Lathyrus

The genus Lathyrus possesses a wealth of genetic variation, but characterization and utilization of the diversity in the main cultivated species (L. sativus) is still in its early stages, and consequentially, more than 100 wild species have received even less attention. Coordinated efforts to collect and conserve Lathyrus crop species have been initiated in the last 10–15 years; however, conservation initiatives for the wild Lathyrus species need to be expedited before potentially valuable sources of genetic variability are permanently lost. In this chapter, we discuss the recent developments in the conservation of Lathyrus species and the status of Lathyrus improvement using classical breeding and molecular techniques.