Legumes are a large, diverse family ranging from herbaceous annuals to woody perennials that, because of their capacity to fix nitrogen, are essential components in natural and managed terrestrial ecosystems. Legumes have been domesticated for the production of food, feed, forage, fiber, industrial and medicinal compounds, flowers, and other end uses. The book covers a wide-ranging survey of all the major legumes from their evolution to their potential for further development and improvement as economically important food crops. The contents of the book have been divided into five themes viz., Crop Improvement, Crop Production, Physiological Bio-Chemical and Bio-Technological advances, Crop Protection and Policies and Programmes. It covers the changes that have occurred in the course of plant domestication leading to our present pulse crops and oilseed legume crops. It also includes reviews on the benefits to be gained from evaluation and improvement of grain legume genetic resources. This book will serve as a suitable study and reference material for postgraduate students and researchers.