For grain legume plants, elevated temperatures during the filling and seed ripening phases are especially important, which does not allow sowing at higher temperatures. late dates and limits the advance of some of them to more northern areas.

Moisture requirements. Grain legumes have higher requirements for moisture supply during the growing season than other grain crops. This is due to the fact that even with a short-term moisture deficit, the nodules die due to lack of carbohydrates. The cessation of symbiotic nitrogen fixation causes nitrogen starvation of plants and a decrease in productivity. When optimal soil moisture is restored, new nodules form on the periphery of the root system, but nitrogen stress negatively affects crop yields. The most demanding of moisture are soybeans, lupines, broad beans, and peas. The drought-tolerant group includes chickpeas and chickpeas. Beans and lentils occupy an intermediate position.

The optimal soil moisture for all crops, which ensures the most active nitrogen fixation and the largest yield of the best quality, is a moisture content in the range from 100% RPV to capillary break humidity (about 60% RPV).

Attitude to light. According to light requirements, grain legumes are classified into 3 groups: 1 – long-day plants (peas, lentils, china, lupine and beans) their growing season is shortened with lengthening daylight hours; 2 – plants short day(soybeans and some types of beans), their growing season shortens with decreasing daylight hours; 3 – group of neutral plants (most varieties of common beans and chickpeas). However, almost every crop has varieties that are neutral to day length.

Soil requirements. The most favorable for grain legumes are moderately cohesive, slightly acidic or neutral loamy and sandy loam soils containing sufficient phosphorus, potassium and calcium. They do not grow well in acidic and sandy soils. The exception is yellow lupine, which produces good yields on sandy soils even at pH = 4.0 - 4.5. Field peas (peas) grow well on sandy, slightly acidic soils.

The optimal soil density for normal development of the root system is 1.0 – 1.3 g/cm3. The special requirements of grain legumes for the volumetric mass of the soil are due to the need for increased aeration of the root system, since for the biological fixation of 1 ml of air nitrogen in the energy centers of the nodules, 3 ml of oxygen entering through the surface of the nodules is consumed. On cohesive soils with increased density, the symbiotic system experiences oxygen starvation, and the activity of biological nitrogen fixation decreases. This determines the differentiation of technological methods.

Grain legumes are placed in crop rotation after any crops, except perennial leguminous grasses and grain legumes. It is believed that grain legumes can be returned to the same field no earlier than after 3–4 years, when the number of specific pests and diseases has decreased. Grain legumes themselves are good precursors for grains, row crops and industrial crops, since under favorable conditions of symbiosis they deplete the soil of nitrogen less than other crops.

Since grain legumes contain more nutrients per unit yield, their need for mineral nutrition elements is higher than that of cereal crops. With a very low and low content of phosphorus and potassium in the soil and high acidity, the application of even high rates of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and lime directly to the legume crop does not ensure active nitrogen fixation and good yield due to the presence in the arable soil layer of numerous pockets with high acidity and low phosphorus and potassium content. On such soil, it is recommended to sow legumes in the second year after liming and applying phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

On soils with elevated and high contents of phosphorus and potassium, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, as a rule, do not significantly increase the yield of grain legumes. An exception among grain legumes is yellow lupine, for which phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are not applied if the content of these elements in the soil is more than 50 mg/kg of soil.

Microelements are consumed by plants in small quantities, but they are very important for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Their deficiency sharply reduces and sometimes eliminates the fixation of air nitrogen. The most important of these are boron and molybdenum. Molybdenum is part of the enzyme complex nitrogenase, which breaks down nitrogen molecules. Boron promotes the development of the vascular conduction system, which delivers carbohydrates from the leaves to the nodules. When growing grain legumes, bacterial fertilizers are used. For the formation of nodules on the roots of legumes, the presence of a specific virulent active strain of rhizobia is necessary. Each species of the genus Rhizobium infects one or more types of legumes. Where this crop has been cultivated for a long time, there are spontaneous strains in the soil Rhizobium. And crops sown for the first time in a given field require artificial infection with a specific strain.

