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PULSE PRODUCTION IN INDIA: MAJOR

CONSTRAINTS AND WAY FORWARD

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Research Trends in
Multidisciplinary Research
and Development
Volume - 5

Chief Editor
Sergiy Fedorov (MD, Ph.D., MBA, D.Sc.)
Professor of Therapy and Family Medicine Department of Postgraduate
Faculty, Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Ukraine

Weser Books
Published By: Weser Books

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 Contents

S. No. Chapters Page No.

1. Stretching Exercises for Footballer 01-14
(Dr. K.A. Ramesh)

2. Study on Parent’s Perception of Teenagers Drug use 15-33

(Costin Alina and Roman Alina Felicia)

3. Pulse Production in India: Major Constraints and Way

Forward 35-63
(Mousumi Malo and Jayita Hore)

4. Artificial Intelligence on Soil-Structure Interaction:

Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines 65-78
(Ahmet Emin Kurtoğlu)

5. Using the Audio-Lingual Method for ELT in Indian

Engineering Colleges 79-90
(Dr. Kamna Singh)

6. Yoga for Stress Relief 91-106

(Shivakumara B.V)
 Chapter - 3
Pulse Production in India: Major Constraints and
Way Forward

Authors
Mousumi Malo
Research Scholar, Department of Agronomy, Bidhan Chandra
Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, West Bengal, India
Jayita Hore
Research Scholar, Department of Agricultural Entomology,
Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur,
West Bengal, India

Page | 35
Page | 36
 Chapter - 3
Pulse Production in India: Major Constraints and Way
Forward
Mousumi Malo and Jayita Hore

Abstract
Pulses occupy an important position in food and nutritional security in
India. Food security has been a major area of concern for agricultural
scientists and planners in India since long. India is the still by and large
vegetarian in dietary habit and heavily depends upon vegetative source to
meet out its daily protein requirement. India produces over 200 million
tonnes of food grains every year with an increase of four folds since
independence. Increased efforts to produce more food have resulted in
tremendous shift in cropping systems towards cereal-cereal based systems.
India is bound to be global leader in terms of production and consumer of
pulses. Since, India is leading importer of pulses in the world; production of
pulse crops has been stagnant at between 11 and 14 million tonnes over the
last two decades. Consequent upon this there is widening gap between
demand and supply. Still India is far behind in pulses production. About 20%
of the total pulse demands are met by imports only. Apart from legumes fix
atmospheric ‘N’ in readily available form to the upcoming succeeding crop.
Associated non legume intercrop also gets benefited by ‘N’ transfer from
legume roots up to some extent. It also contributes to sustain production
system through physical, chemical and biological improvements of soil
properties, as a rotation effect. In order to harness higher yields, proper
management practices play the most important role. Hence, it is imperative
to understand the constraints in pulse production to realize higher
productivity and maintain soil health. The seed replacement rate is still
(<30%) which is lower than cereals especially wheat and rice. It has been
projected that 32.0 million tons are the total pulse requirement for the
burgeoning population of India, which will grow to 1.69 billion by 2050. To
attain up to this level an annual growth rate of 2.2% is required. The demand
for pulse continues to grow at 2.8% per annum. Although challenges are
diverse including climate changing scenario, decreasing land and water

Page | 37
resources, this target is not unattainable. Increasing the average productivity
of pulses up to more than 1200 kg ha-1 and bringing an additional area of
about 3.5 million ha under pulse cultivation will be a concrete step in this
direction. Enhancement of yield through development of input responsive
varieties with multiple resistances to diseases and insect pests, short duration
varieties that fit well in different cropping systems and climate resilient
varieties of pulses will be enormously helpful in a vertical expansion of
pulses in the country. Similarly, development of new plant types for different
agro-climatic situations, and development of photo-thermo insensitive
cultivars in crops like urd bean and mung bean will help expanding the areas
of these crops in the non-traditional areas of the country. The expansion of
area under short duration varieties, development of multiple disease/pest
resistance varieties, use of micro-nutrients like zinc and sulphur and increase
in area under Rabi pulse crops should be emphasised to increase pulse
production. The minimum support price is not effective for pulse crops;
prevailing market prices should be taken into account while fixing the MSP
to bridge the gap between demand and supply. This book chapter addresses
the major bottlenecks of pulse production and focus on the way forward for
improving pulses production in India, vertically and horizontally as well.
Keywords: constraints, food security, horizontal, India, production, pulse,
vertical, way forward
Introduction
Agriculture is a critical sector of Indian economy, contributing about
15% of national gross domestic product and more importantly, about half of
India’s population is wholly or significantly dependent on agriculture and
allied activities for their livelihood. But, agriculture in India happens to face
several constraints and challenges especially in the areas of food security,
natural resource management and application of advanced farm technology
to harness crop yield potential, better farm profitability, minimal adverse
environmental impact, better soil health and food self-reliance. Food security
has been a major area of concern for agricultural scientists and planners in
India since long. At present, India produces over 200 million tons of food
grains every year with an increase of four folds since independence. But,
increased efforts to produce more food have resulted in an increase in
tremendous shift in cropping systems towards cereal-cereal based cropping
systems. This has marginalized the pulses resulting in quantitative as well as
qualitative degradation of productive base, land and farm resources. Pulses
are rich source of proteins, vitamins and minerals and are popularly known
as “Poor man’s meat” and “rich man’s vegetable”, contribute significantly to

Page | 38
the nutritional security of the country. Pulses provide significant nutritional
and health benefits, and are known to reduce several non-communicable
diseases such as colon cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Pulses can be
grown on wide range of soil and climatic conditions and play an important
role in crop rotation, mixed and intercropping, maintaining soil fertility
through biological nitrogen fixation (30-150 kg ha-1) with the help of
Rhizobium bacteria found in their root nodules, release of soil bound
phosphorus, and thus contribute significantly to sustainability of the farming
systems as well as are consistent source of income and employment to small
and marginal farmers; and thus hold a premier position in the world
agriculture. The United Nations declared 2016 as “International Year of
Pulses” with the objectives of increasing production and consumption of
pulses by 10% by 2020 and creating awareness about the benefits of pulses
by utilizing social media. Pulses constitute an essential part of the Indian diet
for nutritional security and environmental sustainability. They are important
food crops due to their high protein content (20 to 25 per cent),
carbohydrates (55 to 60 per cent), calcium and iron also. Currently, we are in
the mid way of self-sustaining in pulse production as we are the leading
country in production, consumption and import as well in the entire world.
By the end of 2050, we will able to sustain our production and turn from net
importer to net exporter of pulses if everything goes as per plan. Another
unique feature is its source of livelihood and still not a commercial business.
Since more than 80% of the area under pulses is under stressed rainfed
environment, the quality seed of improved varieties has emerged as the most
vital input for enhancing pulses production in India. The net per capita per
day availability of pulses has decreased from 61 g to 32 g during 1951 to
2010 with decreased production; there has been an imbalance in demand and
supply resulting in soaring import bills, unpredictable price rise and low net
profit compared to competing crops. It is estimated that deficit of pulses will
be to the tune of 24.9 MT by 2020. The demand supply gap and shortfall in
pulses has been attributed to number of factors; major ones being the
increasing population, rising income of the people, geographical shift, abrupt
climate change, complex disease-pest syndrome, socio-economic policies
and input constrains. This along with other economic factors like lack of
assured market, ineffective government procurement, lack of minimum
support price and trade liberalization make pulse cultivation less
remunerative as compared to other crops. Stagnant pulse production in India
compared to population growth rate of 1.44% has further led to steady
decline in per capita pulse availability over last two decades (IIPR, 2011).
Thus, pulse production in India has fluctuated widely leading to steady

