Moth bean

Abstract

Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Maréchal), also called as dew bean, haricot mat, Indian moth bean, mat bean, mattenbohne, math, moth, moth gram, matki, or Turkish gram, originated in the Indian subcontinent and is mainly cultivated in India and Pakistan. Moth bean is cultivated in 1.5 million hectares with an annual approximate production of 0.4 million tons (Singhal 2003) in India. It is a drought-resistant crop and can be cultivated in arid and semiarid regions; arid regions of Rajasthan, India, have 85% of total moth bean cultivated area and produced 0.22 million tons of moth bean (55% of annual production) (S. Singh et al. 2017; Vir and Singh 2015). Legumes are a major source of protein for the developing world, and it is becoming more popular in the developed world due to changes in food habits.