Under favorable conditions of symbiosis (pH corresponding to the biology of this crop, sufficient provision of macro- and microelements, the presence of a specific virulent active strain Rhizobium) Nitrogen fertilizers should not be applied to grain legumes. By inhibiting symbiosis, they reduce the amount of fixed nitrogen in the air by the amount of assimilated nitrogen from fertilizers and do not increase the seed productivity of grain legumes.

Sowing and caring for crops. There are many common elements in the cultivation of grain legumes, but each crop has its own technological features.

The basic tillage for grain legumes is the same as for bluegrass grains. When sowing them, after grains, the stubble is peeled, then fall plowing is carried out.

Pre-sowing treatment consists of cultivating, leveling and compacting the soil. Pre-sowing leveling and rolling ensure uniform placement of seeds, uniform germination and development of plants, and reduce losses when harvesting crops with lodging stems for seeds.

Seeds are processed on the day of sowing; it is even better to do this immediately before sowing, since Rhizobium, applied to the surface of the seeds, quickly die - already 5–6 hours after treatment, their number is halved. If the bacterialized seeds were not sown on the same day, they are treated again on the day of sowing. It is better to treat seeds with pesticides in advance, at least 3 to 4 weeks before sowing; treatment with preparations that are less toxic to root nodule bacteria (foundazole) can be combined with treatment with bacterial fertilizer on the day of sowing.

The timing and norms of sowing are determined by the biology of the crop, the purpose and conditions of its cultivation. Cold-resistant crops are sown in the most early dates. A delay of 7–12 days in sowing reduces their yield by 15–20%. Warm-loving crops (soybeans and beans) are sown at a temperature of the top layer of soil of 8 - 12 ° C.

Care control of crops is to destroy the soil crust, fight weeds, pests and plant diseases.

Harvesting grain legumes. Peculiarities of harvesting grain legumes include two-phase harvesting due to the uneven ripening of seeds. First, they are mowed into windrows, and after drying, the masses are threshed using grain combines adjusted to thresh grain legumes. Chickpeas and soybeans are harvested by direct harvesting.

Growing grain legumes for green mass. Maximum yield of green mass of legumes best quality and can be obtained at the lowest cost by growing perennial leguminous grasses in pure crops. To obtain high-protein green mass, annual legumes are widely grown. The seeds of crops such as field peas, angustifolia lupine, common and hairy vetch are practically not used in the feed industry; They are grown mainly for green mass. In addition, grain crops such as peas, broad beans, china, soybeans, and white lupine are also grown for green mass.

The agricultural technology of grain legumes for green mass is basically no different from the agricultural technology for seeds. Only the seed sowing rate is increased by 10–15%. Harvesting for green mass is carried out during the period of full filling of seeds in medium-sized beans, when the plants have not yet shed their leaves.

In practice, it is common to cultivate grain crops for green mass, such as oats, winter rye, corn, and sorghum. However, feeds made from grains contain little protein. When growing grain legumes in a mixture with crops of the Poa family, the amount of protein in the green mass, the digestibility and digestibility of Poa protein increase. The protein content in bean-bluegrass mixtures is determined by the ratio of the components. For example, if in a vetch-oat mixture the proportion of vetch is 55 - 60%, and oats - 40 - 45% (by weight), then the protein content in such a mixture will reach 14%, and if the vetch in the mixture is 20 - 30%, then the protein – no more than 9%.

§2. Peas

National economic significance. Peas are the main grain legume crop, occupying 80% of the area of ​​all leguminous crops, used for food and feed purposes. Peas are one of the most ancient crops. Archaeological excavations have shown that it was used 20 thousand years ago along with wheat, barley and millet.