Page | 39
decline in the per capita availability over last 20 years. However, pulses are
still important component of Indian agricultural economy only next to food
grains and oilseeds in terms of acreage, production and economic value.
India is largest producer and consumer of pulses with about 25–28% of
global share (IIPR, 2011), and 34% of food use. Thus, there is a challenge
for agricultural scientists, extension workers, planners and farming
community to enhance and sustain pulses productivity and diversify their
cropping systems with pulses to meet national pulses requirement. In view of
this, India has to develop and adopt more efficient crop production
technologies along with favourable policies to encourage farmers to bring
more area under pulses. The advancement in pulses production technologies
has further opened a new hope to increase the production and productivity of
the pulses in different irrigated and rainfed agro eco-systems of our country.
We have to focus on bridging the yield gaps besides area expansion and
diversified production systems well equipped with appropriate pulse
production technology already generated by research institutions in order to
break yield plateau through recent technological advancements.
Constraints of pulse production in India
Abiotic constraints
1. Unfavourable weather condition
There has been a high degree of risk in pulses production. More than
87% of the area under pulses is presently rainfed. The mean rainfall of major
pulse growing states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and
Maharashtra is about 1,000 mm and the coefficient of variation of rainfall is
20-25%. Moisture stress is one of the major reasons of crop failure. Terminal
drought and heat stress results in forced maturity with low yield level.
Drought stress alone may reduce seed yield by 50% in the tropics. A
quantum jump in productivity can be achieved by applying life saving
irrigation especially in Rabi pulses grown on residual moisture. Irrigated
area under pulses has virtually remained stagnant at 13% of the total area.
Availability of adequate soil moisture for crop growth depends on rainfall,
water holding capacity and depth of soil in rainfed areas. In south India,
water holding capacity of the soil often limits grain yield to the extent of
50% of that possible under irrigation on Alfisols. On the contrary, on vertisol
soils, higher water holding capacity causes growth reduction up to 5-20%.
Higher evapotranspiration in south India during the Rabi season causes
severe constraints to chickpea yield under drought. Other major problems are
salinity and alkalinity of soils which are high both in semi-arid tropics and in

Page | 40
the Indo-Gangetic plains in irrigated areas, which is a cause for concern, as
most pulses are susceptible to salinity and alkalinity. Grain yield is mainly
influenced by temperature. Cold is an abiotic stress, limiting the grain yield
of pulse crops. All hot season pulses are sensitive to low temperatures, but
generally these are not exposed to low temperatures. On the other hand, cool
season pulses (e.g. chickpea) are often subjected to chilling temperatures
especially in areas of north India. However there has not been much
improvement in the development of chilling and frost tolerant varieties. Poor
drainage or water stagnation during the rainy season causes heavy losses to
pigeonpea on account of low plant stand and increased incidence of
Phytophthora blight disease, particularly in the states of UP, Bihar, West
Bengal, Chhattisgarh, MP and Jharkhand. Ridge planting has been found
very effective in ensuring optimal plant stand and consequently higher yield.
Since most pulse crops are drought tolerant, most of the research efforts have
been confined to develop genotypes and associated production technologies
to suit dry land conditions. Consequently, germplasm suited to high rainfall
and irrigated conditions are lacking. Drought, water logging, temperature
extremes, wind or hail, alkaline and saline soils, acid soils, and deficiencies
or toxicities of various mineral nutrients are the common abiotic stresses that
limit pulse production in India. In chickpea, pigeon pea, green gram, lentil,
black gram drought is the main cause of yield reduction as these are grown
in residual soil moisture condition or face soil moisture deficit during their
reproductive phase and are exposed to terminal drought stress. To overcome
such situation better management techniques to conserve soil moisture and
maximize crop transpiration over soil evaporation can help to reduce drought
effects in pulses. In some situations, excess soil moisture induces excess
vegetative growth with more disease incidence as well as lodging in gram
and lentil, whereas, khesari (lathyrus) has good drought resistance and
production even when sown on drought prone upland soils. With recent
changes in the global temperatures the grain yield is likely to be drastically
affected by temperature extremities. Terminal drought stress or high
temperature during maturity in chickpea and lentil results in poor pod filling
whereas; low temperature results in frost injury. Khesari and horse gram can
establish well in waterlogged soils, even when relay sown in rice, and can
grow until maturity in waterlogged soils. All other pulses do not tolerate
water logging condition. Poor soil and agro-climatic conditions not only
compel late sowing of legumes but also lead to reduced length of growing
period and necessitate to sustain cold injuries at early vegetative phase which
freeze all biological activities for prolonged period. A sudden rise in
temperature induces forced maturity as well as simultaneously invites

Page | 41
several biotic stress viz., diseases and insects pests (Ali et al., 2012).
Traditionally sowing of Rabi pulses was delayed up to last week of
November and some time under extreme circumstances it goes up to the first
fortnight of December, obviously due to reasons already explained.
However, few winter pulses including lentil are also grown as a paira crop in
the eastern India, which helps in timely planting of the crop even before, the
paddy has been harvested. Not surprisingly, Indian farmers are still exposed
to the vagaries of the monsoons. Indian agriculture is therefore truly
remarked as a gamble against monsoon. With more than half of the gross
cropped area being rainfed, failure or inadequacy of rains causes fluctuation
in yields.
2. Abnormal soil condition, land degradation and uneconomic land
holdings
Most of the pulses in India are grown in low fertility, problematic soils
and unpredictable environmental conditions. India has veteran unexpected
population growth and in 2050 India’s population is projected to be 1.69
billion (Goswami, 2013). The increasing population is largely responsible
for fragmentation of land holdings that results into low productivity of land.
In general, pulse crops prefer neutral soil reactions and are very sensitive to
acidic, saline and alkaline soil conditions. Indian soils especially, north
western soils have high pH contrary to eastern and north eastern part which
is characterized as acidic soils. Due to these soil conditions, deficiency of
micronutrients is pronounced up to acute shortage level. Acute deficiency
with respect to zinc, iron, boron and molybdenum and that of secondary
nutrients like sulphur is observed particularly in traditional pulse growing
regions. Soil is a vital resource and nutritional erosion in soil is a serious
problem, which leads to depletion of soil health. This is only because of
deforestation and mismanaged agricultural practices. Boost up in salinity and
alkalinity is due to mismanagement and intensified use which are other
reasons for loss of soil fertility. Also the excess unscientific methods of
irrigation further harm the fertility levels of the soil. As per Agriculture
Census 2010-11, marginal and small land holdings (< 2 ha) account for 85%
of the total operational holdings and 44% of the total operated area. Small
farm sizes inhibit mechanization. This creates difficulties in application of
contemporary inputs, embracing of scientific land improvement, water
conservation and plant protection measures. Deficiency of micronutrients
adversely affects production of lentil, chickpea and other pulses also, which
become more evident once the biotic stress is managed. Experiments have
shown that deficiency of micronutrients like sulphur and zinc is very

