Legumes grown under nonirrigated conditions

The nutritive quality of different ripening soybeans was compared with that of dry beans and various colored seeds and dry peas with regard to their protein and fat contents, amino acid compositions, and trypsin inhibitor activity. The bean protein of three legumes contained the highest levels of methionine, leucine, phenylalanine, and histidine, of the essential amino acids, respectively. The nutritive quality of soy protein, containing high glutamine contents, and dry pea protein, with its large valine contents, exceeded that of the others. Under nonirrigated growing conditions, there were high levels of leucine, valine, glycine, and proline in beans, independent of seed color. The beans with colored seed contained larger concentrations of methionine, cysteine, phenylalanine, and leucine essential amino acids than white bean. The lysine content of white bean protein was as high as that of the pea. The nutritive quality of white bean seeds could be increased with selection for low level of trypsin inhibitors under nonirrigated growing conditions. In water-deficient conditions, the level of valine and proline amino acids increased in soy seed protein, independent of the maturity groups. Irrigation has no effect on the increase, either in protein content or in essential. amino acids, in soybeans and, indeed, there were no differences in the above-mentioned among the maturity groups.