Peas are also cultivated in fallow for green mass - both in pure form and in a mixture with oats, barley and other crops. The quality of silage made from pea-bluegrass mixtures is superior to corn, as it contains more protein and carotene. Peas for grain are used as a precursor to winter crops. Due to their great plasticity and the presence of environmentally adapted varieties, peas are grown in various soil and climatic zones.

Morphological and biological features. The most common type of cultivated pea is the cultivated pea ( Pisumsativum L.) (Fig. 22). It includes several subspecies, the main of which are the common pea, with white flowers and light seeds, and the field pea, or pea, with red-violet flowers and dark, often speckled seeds (forage plant).

Rice. 22. Peas

Root system rod. Stem usually lodging. Leaves complex pari-pinnate, ending in branching antennae. Stipules are large, covering the stem. There are semi-leafless forms in which the stipules are preserved, and the leaflets are reduced into tendrils. There are completely leafless forms in which not only the leaves, but also the stipules are reduced.

Flowers located at the nodes of the stem, a typical structure for the family. Legumes. Inflorescence– brush. Plo d – bean with 3 – 10 seeds.

Peas have shelling and sugar varieties. Sugar varieties do not have a parchment layer in the bean shells. These varieties are cultivated in vegetable growing. Hulled varieties with a hard parchment layer in the bean shells are grown for grain.

Depending on the variety and cultivation conditions, the growing season ranges from 70 to 140 days. The ability of many varieties to develop quickly allows this crop to be used in fallow and in intercropping. Peas - self-pollinator When growing it for seeds, spatial isolation is not required.

When cultivating peas, it is necessary to take into account such features as lodging stems, as well as extended periods of flowering and ripening. In many varieties of peas, the fruits crack when ripe. These disadvantages are overcome both by agrotechnical methods and by selection.

Flowering and ripening occur sequentially from bottom to top of the stem. At the same time, generative organs located on different tiers are at different stages of organogenesis.

Nodules on the roots begin to form 7–10 days after emergence. Maximum growth occurs from the beginning of flowering to the beginning of ripening.

Temperature Requirements Peas are relatively cold-resistant. Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 1 – 2 °C. For normal development of seedlings, a temperature of 4–5 °C is sufficient; most varieties tolerate frosts down to -4 °C. Vegetative organs form well at low temperatures (12 – 16 °C). Hot weather above 26 °C is unfavorable for crop formation.

Moisture requirements. Peas are demanding of moisture. To begin germination, 20% of the seed weight is required. Early sowing in a moist layer of soil with a leveled field surface creates conditions for rapid, uniform swelling of seeds and the appearance of friendly shoots. During the periods of budding, flowering and bean setting, peas especially require moisture. Favorable moisture conditions during this period are important for the formation of a high yield.

Relationship to light. Peas are a long-day plant; as the length of the photoperiod increases, development accelerates.

Soil requirements. Peas place high demands on soils and grow well on chernozem, gray forest and cultivated soddy-podzolic soils of medium granulometric composition. Light sandy, acidic or saline soils are unsuitable, since symbiosis is weakened and plants experience nitrogen starvation.

Placement in crop rotation and fertilizer system. Peas are not placed after other grain legumes and perennial leguminous grasses, and they cannot be returned to the crop rotation field earlier than after 5–6 years due to the risk of pests and diseases. IN steppe zone It should also not be placed after sunflower, which greatly dries out the soil. The best predecessors for peas are winter grains and row crops (potatoes, corn, sugar beets). Peas are often placed after spring grains.

Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied to peas; the doses depend on the availability of these elements in the soil. On poor soils, nitrogen fertilizers are sometimes added; microelements - boron and molybdenum.

Peas use nitrogen unevenly during the growing season. In the first period (before flowering) 20% is absorbed total number for the growing season. During flowering, fruit formation and growth, the intensity of nitrogen accumulation is 2.5 - 3.0 times higher. Under favorable conditions for symbiosis, plants can obtain most of the nitrogen (70–75% of total consumption) as a result of symbiotic fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. In this case, peas do not need to use nitrogen fertilizers; for initial development, they use nitrogen from the cotyledons and soil.

