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<big>''[[Vigna aconitifolia]]'' (Jacq.) Maréchal</big>

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Vigna aconitifolia'' (PROTA)}}

:Protologue: Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat 39(2): 160 (1969).

== Synonyms ==

== Vernacular names ==

== Origin and geographic distribution ==

== Description ==

''Vigna'' comprises about 80 species and occurs throughout the tropics. ''Vigna aconitifolia'' belongs to subgenus ''Ceratotropis'', which also includes ''Vigna radiata'' (L.) R.Wilczek (mung bean), ''Vigna umbellata'' (Thunb.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi (rice bean), ''Vigna mungo'' (L.) Hepper (black gram) and ''Vigna angularis'' (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi (adzuki bean). In India numerous landraces and cultivars of moth bean exist.

For germination of moth bean a temperature of 25–27°C is optimal. Vegetative development starts slowly. Moth bean is predominantly self-pollinated and takes 75–90 days after sowing to mature. It effectively nodulates with ''Bradyrhizobium'' strains from the cowpea cross-inoculation group.

== Ecology ==

In India moth bean is the most drought-resistant pulse crop and particularly cultivated in hot, arid to semi-arid regions. For optimum production it requires an average temperature of 24–32°C, but it withstands daytime temperatures up to 45°C. In India moth bean is grown from sea-level up to an altitude of 1300 m. Moth bean thrives with a well-distributed annual rainfall of 500–750 mm, but it is also grown successfully in areas with as low as 200–300 mm annual rainfall. Even with as little as 50–60 mm in 3–4 showers during the growing period, some yield can be obtained. Moth bean is a quantitative short-day plant, but day-neutral types are also known. It grows on many soil types but is particularly suitable for dry light sandy soils. It does not tolerate waterlogging. Some degree of salinity and a wide pH range (3.5–10) are tolerated.

== Management ==

Moth bean is propagated by seed; the 1000-seed weight is 10–35 g. It should be sown on a well-prepared seedbed. Moth bean is usually broadcast, at a seed rate of 10–20 kg/ha when grown for seed as a sole crop and 7–34 kg/ha when grown for forage. When sown in rows the seed rate is 2–5 kg/ha for pure stands; it is sown in rows 30–90 cm apart at a depth of 2.5–4 cm. When grown as a rainfed crop in arid regions best results were obtained in India by planting equal amounts of early and late types in alternate rows. Moth bean is frequently sown towards the end of the rainy season and grown on residual soil moisture. Weed control is important until a full canopy has developed. Irrigation and fertilizer applications are rare. In India moth bean is grown as a sole crop or intercropped with pearl millet, sorghum or other cereals, occasionally with pulses. It is grown as a green manure in rotation with cotton. The most important diseases of moth bean are mung bean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) transmitted by white fly (''Bemisia tabaci''), and root rot and seedling blight caused by ''Macrophomina phaseolina'', which is soil- and seed-borne. Cultivars resistant to yellow mosaic are available; some cultivars are moderately resistant to ''Macrophomina phaseolina''. Moth bean is also affected by nematodes, especially ''Meloidoigyne incognita''. It is parasitized by several ''Striga'' species. Bruchids (''Callosobruchus'' spp.) feed on the seed during storage. Plants are difficult to harvest with a mower because of the prostrate branches. They are usually cut with a sickle, left to dry for one week, then threshed and winnowed. Average seed yields of moth bean are only 70–270 kg/ha, although in the United States and Australia experimental seed yields of up to 2600 kg/ha have been obtained. Yield of green matter for forage is 37–50 t/ha and of hay 7.5–10 t/ha.

== Genetic resources ==

== Author(s) ==

== Correct citation of this article ==