Page | 42
common in pulse growing regions. In traditional pulse growing areas,
Rhizobium spp. present in soil results in effective nodulation, but when
introduced in new areas the host specific Rhizobium also needs to be
introduced through inoculation.
3. Agronomic constraints
Improper sowing time, low seed rate, defective sowing method,
insufficient irrigation, inadequate intercultural, sowing under utera without
proper management are major agronomic constraints (Ramakrishna et al.,
2000). Consequently delayed planting, early encounter with severe cold,
growth and development of pulse crops gets hampered for a considerable
period. Subsequently plants get comparatively less time to complete their life
cycle which, by and large forces maturity. Typically, late sown Rabi pulses
especially lentil and chick pea undergoes three distinct phases and
considerable degrees of phenological modifications are bound to happen.
Eventually, lentil crop during its early seedling phase grows slowly due to its
energy invested in the initial establishment (Singh et al., 2012). However, in
mid phase, very insignificant growth and development is observed. This
poses serious threat to realization of yield potential due to cold injuries. This
phase is very important for creating source of channelizing the energy at
later stage. In the last and most important phase lentil faces heat injury,
resulting in early onset of reproductive phase, causing imbalance in
resources and inputs, biotic stress and forced maturity. An earlier study
revealed that area under pulses in mostly predetermined, but as the irrigated
area increases, pulses are relocated to rainfed areas and their area is replaced
by cereals or some cash crop. In India, the irrigated area under pulses was
only 12 per cent, while under wheat and paddy; it was more than 60 per cent
of the total area (Reddy and Reddy, 2010).
a) Input quality and availability related constraints
Timely availability of quality chemical fertilizers continues to be a
major problem in many pulse growing areas. Inadequate availability of
gypsum or pyrites as a cheap source of sulphur remains a serious
impediment in many states/regions. Nutrient requirement of legumes are
much lower than cereals mainly because of biological nitrogen fixation and
relatively low productivity levels although legumes crops respond
favourably to higher doses of fertilizer nutrients than generally applied or
even recommended. Availability of pesticides (including herbicides) in most
of the states has been comfortable but their quality in terms of effectiveness
and eco-friendliness has been an issue in spite of a well designed regulatory

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mechanism put in place. Unstable use of fertilizers is one of the important
reasons for low productivity and depleting soil fertility. The average N: P: K
ratio in the past two decades has been 7:3:1 against recommended 4:2:1
(International Market Assessment, India, Indian agriculture challenges and
Prospects, 2009). Traditionally, fertilizer use in pulses is very low. Except
soybean, most of the pulses are on the lowest priority for farmers to use
recommended quantity of fertilizers. The average use of chemical fertilizer
to pulses results in low yields. For the growth and development of root
nodules, phosphorous is absolutely necessary and the application of 40 kg
P2O5 average per hectare has been recommended. With the withdrawal of
subsidies on fertilizers, the decline in the use of non-nitrogenous fertilizers
has an adverse impact on yield. The final testing ground of any technology is
in the farmer's field. Evidence suggests that the 100 percent requirement of
nitrogen can be met to activate the nodulation process through the
inoculation of efficient strains of Rhizobium when coupled with sound
agronomic practices. However, studies show that the adoption of these bio-
fertilizers is negligible. Many farmers claim that inoculation with Rhizobium
is not providing the desired level of response. Rhizobium inoculation is
probably not very effective in pulses. If this technology were as efficient as
claimed, it would have to be "pushed" even now by government agencies as
there would be enough demand by this time. Sustained use of Rhizobium
inoculants in the long run seems to be difficult. Of course, strict quality
control standards need to be enforced in the manufacture and sale of the
inoculants.
b) Varietal constraints
Major constraints for the cultivation of pulses include the availability of
desired quality and quantity of high yielding varieties of pulses. Lack of high
yielding varieties, low harvest index, high susceptibility to diseases and
insect pests, flower drops, lack of short duration varieties, intermediate
growth habits, poor response to inputs and instabilities in performances are
the few varietal constraints that need immediate attention. High yielding
varieties requires lots of water in addition to fertilizers and pesticides
support, which becomes more risky due to the absence of assured irrigation
facility and uncertain monsoons. The efficiency of inputs e.g. fertilizers,
pesticides and irrigation is mainly gritty by the quality of the seed used. It is
reported that quality of seed accounts for 20-25% of productivity. Thus
timely availability of quality seeds at reasonable prices to farmers is
necessary for achieving higher productivity and production. Many new high
yielding varieties were developed in the past two decades, but their

Page | 44
performance is limited to providing 10-20 percent high yield compared to
local varieties. Due to inherited weaknesses, performance of these varieties
is poor at the field level, and the moderate increase in yield does not attract
farmers or make any significant change in the national level of production.
The need is to develop varieties with better yield advantage and desirable
characteristics that are best suited to a semi arid climate. The ever decreasing
pattern of shrinking land holdings discourages farmers from growing
medium to long duration varieties, which occupy land for 240-270 days.
Medium and long-duration varieties don't allow farmers to grow a cereal
crop such as wheat and paddy, which provide a minimum cash income and
year-long food security of the family.
c) Lack of quality and improved seed availability
In any crop, generally an increase in the production and productivity is
brought about by the wider availability and adoption of improved varieties of
seeds but there is a shortage of Certified/Truthful seed at farmers’ level.
Nearly 400 improved varieties of different pulse crops have been released for
cultivation since the inception of coordinated pulses improvement
programme in 1967. But at present, only 124 varieties are in the production
chain. Among them a dozen are popular among farmers. The wide gap
between the requirement of certified/quality seeds and its distribution in
India is a matter of great concern. The seed replacement ratio is very low (2-
5%), while the required seed replacement ratio is 10% as both public and
private agencies have not been able to meet the requirement of quality seed
and the seed replacement ratio is very low. Under NFSM, breeder and
foundation seed production has been entrusted to IIPR (Kanpur), while
production of certified seeds is entrusted to National Seed Corporation and
other state organisations for timely supply to farmers at affordable prices.
Biotic constraints
1. Occurrence of insect pests and diseases
Insect-pests, diseases and weeds are the major biotic factors which are
limiting productivity of pulse crops. Pests are one of the major determinants
for achieving higher production in agriculture crops. It is estimated that
harbouring insects consume about 26% of the potential production. 30%
crop loss in India is recording every year due to insect-pests and diseases.
The production losses have shown an increasing trend over the years after
year. Although legumes crops are prone to many insect pests and seed borne
diseases, a major cause of concern as its incidence, if not controlled,
devastates the crop. In addition, heavy damage to legumes grain is caused by

