Projected increases in human population suggest that 70% more food will be needed in the near future, this makes it imperative to search for alternative food and feed sources for human and animal nutrition to feed the exponentially growing human population. According to the FAO 2019 report, the immense challenge of achieving the Zero Hunger target by 2030 is persistent. Exploring the unexplored, refining unrefined traits, cultivating the uncultivated, and popularizing the unpopular remain the most adequate steps proposed by researchers to achieve the domestication of the undomesticated for food and nutrition security. In that line of thought, this study explored the proximate composition of 87 accessions of four wild unexplored Vigna species (V. racemosa, V. ambacensis, V. reticulata, V. vexillata) in order to reveal information leading to their future domestication and utilization. Standard procedures and methods approved by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists were used in carrying out the proximate composition (%protein, %lipid, %fibre, %ash and % moisture and % carbohydrate) of the wild Vigna legumes. The study revealed that the wild Vigna species possess a large variation range of nutrient characteristics which could be exploited in the improvement of domesticated species or guide their domestication. It was also found that some individual wild accessions have higher nutrient, content as compared with domesticated ones which could be advantageous for bio-fortification or domestication. Indications relating to the candidate accessions favourable for domestication, based on the nutrient characteristics were revealed.

Two shaving methods, one by using a sharp razor blade and the other a small pair of dissecting scissors, were tested on pods of Vigna vexillata accessions to investigate the effect of trichomes on feeding and development of the pod-bug Clavigralla tomentosicollis Stål (Hemiptera: Coreidae). Electron micrographs of unshaved (control) pods showed that all trichome types (glandular, long non-glandular and short non-glandular) were present on the pod surface. Shaving with a pair of scissors shortened long non-glandular trichomes, with little or no damage to the glandular types. Percentages of seed damage and nymphs surviving to the adult stage were similar (P>0.05) between unshaved and scissors-shaved pods. These pods showed significantly lower (P<0.05) percent seed damage than razor-shaved and solvent-washed pods, whose glandular trichomes were all completely scraped or washed off. The opposite trend was observed for the insect's growth index, indicating that glandular trichomes had a greater influence than non-glandular trichomes on feeding and development of C. tomentosicollis. The present study suggests that the scissor-shaving method would be more appropriate if the effect of trichome length is being investigated, and the more abrasive razor-shaving method if the effect of glandular trichomes is of interest

The anatomical and biochemical basis of resistance of Vigna vexillata (Benth) (Ace. TVNu 72) to Monica testulalis were investigated. An uncharacteristic network of fibrous structures was observed on the petal surface of TVNu 72 but not on those of the susceptible control, IT82D-716. Stems of TVNu 72 and IT82D-716 have thick and closely packed collenchyma cells. Both varieties have been identified as possessing resistance to stem feeding; however, IT82D-716 is susceptible to flower and pod damage. The distance between pod wall epicarp and mesocarp was significantly (P ≺ 0.05) smaller in IT82D-716, but cell and tissue arrangement were similar for both varieties.

Total sugar content in the pod wall and seed of TVNu 72 was higher (P ≺ 0.05) than in IT82D-716. Phenol content was lower (P ≺ 0.05) in the pod wall of TVNu 72 but the reverse was true for fresh and dry seeds. This suggests that neither phenol nor total sugar are involved in the resistance of TVNu 72 to M. testulalis. However, it seems that thick and compact collenchyma cells in the stems and Fibrous tissues on the petal surface contribute to the resistance in TVNu 72. The results are discussed in line with previous reports which indicate that trichomes are the principal factors in the resistance of TVNu 72 to M. testulalis.