Nutrient imbalance and soil moisture stress are the major abiotic constraints limiting productivity of cool season food legumes. These constraints are more pronounced in the semi-arid tropics and sub-tropics which are the principal production zones of chickpea, lentil and faba bean. The legumes are generally grown on residual moisture as a mono crop and consequently face drought especially during the reproductive phase. In recent years, chickpea, lentil, peas and faba bean have been grown in some areas with an irrigated/assured water supply under intensive cropping to sustain cereal based systems. An increased water supply favourably influences productivity in dry environments. Faba bean, French beans and peas show a relatively better response to irrigation. The pod initiation stage is considered most critical with respect to moisture stress. Excessive moisture often has a negative effect on podding and seed yield. Eighty to ninety percent of the nitrogen requirements of leguminous crops is met from N2 fixation hence a dose of 15?25 kg N ha-1 has been recommended. However, in new cropping systems like rice-chickpea, higher doses of 30?40 kg N ha-1 are beneficial. Phosphorus deficiency is wide spread and good responses occur to 20 to 80 kg P2O5 ha-1, depending on the nutrient status of soil, cropping systems and moisture availability. Response to potassium application is localized. The use of 20?30 kg S ha-1 and some of the micronutrients such as Zn, B, Mo and Fe have improved productivity. Band placement of phosphatic fertilizers and use of bio-fertilizers has enhanced the efficiency of applied as well as native P. Foliar applications of some micronutrients have been effective in correcting deficiencies. Water use efficiency has been improved with some management practices such as changed sowing time, balanced nutrition, mulching and tillage | Masood Ali, R. Dahan, J. P. Mishra, N. P. Saxena, 'Towards the More Efficient Use of Water and Nutrients in Food Legume Cropping', Linking Research and Marketing Opportunities for Pulses in the 21st Century, vol. 34, pp.355-368, Springer Netherlands, 2014

Water is the most essential resource for food production and socioeconomic development worldwide. Currently, industry and agriculture are the most water consuming activities, creating high levels of pollution, and intensifying the scarcity of water especially in arid regions. The term “hydroSOStainable products” has been used to define those foodstuffs grown under irrigation strategies that involve optimized water management. A study to understand how consumers perceive options to save water in the food chain and how to identify the water sustainable products by a logo, was conducted in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Spain and USA, with 600 consumers per country. In all countries, consumers think that the food categories in which it is possible to save the most water are those linked directly to agricultural products: (i) “grains and grain products” and (ii) “vegetables, nuts and beans”. Also, consumers do not associate processed products, such as snacks, with high water consumption, even though they come from agricultural products such as grains and require more processing. The logo was positively rated by consumers, especially by young generations. There is a need to properly inform consumers about water sustainability to gain their confidence in the hydroSOS logo.

The high intake of dietary sodium (Na⁺) has been associated with obesity and insulin resistance, sparking the hypothesis that the consumption of salty foods affects food intake (FI) and postprandial blood glucose (BG) response. Therefore, we conducted 2 randomized repeated-measures experiments to examine the acute effects of the Na⁺ content of solid food and beverage on FI, water intake (WI), subjective appetite, thirst, and BG. FI and WI were measured at ad libitum pizza test meals; appetite, thirst, and BG were measured at baseline and at regular intervals before and after meals. In the first experiment, 16 males (mean body mass index (BMI), 22.2 kg·m⁻²) consumed a low-Na⁺ (71 mg) bean preload (300 kcal) with or without 740 mg or 1480 mg of added Na⁺ 120 min prior to the pizza meal. Participants ate 116 kcal more at the test meal after consuming beans with 740 mg of added Na⁺ than after beans with 1480 mg of added Na⁺. In the second experiment, 19 males (mean BMI, 23.2 kg·m⁻²) consumed a low-Na⁺ (62 mg) tomato beverage (73 kcal) with or without 500, 1000, 1500, or 2000 mg of added Na⁺ 30 min prior to a pizza meal. The beverage with 2000 mg of added Na⁺ led to higher WI during the pizza meal than the beverage with 500 mg of added Na⁺. However, compared with the control conditions (no added Na⁺), added Na⁺ treatments had no effect on dependent measures in either experiment. In conclusion, the acute intake of Na⁺, in a solid or liquid form, did not affect short-term subjective ratings of appetite or thirst, ad libitum FI or WI, or BG in healthy young men.