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pests during storage. The perception and the high incidence of diseases and
pests cause high losses that result in low production and high protection
costs. Another thing is that resistant/tolerant varieties have limited
availability to farmers. The main reason could be the weak seed production
program. The incorporation of insect resistant genes, without compromising
the yield in field verification trials, is yet to be commercially daily viable.
Chemical pest control is the only option left for farmers at present for
effective control of pest and diseases. Even though several plant protection
chemicals with method and time of application have been developed, the use
of pesticides in pulses is still very low. In general, farmers apply chemical
spray at the stage where losses cross the economic threshold level. This
clearly shows that technological stagnation is primarily responsible for the
backwardness of pulses in the country as a whole. More than 250 insect
species are reported to affect pulses in India. Among these, nearly one dozen
cause heavy crop losses. On an average 2-2.4 million tonnes of pulses with a
monetary value of nearly Rs 6,000 crore are lost annually due to ravages of
insect pest complex. Among them, pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) causes
the most harm, followed by pod fly, wilt and root rot. For example, pod
borers (Helicoverpa armigera), Fusarium wilt, root rots, Ascochyta blight
and Botrytis gray mould are some of the major biotic constraints to
increasing the productivity of chickpea. The major constraints to
productivity in pigeonpea are biotic stresses such as pod borer, pod fly,
Fusarium wilt, and sterility mosaic disease. Similarly, pod borer, aphids,
cutworm, powdery mildew, rust and wilt are the major pests and diseases
affecting lentil production in India. The richness of legumes in N and P
makes them attractive for insect pests and diseases (Sinclair and Vadez,
2012). Recently many successful trials have been conducted to control pod
borer through using nuclear polyhedrosis virus, which has been found to be
more efficacious in bringing about higher and quick mortality. Another
important pest affecting pulses are nematodes, among which root knot
nematodes are important in terms of spread and damage to crop yield and
have been effectively controlled by bio-agents.
Socio-economic constraints
Even though India is the largest pulse producer in the world, it imports
large amount of pulses from rest of the world. In general farmers’ access to
inputs is limited, both because of low purchasing power and accessibility to
markets to sell the excess produce of pulses. Because of this situation, the
farmers give first priority to staple cereals and cash crops for allocating
inputs and the second priority is given to pulses. In addition, there is lack of

Page | 46
policy support and post-harvest innovations related to pulse crops.
Availability of quality seed of improved varieties and other inputs is one of
the major constraints in increasing the production of grain legumes. Pulse
production in India is characterised by a very high degree of diversity as
indicated both by the number of crops, and their spatial distribution into
varied agro-climatic conditions. Most of these crops are region specific in
the sense that a single state or a cluster of few states accounts for the bulk of
the area and production of a specific pulse crop. Pulses such as pea, lentil,
khesari and even chickpea indicate their regional distribution pattern. This
diversity has several implications. In the first place it places serious limits to
a single national policy for the promotion of pulse production in the country,
and for the promotion of regional crop specific strategies to pulse
development programmes. However, in view of the meagre resources
available to pulse development as a group, this diversified approach may
mean spreading the resources too thinly and in turn making the effort
inconsequential. This dilemma may partly explain the absence of any major
thrust on research on pulses, which in turn is partly responsible for their
stagnation. The structure of pulse production is also characterised by the
dominance of two crops, viz. chickpea and pigeonpea, which together
account for more than half of the total pulse area in India. Hence if these two
crops suffer from adverse climatic conditions, it significantly reduces the
production of pulses. The decline of chickpea in particular and pigeonpea
and other crops in major pulse growing states like UP, Punjab, Haryana and
Bihar clearly support this possibility.
1) Post-harvest technology and infrastructural constraints
Post-harvest losses account for 9.5% of total pulse production of which
storage accounts for the maximum loss of 7.5% and processing, threshing
and transport results in 1%, 0.5% and 0.5% losses, respectively. Pulses are
more susceptible to damage by storage insects (5%) as compared to wheat
(2.5%), paddy (2%) and maize (3.5%) (Deshpande and Singh, 2001). There
is need to popularize storage structures like metal storage bins. Processing
efficiency of dal mills has recently increased to 70-75% as compared to 65-
66% in traditional dal mills. To decrease post harvest loss and increase rural
employment mini dal mills should be popularised by formation of pulse
producer groups and processer associations. Rainfall received during
maturity of kharif pulses, causes loss in yields and deterioration in grain
quality when farmers usually do not have pakka and covered threshing floor.
Farmers also lack awareness and means for safe storage of grain/seed of
pulses. Many areas are approachable only during fair weather. Warehousing
facilities are either inadequate or inaccessible.

Page | 47
2) Credit, marketing and policy constraints
Farmers engaged in cultivation of pulse crops are mostly small and
marginal. A majority of the cultivators are present in areas with poor
banking infrastructure. They have poor resource base and lack risk bearing
capacity. They therefore either lack access to credit or turn defaulters.
Delivery of credit to such farmers is also not hustle free. There is lack of
marketing network in remote areas. Procurement of produce by a dedicated
agency is virtually nonexistent or ineffective. System of regulating quality of
inputs though in place in all the states, needs to be made more effective.
Delivery of improved technology, inputs, credits need to be stream lined
through appropriate policy interventions. Benefit of crop insurance need to
be extended to pulses farmers.
a) Lack of cash and credit
Cash is a key element for enabling small farmers to shift from low
input-low output to high input-high output agriculture. But access to credit
by these farmers is low because of their low asset base, low risk bearing
ability and high risk environments. Further, credit facilities for pulse crops
both from formal and informal sources are limited due to unstable returns.
This can be effectively tackled by the insurance linked credit to pulse crops
without any collateral security. The scale of finance should be sufficient
enough to cover all the costs of the recommended practices.
b) Marketing
Markets for pulses are thin and fragmented due to scattered production
and consumption across states. Farmers/village traders sell their marketed
surplus immediately after harvest, while some large traders/wholesalers trade
in major markets and hoard pulses to take advantage of speculative gains in
the off-season. Due to this, farmers do not get benefit from the higher market
prices of pulses. Also, for certain pulses like khesari, demand is localised
and markets are underdeveloped. In recent years, there have been
improvements in market information and infrastructure, and the price spread
between consumer price and producer price is reducing, especially in the
harvest season. Market prices are largely controlled by local buyers
irrespective of minimum support price (MSP), and procurement of pulses by
the government agency is very limited, such as wheat and paddy. The
government has suggested procuring pulses at MSP whereas local market
trends show that the rate offered by local dealers is much below the MSP.
Therefore, pulse growers are sceptical about the influence of MSP on actual
market prices. Investments in market infrastructure, warehouses, market

