Plant features
A) Black gram:
- semi-erect to spreading, deep rooted, annual shrub (25-50 cm)
- brown to black hairy pod
- small black or dark brown seeds (4-6 g per 100 seed)
B) Green gram:
- Semi-erect to erect or sometimes twining
- Indeterminate, deep rooted, annual herb (25-100 cm)
- Glaborous or short hairs in pods, green and small seeds (3-4 g per 100 seeds).
Classification
a) mungo var niger:
- Bold black seeds (1000-seed weight= 45-60g), matures early (65-90 days)
b) V. mungo var viridis:
- Smaller green seeds (1000-seed weight= 30-40g), late maturing (95-140 days)
Purse (1991) divided mung bean cultivars into 2 types:
a. Golden gram:
- These are not prolific seed producers and have a tendency to shatter.
- These are mainly used in pasture, hay, silage and cover crop.
b. Green gram:
- They have bright green seeds and are prolific producers.
- Pods ripe more uniformly with less tendency to shatter and are more commonly planted for pulse production.