Varieties. The State Register of Belarus includes a large number of pea varieties. The most common ones include: Svitanak, Comet, Adept, Belarus, Robin, Gomel, Belarusian non-shattering, Stork, Agra etc. Modern varieties are characterized by high yield, resistance to bean cracking and shedding, and relative short stature. They are more resistant to lodging

Sowing and caring for crops. Autumn tillage depends on the predecessor and the weediness of the crops. If the field is clogged with root shoot weeds, then 2 weeks after the first peeling, a second peeling is carried out to a depth of 10–12 cm, and then plowing. In the spring, the soil is cultivated, leveled and compacted.

Peas are sown in early spring deadlines, at the same time, it makes better use of autumn-winter moisture reserves in the soil, is less affected by diseases and pests, and ripens earlier.

Peas suffer greatly from droughts, so the crops are harrowed. At the same time, the soil crust is destroyed, moisture loss is reduced, and aeration is improved if pre-emergence and post-emergence harrowing is used. The most effective combination of harrowing and the use of herbicides.

To protect crops from diseases and pests, resistant varieties are cultivated and biological, agrotechnical and chemical methods of pest and disease control are used.

Harvesting peas. The main method of cleaning is separate. The unevenness of ripening, lodging of stems and shedding of seeds during ripening in many zoned varieties make harvesting the most difficult complex operation in pea cultivation technology. Mow peas when 60–75% of the beans are brown. Cleaning should not exceed 3 – 4 days. In this case, losses are minimal. Mow peas across the lodging at an angle of 45° to it or towards the lodging. For non-shattering varieties, the timing of two-phase harvesting can be shifted to the period when 90 - 100% of the beans are ripe, while the threshing of seeds improves. It is advisable to harvest crops free of weeds by direct harvesting, when the beans and stems are dry and the seeds are hard.

After cleaning, grain with a moisture content of more than 17% should be dried by active ventilation. Seeds dried to standard humidity (14–16%) are sorted and stored in dry rooms with a bin height of no more than 2.5 m.

§3. Lupine

National economic significance. Lupine has the greatest nitrogen-fixing ability of all leguminous crops. Lupine is one of the plants known since ancient times. The first information about him dates back to the 2nd century. BC The ancient Greeks and Romans already used lupine as a green fertilizer. The Egyptians used white lupine seeds for food.

Highly productive varieties and developed methods for increasing the activity of lupino-rhizobia symbiosis make it possible to accumulate up to 200 kg of biological nitrogen per 1 hectare of crops. Being a highly effective nitrogen fixer and being indifferent to soil fertility, lupine acts as the main crop in an energy-saving farming system, since it not only preserves and increases soil fertility, but is also capable of producing cheap, high-quality protein without applying nitrogen fertilizers, even on low-fertility, high-acidity soils.

Lupine is a good environment-forming crop that increases soil fertility and improves its physical (increases moisture capacity and content of water-resistant aggregates, reduces compaction of both arable and subarable horizons due to biodrainage by the root system, which forms favorable water and nutrient regimes), chemical and phytosanitary condition. The use of lupine green mass for fertilizer is widely used in agriculture, while the soil is enriched with organic matter, symbiotic nitrogen, digestible phosphorus and exchangeable potassium. In Belarus, lupine is the most important crop for green manure.

Lupine is used with high efficiency in fallows, mowing and stubble crops. Lupine biomass increases the biological activity of the soil, as a result of which the diversity of soil microbiota increases, the antiphytopathogenic potential of the soil increases, the number of antagonistic fungal microflora decreases, and the damage to grain crops by root rot, including snow mold of winter crops, decreases. Cultivation of lupine promotes self-purification and detoxification of natural ecosystems. Using lupine as much as possible in crop rotations, in the coming years it is possible to stop the degradation of soil fertility, solve the problem of feed vegetable protein, improve the quality and reduce the cost of livestock products, and increase the profitability of agricultural production.

