Faba beans are highly nutritious because of their high protein content: they are a good source of mineral nutrients, vitamins, and numerous bioactive compounds. Equally important is the contribution of faba bean in maintaining the sustainability of agricultural systems, as it is highly efficient in the symbiotic fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. This article provides an overview of factors influencing faba bean yield and quality, and addresses the main biotic and abiotic constraints. It also reviews the factors relating to the availability of genetic material and the agronomic features of faba bean production that contribute to high yield and the improvement of European cropping systems. Emphasis is to the importance of using new high-yielding cultivars that are characterized by a high protein content, low antinutritional compound content, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. New cultivars should combine several of these characteristics if an increased and more stable production of faba bean in specific agroecological zones is to be achieved. Considering that climate change is also gradually affecting many European regions, it is imperative to breed elite cultivars that feature a higher abiotic–biotic stress resistance and nutritional value than currently used cultivars. Improved agronomical practices for faba bean crops, such as crop establishment and plant density, fertilization and irrigation regime, weed, pest and disease management, harvesting time, and harvesting practices are also addressed, since they play a crucial role in both the production and quality of faba bean.

In landscaping and xerogardening projects, under semi-arid conditions, appropriate plant selection and conditioning techniques used in the nursery during seedling production are crucial for the establishment, survival and subsequent growth of plants after transplanting. Selecting ornamental plants with appropriate morphological and physiological characteristics to improve nursery performance and tolerance of harsh environments is of vital importance. The use of native species of wild flora is of increasing interest because of their capacity to adapt to adverse local environmental conditions. However, the degree of adaptation to abiotic stresses varies considerably within a family, within a genus and even within a species. Morphological and anatomical adaptations in seedlings include reductions in shoot height and/or leaf area, rises in root-collar diameter and root growth potential and, often, a reduction in the shoot:root ratio. These occur as a result of hardening and acclimation processes (pre-conditioning) during the nursery period, and are correlated with the ability to withstand the shock of transplantation and to increase survival and plant growth following transplantation in xerogardens and semi-arid landscapes. In addition, there are physiological characteristics of seedlings related to osmotic adjustment and water-use efficiency, such as low stomatal conductance, leaf water potential, leaf turgor potential and relative water content. These provide seedlings with a considerable capacity to adapt to adverse conditions after transplantation into harsh environments. Suitable environmental conditions and cultivation techniques in the nursery are essential to produce sturdy seedlings, with the above-mentioned morphological and physiological characteristics. Deficit irrigation is the most commonly used pre-conditioning technique to produce high-quality seedlings. In addition, using large-sized containers and appropriate substrates, withholding N nutrition, inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, applying plant growth retardants and mechanical conditioning methods (including brushing, and shoot- and/or root-pruning) are common. Varying microclimatic conditions (low temperature, low air humidity, enrichment with CO₂, light intensity and photoperiod management) are also used to control growth to produce high-quality seedlings with the ability to withstand transplanting shock and be capable of rapid establishment and resumption of growth under xerogardening and semi-arid landscaping conditions.