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information systems both in public and private sectors through Public-
Private Partnership (PPP) models and economic viability gap funding
models need to be encouraged.
c) Flaw in policy perspectives
Due to a number of economic and political compulsions, the strategies
for agricultural growth remained anxious with the aim of achieving rapid
increases in food grains production by concentrating the resources and
efforts on the relatively better endowed areas and strata of cultivators.
3) Farm mechanization
Mechanization in agriculture is necessary input in present agriculture. It
enhances productivity, also reducing human drudgery and cost of cultivation.
At present the farm power availability is 1.84 kW ha-1 (2013-14) which is to
increased 4.0 kW ha-1 by 2022, still there are many parts in country where
farm operations are depending on human labour and animal, which
significantly reduces the productivity. In Andhra Pradesh increased
mechanization of farm operations is one of the reasons for success of
expansion of area under chickpea which needs to be replicated in Bihar. It
can further be enhanced by developing varieties suitable for harvesting by
combine harvesters. In peak season farm mechanization activities such as
harvesting and threshing needs to be encouraged through the distribution of
subsidized farm machinery to cope with labour shortage and higher wage
rates.
4) Subsistence nature of farming
Indian agriculture is categorized by its subsistence nature, i.e., most of
the produce is directly consumed by producers and surplus, if any, is
generally low. This is since most Indian farmers, being poor, use out of use
implements and technology, and are not able to afford costly inputs. This
results in low returns and meagre incomes, which in turn means less savings
and reinvestments.
5) Social environment
The social environment in terms of irrational attitude, illiteracy and
impassive behaviours towards the adoption of new technologies is also a
major limiting factor to the improvement in pulse productivity.
6) Awareness and access to new technology
Lack of farmers’ awareness about improved varieties or availability of
quality seeds as well as different new technologies are the key barriers in the

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production of pulse crops on a wide scale. The television will be the most
popular media for increasing awareness; trials and farmers’ fairs/field days
will also be helpful. The identified technology needs to be subsidized for
wider adoption.
Physiological limitations
There is a general feeling that pulses (C3 plants) suffer from inherently
low yield potential and are a physiologically inefficient group of plants
compared to cereals (C4 plants) such as sorghum and maize. However, the
disturbing future is that the harvest index (HI) in pulses is low compared to
cereals. In pulses it is only 15-20% compared to 45-50% in case of cereals
such as wheat and rice. Low HI results from excessive vegetative growth,
but can be overcome by early partitioning of dry matter into seeds and
evolving biotechnology and genomic tools to incorporate good features of C4
plants into C3 plants. Pulses in general have a high rate of flower drop. In
pigeonpea, over 80% of the flowers produced in a plant are shed; by
decreasing flower drop, yield can be increased considerably. This can be
done either by breeding lines which retain a large proportion of flowers
producing pods or through physiological manipulations, such as spray of
hormones which reduce flower drop. Physiological studies at ICRISAT,
involving removal of flowers and young pods of pigeonpea, have shown that
plants compensate for the loss of flowers and young pods by setting pods
from later formed owners, which otherwise would have dropped. This
compensatory mechanism provides substantial plasticity of adaptation to
intermittent adverse conditions such as moisture stress or insect attack,
which are common in warm rainfed areas of south India. Recent increase in
yield levels in pigeonpea is due to release of long duration (annual) varieties,
which maximise utilisation of assimilates in filling the available sink of a
large number of flowers (Rego and Wani, 2002).
Realizing potential productivity and way forward for future
Indian agriculture is endowed with the second largest cultivable land
area in the world, the largest number of varied agro climatic conditions, 270
days of sunshine, 1120 mm of annual rainfall, many rivers crisscrossing the
country, 7000 km long coast line, extra ordinary bio-diversity, and abundant
labour force. Since pulses are invariably subjected to abiotic stresses leading
to sub-optimal nutrient uptake, farmers tend to use low doses of fertilizer
nutrients which is the major culprit in pulse production. Further, nutrient use
is unbalanced and seldom based on soil-test values. However, wide spectrum
of agro-climatic conditions, favourable thermal regime or temperature

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appropriation in almost round the year for farming and availability of
adequate rainfall indicates to the fact that there is a immense untapped
potential for improving productivity of pulses and bringing additional area
under pulses. There is overwhelming scientific evidence suggesting a vast
gap between farmer’s yield and front line demonstration plot yield. There is
need to promote high yielding varieties along with selection of suitable
varieties for different agro climatic conditions. Further use of disease and
pests resistance varieties is highly advocated under present climate change
scenario. Pulses are an important source of high quality protein
complementing cereal proteins for the substantial vegetarian population of
India. Pulses can be produced with a minimum use of resources and hence
become less costly even than animal proteins. Pulses meet their nitrogen
requirements to a great extent by fixing atmospheric nitrogen in their root
nodules. Pulses can provide a sustainable solution in rainfed area which
occupies 67 percent net sown area, contributing 44 percent of food grains
and supporting 40 percent of the population. Development and cultivation of
more drought tolerant varieties of pulse can save India's food and nutritional
security. Pulses are the most suitable crops to grow in water stressed regions.
Pulses require less water, improve soil health, and suit the local micro
climate for smart agriculture. Only forty three gallons of water (one gallon
equals 3.785 litres) are required to produce one pound of pulses, whereas
wheat, rice, and meat require 660, 1,056, and 1,142 gallons of water
respectively. Therefore, in rainfed farming systems, the cultivation of pulses,
considered as smart crops, can help to address climate change in agriculture.
In comparison with resource intensive crops such as wheat, soy, paddy, and
maize, pulses are more remunerative crops due to fewer input needs and high
market value. In addition, pulses improve soil health by fixing atmospheric
nitrogen and adding humus content to the soil, which improves the soil's
biological, chemical, and physical properties. In rain-fed farming systems,
pulses can improve overall farm income by introducing short duration
varieties of pulses into existing crop rotations. Therefore, mass scale
promotion and cultivation of pulses is needed to enhance the income and
nutritional security in rural and urban India. Methods and technologies
which can be potentially used for improving pulse production can be
classified into vertical approach, horizontal approach and policy
intervention.
1. Vertical approach
In vertical approach, possible methods and techniques are used which
help to achieve more production without expanding crop area and here focus

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relies on how to improve productivity of crop per unit area. Following
vertical approach can be efficiently and effectively utilized for increasing
pulse productivity.
a) Encourage promotion of sequential cropping, intercropping and
utera cultivation
There are a good number of promising intercropping systems for pulses
developed by Agricultural Research Stations. Farmers in rainfed states
(Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and
Andhra Pradesh) are familiar with some of them as they have been practicing
them in traditional ways. The approaches to be followed by the rainfed states
should include:
 Identification of districts and promising intercropping systems for
each agro-climatic zone and setting up of area coverage targets
 Conduction of field demonstrations on intercropping with farmer’s
active participation and comparing returns with sole cropping
system
 Ensuring availability of seed of improved pulse varieties
recommended for intercropping
 Demonstration of suitable seeding devices (animal drawn and
tractor drawn) for simultaneously planting of main and intercrop
components
 Seed minikits of pulses may be given to farmers opting for
intercropping only
 KVKs at districts level should be involved in training of farmers
and field demonstration of production technology
b) Seed replacement/multiplication strategy
Productivity increment in pulses is possible with incorporation of new
HYVs to achieve maximization of yield. The major issue relating to
promotion of quality seeds is timely availability of quality seeds and its’
popularization of promising varieties to the farmers in adequate quantities.
Use of good quality/certified seeds in pulses is insufficient. Hence efforts
should be made in this direction through various Government sponsored
programmes such as National Food Security Mission, (NFSM), Integrated
Scheme of Pulses, Seed Village Programme etc. These efforts have been
successful in order to increase SRR of pulses to 22.5% by the year 2010-11.
Despite a long list of improved pulses varieties released for cultivation, their
impact has not yet been fully realized by the resource poor farmers in many