All cultivated types of lupine are high in protein (32–46% protein). Lupine protein is of high quality and digestibility and, due to its low content of trypsin inhibitors, can be used as feed for any type of animal without preliminary heat treatment, which must be used when using soybean grain as feed. In terms of the content of digestible protein in the grain and its quality, lupine has no equal.

The vegetative mass of yellow and narrow-leaved lupins is widely used in animal feeding. The green mass of lupine is well eaten by all types of animals, both fresh and in the form of silage, haylage, grass meal, pellets or briquettes.

In many countries around the world, lupine has long been used as human food. In Portugal, Chile, Peru, the USA, and Australia, technologies are being developed to introduce lupine protein into food products - pasta, bakery and confectionery products. Lupine flour and protein paste are used to prepare confectionery products, puddings, milk substitutes, and sauces. Puddings and marmalade with 10% lupine flour help reduce blood sugar in diabetic patients. Methionine, as the main limiting amino acid in lupine protein, can be compensated by selecting a certain ratio of lupine to wheat.

Extracts from lupine seeds represent great potential prospects in the pharmacological industry for the production of drugs that lower blood pressure, regulate the bioelectrical activity of the heart, motor and mental activity without causing narcotic consequences. The alkaloid sparteine ​​has a beneficial effect as an antiarrhythmic agent.

The potential of narrow-leaved lupine is most fully exploited in Australia. Based on the unique properties of lupine biology, Australian scientists created in a short period (1967 – 1987) a lupine-cereal belt similar to the soybean-corn belt of America. The benefits of lupine in a crop rotation system are widely recognized and it remains in the rotation system despite fluctuations in world prices. Thanks to this, such important issues, such as increasing soil fertility and increasing the production of feed protein. Australia exports lupine mainly to European countries, competing with American soybeans. In Australia, by saturating crop rotations with lupine, it was possible to increase the yield of other crops, including wheat, by 30–100%.

In the conditions of Belarus, widespread use in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century. had a yellow lupine. The subsequent massive spread of fusarium caused a sharp reduction in cultivated areas. Later, resistant varieties of yellow lupine were developed, and the planted area began to increase again. In the 90s, a fundamentally new crop was created - narrow-leaved fodder lupine, the yield of which reached the level of grain crops.

There are a significant number of local names for cultivated lupine: in Russia - lupine, lupine; in Ukraine - return the sun, kohva, wild coffee, kava, sunflower, chandelier, wolf bean; in Belarus - Lubin.

Morphological and biological characteristics of lupine. Genus lupine ( Lupinus L.) belongs to the legume family ( Fabaseae) and is very extensive, within which various researchers have described herbaceous, semi-shrub and shrubby, annual, wintering and perennial species. There are at least 200 species of this genus in nature.

As a result of studying the geographical distribution, scientists concluded that there are three geocenters for the lupine genus, of which the South American is the richest. Of all the variety of lupins, yellow, narrow-leaved and white lupines from the Mediterranean center of origin were mainly introduced into cultivation. Of the American species, only perennial (multifoliate) and some forms of variable lupine are cultivated.

Root system rod. Stem straight, ribbed, pubescent. Leaves complex, alternate, with petioles of varying lengths, equipped with stipules, multifinger, rarely entire. There are 5 – 15 leaflets, arranged fan-shaped at the end of the petiole. A characteristic feature of lupine leaves is their pronounced heliotropism. From sunrise to sunset, the leaves follow the course of the sun, and on long summer days the entire plant rotates in the direction of the sun, with the upper part of the leaf blade always in a perpendicular position to the sun's rays. After sunset, the leaves roll up along the folds of the plate and fall down. Therefore, the coefficient of solar energy utilization by lupine is two or more times higher than that of other legumes and grain crops.

Inflorescence- apical brush. First of all, the inflorescence of the main axis blooms, and then the lateral ones, in the order of their arrangement - from bottom to top. When the last flower at the top of the cluster blooms, beans are already being set at the bottom.

