Abstract:

The legume used to be believed a species that its heterosis is difficult to be utilized in crop production. The release of commercial hybrids in pigeonpea, alfalfa and soybean in recent years has paved the way for the exploitation of heterosis in legume crops. The advances in the discovery of male sterility, the development of hybrid cultivars and in the technology improvement of hybrid seed production in these three crops are reviewed in details with the emphasis on the applied technology development. Studies show that heterosis commonly exists in legumes. The keys leading to the use of heterosis are to find cytoplasmic male-sterile system and genotypes with high cross-pollination rate. Enough quantity of pollination insects and favorable environment for hybrid seed production are also important.

Key words: legume, pigeonpea, alfalfa, soybean, hybrids