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states in India. The accessibility of smallholder farmers to quality seed of
improved pulse varieties is constrained by both inadequate demand creation
and limited supply. This situation is also compounded by unfavourable and
inadequate policy support and regulatory frameworks, inadequate
institutional and organizational arrangements, and deficiencies in production
and supply infrastructure and farmers’ socio-economic situation. Numerous
constraints limit the performance of seed systems in India including limited
access of smallholder farmer to seed of improved varieties; limited supplies
of quality (breeder, foundation and certified) seed of farmer and market-
preferred varieties; lack of co-ordination among national seed production
organizations and policy making institutions. On the seed supply side, grain
legume seed business generally does not attract large seed companies since
profit margins are low. More than 95% of lentil seed in India (the leading
global lentil producer) comes from the informal sector (Materne and Reddy,
2007). The situation with respect to other pulses in India is similar. The seed
replacement rate in India varies from 14% in chickpea to 35% in soybean,
thus indicating that a majority of the farmers still use their own saved seed.
This situation is due to several factors including: the low seed multiplication
rate of legumes; the reuse of grains from previous harvest as seeds and; often
demand for specific varieties adapted to more narrow agro-ecologies and
consumers’ needs. Furthermore, when seed production takes place, it is often
in higher potential areas, with seed stores being concentrated in zones of
higher population density or those with better infrastructure (i.e. not the
remote, stress-prone areas). As small and medium seed companies are
emerging and gaining strength, they are also creating effective demand for
pulses seed. However their capacities are still limited by the inadequate and
discontinuous access to foundation seed, inadequate capital investment, and
lack of appropriate marketing strategies including delivery systems targeting
remote and small scale farmers. Public and private partnership would be the
best approach to increase the availability of foundation seed need for
subsequent seed classes. In the developing countries such as India,
particularly for pulses, the formal seed sector is highly subsidized and
evolving at different stages of development. The informal seed sector is and
will remain the dominant player in legumes. In recent past, development
partners and researchers have realized the importance and significance of
quality seed in agriculture and several projects have been implemented or are
in progress to improve seed availability of improved farmer preferred
varieties to farmers. The main issue in resolving access to quality seed would
be a thorough understanding and critical assessment of the status of existing
seed sector (both formal and informal), their bottlenecks and comparative
advantages and complementarity.

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c) Adoption of eminent agronomic practices
Agronomic practices that have major impact on productivity of pulses
include tillage, crop geometry, plant population, planting method and time,
nutrient and water (rainwater and irrigation) management, seed treatment
(with fungicides) and crop-specific bacterial cultures, weed management and
plant protection. Crop specific recommendations based on applied and
adaptive research findings generated in different agro-climatic regions are
developed by Zonal Agricultural Research Stations.
d) Balanced input supply (chemical fertilizer, bio-fertilizer and plant
growth regulator)
Wide spread deficiency of zinc and sulphur in major pulse growing
states and boron deficiency in acid soils of eastern and north eastern states
has necessitated use of sulphur containing fertilizers and zinc sulphate as a
source of zinc. Sulphur application @ 20-40 kg/ha (through gypsum, SSP) at
sowing and zinc sulphate @ 25-50 kg/ha once in two years effectively
revoke the problem and tend to help in maximization of crop productivity
(Singh et al., 2013d). Correction of Soil pH has a major role in nutrient and
water use efficiency and consequently on crop yield. Use of gypsum in
western states and liming in eastern and parts of southern states is must.
Nitrogen requirement of pulses is much higher than that of cereals. However,
most of the requirement is met through biological N-fixation. Growth and
development of pulse crops are comprehensively controlled by plant growth
regulators (PGRs). To provide momentum to the vegetative growth, Auxin
plays a vital role especially under low ambient temperature and cold
rhizosphere regime. However, availability of quality of Rhizobium inoculum
is limiting. Phosphorous is becoming a limiting macronutrient which will
affect the pulses production. A common difficulty in recovering P from the
soil is that it is not readily available to plants because P reacts with
aluminium, iron and calcium in the soil to form complexes. These nutrients
are essentially insoluble resulting in very little movement of P in the soil
solution, and none of the complexes can be taken up directly by roots. The
use of phosphate solubilising bacteria (strains from the genera of
Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Rhizobium are among the most powerful P
solubilisers) as inoculants simultaneously increases P uptake by the plant and
thus crop yields. Hence, fertilizers containing micronutrients easily available
to smallholder farmers in remote areas will go a long way in enhancing
productivity and production of pulses. Most pulses growing areas have low
to medium population of native Rhizobium and seed inoculation with bio-
fertiliser (Rhizobium) can increase pulses productivity by 10-12%. Lack of

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quality culture is also one of the major constraints in use of bio-fertilisers.
Vesicular-Arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) promises for improving supply of
phosphate and micronutrients like zinc to pulse crops. Phosphate solubilising
bacteria (PSB) is another group of hydrotropic organisms which may have
applicability in rainfed pulse production systems, particularly in soils with
poor phosphorus availability. Combined use of culture, like dual inoculation
of Rhizobium and VAM results in higher yield as compared with Rhizobium
alone. Even though good results have been obtained in research stations, the
adaptability of integrated nutrient management (INM) technologies by
farmers is dismal at the farm level. More emphasis should be given to evolve
and identify suitable bio-fertiliser strains for major pulse based cropping
systems for different agro-climatic conditions through integrated approaches
of the agronomist, biotechnologist and microbiologist.
e) Efficient pest surveillance, integrated insect pests and diseases
management
In the era of climate change, it is important that region specific
advisories should be issued for guiding pulse growers on pest control. This
calls for an effective pest surveillance mechanism to be put in place at
district level. By nature, pulse crop is attacked by more than one disease and
pest at a time; hence there is a need for multiple disease resistant varieties.
Recent developments in integrated pest management (IPM) have given wider
scope for cost effective control of multiple pests and diseases. IPM is
essentially a farmer activity of using one or more management options to
reduce pest population below the economic injury level, while ensuring
productivity and profitability of the entire farming system. A variety of
chemical, biological and cultural methods have been found to reduce pest
and disease damage. Properly planned cropping systems involving crop
rotation or intercropping of non-host and host crops, different agronomic
practices like use of solar energy by summer ploughing preceding kharif
pulses are cost effective components of IPM. However, farmers are hesitant
to use IPM as it needs community approach and takes time to yield results.
Since IPM is knowledge intensive, systems approach involving various
disciplines to evolve an Integrated Crop Management (ICM) should be the
goal in the future.
f) Suitable extension approaches for adoption of improved pulse
production techniques
Improved and better pulse production techniques to be disseminated
have to be not only region/agro-climatic zone specific but should also be