Fetus the lupine has a bob with constriction on the valves. The bean is leathery, pubescent, elongated, more or less flattened. The bean leaves open and curl when ripe. The exception is white lupine, whose beans do not crack when ripe. Lupine seeds have a wide variety of sizes (large, small), shape (round, flattened) and color (solid or marbled); All seeds have a thick skin.

Temperature Requirements. Temperature requirements depend on the length of the growing season. The most demanding of heat is white lupine, the least - narrow-leaved. Seeds germinate at 4 - 5 o C, shoots of narrow-leaved lupine can tolerate frosts down to -5 o C, yellow lupine - die at -2 - -3 o C, white lupine does not tolerate negative temperatures.

Moisture requirements. It has high requirements for moisture, so it is cultivated in humid areas.

Attitude to light. Lupine species are classified as long-day plants.

Soil requirements. The highest yield of yellow lupine is achieved on soddy-podzolic soils, sandy loam and light loam, underlain by moraine loam. It also grows quite well on soils that are lighter in texture. Grows poorly on heavy clayey, gleyish, low-permeable soils with close standing groundwater, as well as on freshly limed soils. More moisture-rich soils, as well as cultivated peat-bog soils, are also suitable for green mass. Angustifolia lupine is a more soil-demanding crop compared to yellow lupine. It grows better in more cohesive, near-neutral soils. In this respect, it is closer to peas.

Optimal agrotechnical soil indicators: pH for narrow-leaved lupine - 5.0 - 5.6, yellow - 4.5 - 5.8. The content of humus is not less than 1.4%, mobile phosphorus 120 mg/kg of soil, exchangeable potassium 200 mg/kg of soil.

Placement in crop rotation and fertilizer system. Industrial lupine crops must be placed in crop rotations after winter rye, spring grains, buckwheat, and rapeseed. This crop can also be placed on green mass after row crops and silage crops, for which organic and mineral fertilizers have been applied. It is not recommended to place lupine after annual and perennial legumes, next to legume crops, or after perennial cereal grasses, since they have common pests and diseases. Lupine should be re-sown in the same area no earlier than after 3 to 5 years. It is not allowed to sow lupine within 3 years after cereals that were treated with herbicides containing clay (lentur, harmony, caribou). You should not sow lupine on a freshly limed field or after adding sapropel. Lupine itself is an excellent precursor for many agricultural crops.

When choosing a site for seed crops, you should remember the need to maintain spatial isolation between species and varieties to prevent mechanical and biological contamination.

Lupine removes a large amount of nutrients from the soil, so to obtain high yields it is necessary to apply a certain amount of macro- and microfertilizers. Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers have a significant impact on the growth, development and productivity of plants. Lupine can use mobile forms of phosphorus from horizons that are inaccessible to, for example, peas. By releasing more exudates (organic acids, carbohydrate compounds) through the root system than neutral soil cultures, lupine is also able to use forms of phosphorus that are inaccessible to plants. On soddy-podzolic soils, microelements such as boron, molybdenum, zinc, and cobalt have a positive effect on the yield of lupine grain.

Due to their high nitrogen-fixing ability, all types of lupine do not require nitrogen fertilizers; they can be used in small doses for lupine intended for use as green fodder and silage.

Zoned varieties of lupine. It is advisable to cultivate at least four zoned varieties of fodder lupine on the farm (one from each ripeness group).

Varieties of yellow lupine: Pearl, Kastrychnik, Peahen, Julita, Early, Adradzhenne, Regale. In 1997, in the republic (especially in the western regions), epiphytotic development of a dangerous disease of yellow and white lupine - anthracnose - was observed, which threatened the cultivation of these crops. The cultivation of yellow lupine in the Grodno and Brest regions was suspended. There are currently no varieties that are absolutely resistant to this pathogen, and there are no sufficiently effective fungicides.

