The Second International Food Legume Research Conference (IFLRC-II) was held from 12-16 April 1992 in Cairo, Egypt. Five cool season food legume crops were included in the deliberations: pea (Pisum sativum), lentil (Lens culinaris), faba bean (Vicia faba), chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and grasspea (Lathyrus sativus). The principal objectives of IFLRC-II were to review and assess recent results from national and international research programmes on cool season food legumes and to develop strategies for increasing the productivity, improving the quality and extending the use of these crops in different farming systems. Topics in both basic and applied research were addressed and multidisciplinary research efforts were emphasized.The papers published here are organized according to subject areas: processing and animal feeds; climate change and biotic and abiotic stresses; host plant resistance to manage biotic stresses; policy incentives; breeding methods and selection indices; infrastructural support; cool season food legume breeding; management to control biotic and abiotic stresses; biotechnology and gene mapping; crop physiology and productivity; and farmers' constraints and on-farm research. Sessions devoted to regional discussion groups and to the continuation of the IFLRC concept were also included. A conference summary is presented by Professor Eric Roberts.