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matching with the resource base of the farming community. Innovative ways
of institution building that aggregates the produce of scattered farmers and
links them up with the businesses for better quality of inputs and for efficient
marketing of the produce need to be found. Similarly, extension strategy to
be followed should take into account the prevailing socio-economic status of
farmers.
g) Farm mechanization in pulses
Different agro-climatic zones and soil types are suitable for pulse
production. In many soils mechanisation is essential tool for increment in
productivity. Besides mechanization, adoption of deep ploughing, ridge
planting, line sowing, interculture operations etc. contributes to timeliness of
operations, reduces cost of production and improves resource (water, energy
and inputs) use efficiency. Considering small holding of the farmers, custom
hiring of the implements or machines is the only viable option for increasing
the reach of farm mechanization. Many pulses are harvested by hand in India
because the available cultivars are not suited to mechanical harvesting. In
developed countries, such as Australia, Canada and USA, pulses like
chickpea, lentils etc. are harvested mechanically. With continuously
increasing labour cost, manual harvesting has become an expensive field
operation for many crops including pulses in India and farmers are
increasingly opting for mechanical harvesting where it is feasible.
Availability of cultivars suited to mechanical harvesting will reduce
production cost and attract farmers towards increased pulses cultivation. The
other production practice where cost of cultivation can be reduced
substantially is by promoting use of post-emergence herbicides in controlling
weeds by developing herbicide tolerant cultivars. In general, pulses are
sensitive to herbicides and manual weeding is currently the only option for
weed control. Management of weeds in pulses is becoming expensive and in
some cases uneconomical due to high labour cost involved in manual
weeding. Herbicide tolerant cultivars offer opportunity of controlling weeds
through need based applications of herbicides. Weed management through
herbicides is not only economical but also facilitate zero tillage or minimum
tillage methods.
h) Post-harvest handling of grains for reducing losses
Mechanical threshing needs to be promoted with provision of incentives
for purchase of threshers. Procurement of pulse grains by Government
authorized organizations will considerably reduce the need for storage at
farmer level. Mini dal mills should be popularized and promoted through

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various efforts including incentives. Private sector should be involved for
encouragement to establish dal mill in rural areas/districts with large acreage
under pulses on the pattern of sugar mills. Private companies need to be
involved in processing, packing and marketing of pulses. The public sector
procurement agencies are severely handicapped for funds and expertise in
this area.
i) Resource conservation technologies for expansion of irrigation
Irrigation is an important input in any cropping system. Pulses are
generally cultivated as rainfed crops due to less irrigation response than
competing crops like cereals and are invariably grown under moisture stress
which leads to sub-optimal productivity levels. Scientific scheduling of
irrigation, an estimate of quantity of water to be applied and deployment of
water saving irrigation methods can lead to enhanced yield, higher water and
nutrient use efficiency and larger area coverage under irrigation. Use of
sprinkler irrigation has enormous potential for saving water and expanding
area under irrigation. The method has gained popularity in many districts
with limited water resources. Drip irrigation has also gained attention of the
policy makers, administrators, social workers, as it has assumed social,
economic and ecological dimensions. Supplemental irrigation with a limited
amount of water, if applied to rainfed crops during critical stages can result
in substantial improvement in yield and water productivity. In view of good
response for supplemental irrigation to pulse crops, government should
encourage policies to provide supplemental irrigation.
k) Managing blue bull damage
The damage caused to pulse crops by blue bull has been on the rise in
the extent and magnitude. Pulse crops are vulnerable to be attacked by Blue
bulls in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The problem has become so acute that area
of pulses in general and summer mungbean in particular has witnessed
drastic reduction in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
and Gujarat. Although, the problem has been in existence for decades, no
socio-economically viable control measures have been evolved and
implemented for effective control of this menace. Pulse growers continue to
suffer heavy economic losses. The issue is very serious and warrants special
attention.
j) Short duration, high yielding varieties
Matching crop maturity duration to available cropping window,
including soil moisture availability, is a major strategy to avoid drought
stress. Hence, emphasis on crop improvement programs should be given to

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develop high yielding, short duration cultivars which escape terminal
drought. These short duration varieties provide opportunities for inclusion of
a given crop/variety in the cropping systems with a narrow cropping window
or new production niches.
The key factors for significant increase in chickpea area and production
in central and southern India are:
i) Introduction of high yielding, short duration, Fusarium wilt resistant
varieties adopted to short season, warmer environments of southern
India
ii) High adoption of improved cultivars and production technologies
iii) Successful introduction of commercial cultivation through
mechanized field operations and effective management of pod borer
Andhra Pradesh was once considered beyond the limits of chickpea
cultivation, due to warm and short season environment, but now has the
highest average yield (1.4 tons ha-1) levels in India. More than 80% of the
chickpea area in Andhra Pradesh is occupied with improved short duration
cultivars (JG 11, KAK 2, JAKI 9218, and Vihar) (Gaur et al., 2012).
k) Improved varieties with drought tolerance
The drought tolerant varieties can provide cost effective long term
solutions against adverse effects of drought. Returns to investment in
breeding for drought tolerance are likely to be higher compared to those in
other drought management strategies. A wider dissemination of drought
tolerant material would provide sustenance to the livelihoods of farmers who
are more vulnerable to shocks of crop failure. On the other hand even though
the potential economic benefits of drought tolerance breeding research are
attractive, farmers may not get benefit from it if appropriate institutional
arrangements are not in place for multiplication and distribution of seeds of
improved varieties. This is more so in the case of large seeded pulses whose
seed requirement is very high. Root traits, particularly rooting depth and root
biomass, are known to play an important role in avoidance of terminal
drought through more efficient extraction of available soil moisture.
2. Horizontal approach
a) Efficient utilization of rice fallow lands and replacement of low
productivity crops with pulses
The area left uncropped after kharif rice is estimated to be around 11.65
million ha. The potential area is primarily rainfed and exists in the states of