Varieties of narrow-leaved lupine. Myrtan, Pershatsvet, Mitan, Ashchadny, Metel, Glatko, Praleska, Danko, Gulliver. Four varieties of BelNIIZK selection ( Danko, Pershatsvet, Ashchadny, Kharchovy) entered into the German State Register.

White lupine variety: Sozh.

Sowing and caring for crops. Tillage for grain leguminous crops on soddy-podzolic soils depends on the previous crop, particle size distribution, weediness of the fields, weather conditions and is carried out in three stages. First, peeling is carried out, which makes it possible to evenly distribute post-harvest residues in the soil and accelerate their decomposition. At the second stage, plowing is carried out, which must be completed no later than September (carried out in dry soil). If it is not possible to carry out the first stage, plowing is carried out immediately after harvesting the predecessor. The third stage of soil cultivation is pre-sowing treatment, including loosening and rolling before and after sowing. To reduce tractor passes across the field in dry weather with high-quality plowing, after pre-sowing tillage of the soil with combined units, the crop is sown.

Pre-sowing treatment of lupine seeds is required. Depending on the zone of cultivation of the crop or variety, the pathogenic complex of fungi is usually dominated by two or three pathogens. They combine seed disinfection with inlay with growth substances, microfertilizers and inoculation with a strain of rhizobia (if lupine enters the sown field for the first time).

According to its biological characteristics, lupine is an early spring crop. In all types of lupine, with early sowing, flower buds are laid earlier, a shorter stem and a more productive main raceme are formed, ripening proceeds smoothly and accelerates by 4–6 days. In this regard, it is advisable to sow it in the early stages, the first of the early spring crops. When growing lupine for seeds, continuous row crops and wide row crops are used.

Crop care consists of harrowing (pre-emergence and post-emergence) and protection from pests and diseases. Due to the long stay of fodder lupine in the rosette stage, its competitive ability is reduced, and it is strongly inhibited by weeds. The most harmful weeds in lupine crops are white pigweed, wild radish, odorless chamomile, millet, acorn grass, sow thistle, and creeping wheatgrass. When cultivating lupine for grain, it is necessary to control weeds using all possible means, combining agrotechnical techniques with the use of herbicides.

The most serious disease for yellow and white lupine in recent years is anthracnose. Narrow-leaved lupine is less susceptible. The mycelium of the fungus is transferred primarily to the seeds, on which it can live for up to 18 months. Its spread in crops is facilitated by high temperature (20 – 30° C) and high humidity. The most important control measure is the use of treated seed material obtained from healthy seed crops. Long-term storage of seeds (1 – 2 years) also reduces their damage by anthracnose.

Lupine cleaning. The best harvesting method is direct harvesting when the seeds on the central clusters are fully ripened. Separate harvesting is not suitable due to cracking of beans under the mechanical influence of the working parts of the harvester and pick-up machine.

Lupine seeds coming from the combine must be immediately separated from unripe, crushed seeds, green shoots, weeds and other impurities. When stored in a heap, the harvested seeds from such crops greatly increase humidity during the day, become self-heated and lose their germination capacity. It is necessary to bring the seeds to moisture, purity and size standards immediately after threshing. Seeds are dried if they have a moisture content of more than 17%.

Types of legumes, their nutritional value, calorie content, protein content... These and many other questions are discussed in the article for those who for some reason refused or reduced meat products in the diet and strives to build their diet correctly and balanced. Protein content in legumes - which ones have more? Contraindications and permissible amounts of consumption. As a bonus: a recipe for a simple and tasty bean dish.

Current trends in healthy food consumption include a broad group of legumes and derived foods. They are varied and important source protein, are inexpensive and form hundreds of delicious recipes.

Legume products list:

• adzuki beans;
• black beans;
• various varieties of peas;
• cannellini;
• lentils;
• red and white beans;
• peanuts and tamarind;
• lupine;
• soybeans and many other available crops.

Some varieties of nuts are also considered legumes.