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Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, West
Bengal and Jharkhand. About 25% of this area has potential for supporting
and strengthening Rabi pulses after rice depending on soil type and depth.
Thus, this 3 to 4 million ha additional area can be brought under Rabi pulses.
Assuming an average productivity of 600 kg/ha, the area can produce 1.8 to
2.4 million tons of pulses. Farmers need to be encouraged through various
incentives and region specific extension strategy for cultivation of pulses in
the identified states. Essential technological back up in terms of suitable
short duration varieties, dose of nutrient application and other agronomic
practices should come from confined or local research stations. SAUs/KVKs
may be mandated to conduct field demonstrations on pulses in rice fallow
lands and train field staffs and farmers participating in demonstrations.
About 5 lakh ha area of upland rice, 4.5 lakh ha area of millets and 3 lakh ha
area under barley, mustard and wheat can be brought under Rabi pulses.
Rabi pulses such as lentil and chickpea should replace mustard, barley and
wheat. If possible, harvested rain water should be used for Rabi crop
establishment as life saving irrigation.
b) New niches
Pulse crops have great diversity of maturity durations that enable their
cultivation in many niches and different production systems to increase
production. A few examples are given below, but there are many more in
other crops and niches that can be exploited successfully.
Chickpea in rice fallows
The Indo Gangetic Plains spread over South Asia’s four countries like
Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, is agriculturally one of the most
important regions of the world. About 14.3 million ha of the rice area in IGP
remains fallow during the winter season. These rice fallows offer a huge
potential for expansion of the area of Rabi pulses such as chickpea, lentil and
grass pea. Large scale on farm trials conducted by several State Agriculture
Universities in five states of India (Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, West
Bengal and eastern Madhya Pradesh) have clearly shown that short duration
varieties of chickpea and lentil can be successfully grown after rice harvest,
and with reasonably high yield levels of 1 to 2.5 ha-1.
Pigeonpea in rice-wheat cropping systems
Rice–wheat cropping system is popular in the Indo- Gangetic Plain
region of India. However, continuous mono-cropping of cereals has lead to
depletion of soil fertility and increased incidence of pests and diseases, and
is posing a serious threat to sustainability of the entire rice-wheat cropping

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system. The inclusion of pulses in rice-wheat cropping system would greatly
help to restore soil fertility and reduce other associated problems.
Indo-gangetic plains and rice fallows
Pulses have been introduced in the Indo-Gangetic plains with the
development of short duration varieties of pigeonpea (150-170 days) such as
UPAS-120, Manak, AL-15, AL-201, etc. These enable their introduction in
the irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western UP under
pigeonpea-wheat based cropping system. Similarly, short duration (60-70
days) varieties of mung bean with synchronised maturity and resistance to
YMV (PDM-11, PDM-54) offer good scope for their introduction as catch
crop in rice-wheat system. Pulse based cropping systems are less input
intensive, require less labour, water, pesticides and fertilisers. But both gross
returns and net returns per hectare are higher (given the higher prices of
pulse crops) for pulse based cropping systems compared to rice-wheat
systems. Benefit-cost ratio is also higher for pulse based cropping systems.
Even rice-pulse crop sequence is better than the rice-wheat cropping system.
Overall, pulse based cropping systems are more suitable for resource poor
farmers and water scarce regions. Hence policy options have to be evolved
to incorporate at least one pulse crop in cropping systems to enhance returns
from irrigated farming systems. However, these findings are only applicable
in irrigated conditions. It should be noted that the scope for introduction of
pulse crops in rice-fallows (mostly unirrigated) needs to be exploited with
supplemental irrigation, considering the higher profitability and scope for
pulse crops as rabi crop in the cropping systems. The major future expansion
of area under pulse crops may take place in rice fallows, where there is no
other crops to compete, however there are limitations on the successful
propagation of these crops in this system. Most of the farmers in south India,
where large areas of rice fallows are located, are not aware of the potential
economic benefits of using fallows for pulse cultivation. In many cases, the
farmers are found to have not only inadequate but also incorrect information
about recommended pulse production technology. Governments should
provide various incentives to increase area under pulses in rice fallows.
3. Policy intervention
Regarding stock limits, the concerned Food and Supply Department of
State Government who is implementing pulse control order need to be
approached. Different states have different license requirements and stock
limits imposed on pulses. Only Madhya Pradesh does not have a stock limit
imposed on domestic pulses. Gujarat has done away with control order

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license but has a stock limit. Due to these reasons, none of the big trading
companies deal in domestic pulses. States like Delhi are not issuing Pulse
Dealer license for over one year. All channel partners have to also apply for
licenses. Generally, the official time limits vary from 1-2 months, while the
actual time taken is much longer. New methods for marketing should be
devised to supplement some of the shortfalls in specific pulse crops.
Conclusion
India needs around 32 million tons of pulses by 2030, to feed the
estimated population of about 1.68 billion. Global supply of pulse is limited,
as India happens to be the largest producer and consumer of pulses. Hence,
India needs to produce the required quantity, but also remain competitive to
protect indigenous pulse production. However, a concerted effort by farmers,
researchers, development agencies, and government are needed to ensure
that India becomes self-sufficient in pulse production in the next 5-10 years.
The recent efforts and programs initiated by the government are bearing
fruits, and it is hoped that this momentum is sustained and strengthened to
make India self-sufficient in pulses.
The steps which may be taken on priority basis for improving pulse
productivity are
1) Encouraging accelerated adoption of advanced technologies for
bridging the yield gap
2) Institutional support to boost seed replacement rate and quality
production as well
3) Scheduling and strengthening of life saving irrigation in pulse
growing pockets
4) Guaranteeing timely availability of critical inputs viz., seed
fertilizer, pesticides etc.
5) Gradual mechanization for pulse production and storage
6) Public–private partnership for sustaining value chain and to
minimizing post-harvest losses
7) Policy support for value addition and balancing chain for pulses
production and marketing
In short, to increase area and production of pulse crops we need crop
specific and region specific approaches, which should be adopted in the
overall framework of systems approach. The major thrust areas to be
addressed are as follows

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 i) Replacement of cereal crops in the prevailing rice-wheat cropping
systems with high yield varieties of pulses
ii) Inclusion of short duration varieties of pulses as catch crop
iii) Development of multiple disease and pest resistant varieties
iv) Reducing storage losses and improving market information and
infrastructure
v) Linking MSP to market prices can bridge the gap between demand
and supply
vi) Developing high nitrogen fixing varieties, which will play a crucial
role in sustainable agriculture
vii) Coordination of research, extension and farmers to encourage
farmer’s participatory research
Farmers and extension functionaries must recognize that it is highly
needed to include improved and efficient management practices in balanced
manner in present day intensive farming to harvest higher pulse yield of
superior quality earning maximum sustainable profitability. In conclusion, a
holistic approach is required to enhance the production and productivity of
pulses crop rather than a single approach method. Prominently good
agronomic practices (GAP) with their different components for excelling
production under changing climatic scenario necessitate aggregation of all
the components of advocated technologies as a unit not with selection of few
of them leading to numerous complications, soil health hazards and half
hearted response of technologies in question.
References
1. Ali RI, Awan TH, Ahmad MM, Saleem U, Akhtar M. Diversification of
Rice-Based Cropping Systems to Improve Soil fertility, Sustainable
Productivity and Economics. J Animal & Plant Sciences. 2012;
22(1):108-12.
2. Deshpande SD, Singh G. Long Term Storage Structures in Pulses,
National Symposium on Pulses for Sustainable Agriculture and
Nutritional Security, Indian Institute of Pulses Research, New Delhi, 17-
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