Advantages and benefits of legumes

Why and how are they so good? Beans and legumes are not only rich in protein, which a person needs every day (and can be obtained not only from meat), but also in plant fiber, B vitamins, iron, folic acid, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc. Most legumes are also low in fat.

Beans are nutritionally similar to meat, but with lower iron levels and no cholesterol. This makes them an excellent choice for vegans and vegetarians, as well as people who temporarily refuse animal foods - for example, during fasting, or to cleanse the body for the sake of health, according to medical prescriptions.

Composition and scientific research

As you know, fiber perfectly promotes digestion and normal intestinal function. Just 1 cup of high-protein black beans provides 15 grams of fiber, which is about half the recommended daily amount. This same amount contains more than 20% of the daily value of folic acid, molybdenum, manganese, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium and potassium. The calorie content of a serving ranges from 200 to 230 kcal, but guarantees a feeling of fullness for a much longer period than other dishes.

Due to the protein content in legumes, they are low in calories, but filled with nutrients, satisfy hunger well and bring satiety even while on a diet. They are ideal for people with diabetes as they do not increase blood sugar levels. The body uses complex carbohydrates from legumes slowly over time, providing sustainable nutrition to the muscles and nervous system. Increasing the portion of legumes in the diet will help reduce sugar, blood pressure, eliminate tachycardia, and will serve as a prevention of other heart diseases and diabetes.

According to various data from modern studies, legumes may be useful in preventing oxidative damage to cells and premature aging. Systematic consumption of fiber and nutrients of plant origin will benefit the digestive system and help prevent the development of various tumors in the gastrointestinal tract.

How to cook and eat?

Legumes can be added to any dish, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Once cooked, they are eaten hot or cold, and some types of legumes are easy to eat raw. To make your meals tasty and healthy, add boiled or canned beans to dressings and sauces, soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta and any other side dishes. Dried beans and lentils, which are so widely used in Asian countries, were specially studied by scientists from Japan and China. It turned out that the beneficial substances from these dry food products do not get lost even after long storage.

Some people are bothered by excessive gas formation when eating legumes. We were just writing an article about... And, in order to avoid unpleasant consequences caused specifically by this food, always soak dried beans for several hours, and also add them to your diet systematically, but little by little. This will give the body the opportunity to get used to specific food and digest it correctly. Chew any solid food well, until it turns into “mush.” By combining beans with spices like ginger and curry, you can completely avoid flatulence. If you don't know how to cook delicious beans or where to start, use our simple recipe.

Bean dish recipe

The following ingredients will be required:

• 150 g red beans;
• half an onion;
• a pair of garlic cloves;
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of natural, unrefined vegetable oil;
• half a teaspoon of ground cumin and the same amount of salt;
• a quarter teaspoon of dried oregano.

It's simple:

Soak the beans in water for at least 5 hours if they are dried. If the beans are fresh, mash them thoroughly with a fork or puree them in a blender. Chop the onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a suitable container over medium heat, add the onion and fry for 1 - 2 minutes. Next, mix the garlic and cumin, add to the onion and heat for 30 seconds. Add bean puree and a few tablespoons of water to the mixture (depending on how much juice was in them initially). When the beans boil, reduce the heat to low and add salt and oregano. Simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.

Let's sum it up

Everything that belongs to legumes is not only rich in vital substances, but also helps:

1. Lower cholesterol;
2. Regulate glucose levels for patients diabetes mellitus;
3. Prevent cancer;
4. Reduce blood pressure;
5. Improve colon function;
6. Treat constipation and other digestive problems.

Women who regularly consume beans are less likely to develop breast cancer compared to others. Some varieties, such as soybeans, are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds called saponins. However, it should be remembered that excessive heat treatment destroys some of the beneficial compounds. Certain people are allergic to various types of legumes. Therefore, before consuming prepared foods from supermarkets, you should carefully read all labels. In addition to legume products, we know drinks made from them, such as -