PULSES

Importance of Pulses for India

Pulses in India have long been considered as the poor man’s only source of protein.
They are the principal source of dietary proteins in a vegetarian country like India. The
major pulses crops of the country are red gram or pigeon pea (tur, arhar), chickpea or
gram, black gram (urad bean), green gram (moong bean) and lentil (masur). Minor pulses
include rajmash and other beans, cowpea, horse gram, moth, khesari dal, etc.

Area, Production and Productivity

 India is the largest producer (25% of global production), consumer (27% of world
consumption) and importer (14%) of pulses in the world.
 Pulses account for around 20 per cent of the area under food grains and contribute
around 7 - 10 per cent of the total food grains production in the country.
 However, its pulses production has been almost stagnant over the past many years.
 Though pulses are grown in both Kharif and Rabi seasons, Rabi pulses contribute
more than 60 per cent of the total production.
 Gram is the most dominant pulse having a share of around 40 per cent in the total
production followed by Tur / Arhar at 15 to 20 per cent and Urad / Black gram and
Moong at around 8 - 10 per cent each.
 Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are the top
five pulses producing States.
 Productivity of pulses is 764 kg/ha.

Overall, the production of pulses has grown only 45% (cumulative) between 1951
and 2008, compared to that of wheat and rice, which have grown manifold (at 320% and
230%, respectively) during the same period.

Since ages, pulses have been well integrated into the farming system of our country
as the farmers could produce them by using their own seeds and family labour without
depending much on external inputs. With the advent of Green Revolution, which promoted
rice and wheat using external inputs and modern varieties of seeds, pulses were pushed to
the marginal lands. This resulted in decline in productivity and land degradation. Thus,
pulses are still cultivated on the marginal and sub marginal land, predominantly under
unirrigated conditions. The trend of commercialisation of agriculture has further aggravated
the status of pulses in the farming system.
Pulses production in India is characterized by diversity of crops and their regional
specificity based on adaptation to prevailing agro climatic conditions. This group of crops
can utilize limited soil moisture and nutrients more efficiently than cereals and for that
reason farmers have chosen them to grow under highly adverse conditions. At present
more than 92 per cent of the area under pulses is confined to unirrigated areas and in
future also the bulk of pulse production will continue to come from unirrigated areas.
Therefore, any plan for increasing pulse production in the country should be based on a
long-term approach for improved productivity of these crops under rainfed farming
conditions rather than on the use of high inputs. The low productivity of pulses is due to the
low input conditions associated with the complex socio-economic and agro climatic
problems of rainfed agriculture. Pulses are an important source of protein for the poor as
well as for the vegetarians which constitute major population of the country. These pulses
mainly include chickpea, pigeonpea, lentil, green gram, black gram and fieldpea. The split
grains of pulses called dal are excellent source of high quality protein, essential amino and
fatty acids, fibers, minerals and vitamins. India is the largest producer as well as consumer
of pulses, and is the largest importer in the world. This is because the demand for pulses
far outweighs their domestic production. Even a liberal import of pulses has not been able
to supplement the widening gap between their demand and supply. The skyrocketing prices
of pulses since 2008 can be attributed to almost stagnated production leading to a decline
in per capita availability. The yields of pulses are often subjected to moderate to severe
losses due to recurrent drought situation under rainfed due to low or erratic rainfall.
Presently about 24 to 25 million hectares of land is under pulses producing about 19 million
tons annually. Even though about 2-3 million tons need to be imported every year to meet
the demand. The yield (around 780 kg a hectare) of pulses is less than the global average
and the per capita availability. Despite soaring prices of pulses, the country would be still
far short of the projected demand of nearly 39 million tonnes over the mid of this century.
The demand is bound to increase further with a growing population as well as sustained
and inclusive economic growth. Besides government’s commitment to ensure food and
nutritional security for all, these crops are also important from environmental point of view
for long-term sustainability of Indian agriculture as a whole.
Amongst the prime reasons for low productivity of pulses are

 Pulses are mainly being grown on marginal and sub-marginal lands under rainfed
conditions with low input usage.
 Less than 15% of area under pulses is irrigated, exposing its production to weather-
related yield risks.
 Despite a mission-mode approach to pulses development by the Department of
Agriculture & Cooperation, Government of India, a desired level of thrust to pulses
production has been conspicuous by its absence.
 Pulses in India are considered a residual crop and grown under rain-fed conditions
in marginal/ less fertile lands, with very little focus on pest and nutrient management.
 Pulses were not the beneficiary of the Green Revolution and the post-Green
revolution era has also witnessed most of Government thrust on wheat and rice.
 There has been no technology breakthrough in any of the pulses crops.
 Farmers perceive pulses as having a lower cost benefit ratio vis-à-vis other crops
like wheat and rice.
 Penetration and adoption of high yielding varieties (HYV) seeds are also low.
 Only 15% of the pulses crop receives any irrigation - as against an average 46% for
all food grains combined (90% for wheat and 56% for rice).
 Heavy weed infestation, blue bull (neel gai) and pod borers cause substantial
damage to standing crops. Over 30% of standing crops are destroyed by pests
before harvest. In addition, there are post-harvest losses during storage, due to
excessive moisture and attack by stored grain pests especially the pulse beetle.
 Seed replacement rate in India is very low, estimated at 2-7% compared to the
recommended 25-30%.
 Timely availability of genuine certified quality seeds is another critical issue.
Deviation from timely agronomic practices / application of inputs results in sub-
optimal yields.
 Absence of assured off-take has also been an issue for pulses cultivation.
 ROAD MAP TO BRIDGE THE YIELD GAP IN PULSES

Pulse production in India can be enhanced adopting a two pronged strategy

 Bringing additional area under pulses

 Increasing productivity

Bringing Additional Area under Pulses

 Diversification of rice-wheat system in Indo - gangetic plains (IGP) through

popularization of short duration varieties of pigeon pea, Kabuli chickpea, field
pea and summer mung bean
 Bringing additional area under pulses through promoting black gram / green
gram cultivation in rice - fallow in peninsular India and lentil in NEPZ and
Chhattisgarh
 Promoting cultivation of pulses as intercrops viz., short duration thermo -
insensitive varieties of green gram / black gram with spring sugarcane; pre-rabi
chickpea with mustard / linseed; pigeon pea with groundnut / soybean /
millets, etc.
 Development and popularization of black gram / green gram for late planting
(mid August - early Sept in north India)

Improving Productivity

 Development of saturated linkage maps in major pulses for gene mining, gene
cloning and gene mapping
 Exploitation and utilization of gene-pool from unexplored areas
 Exploitation of wild relatives for transfer of genes of interest
 Development of high yielding short duration varieties having multiple and
multiracial resistance to diseases
 Development of new and efficient plant types
 Development of input use efficient genotypes
 Exploitation of hybrid vigour in pigeon pea
 Popularization of improved crop management practices
 Exploitation of PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria)
 Improving Yield Stability
 Development of transgenic against drought and gram pod borer
  Gene pyramiding for stable resistance
 Efficient water management in rainfed areas
 Rainwater harvesting and recycling through farm ponds and community
reservoirs
 Promoting short duration varieties in drought prone areas
 Promoting micro irrigation system
 Adoption of moisture conservation practices
 Development of Resilient Pulse Crops to Climate Adversities
 Development of resilient pulse crop varieties to mitigate the impacts of
climate change
 Critical monitoring of diseases and pest dynamics with reference to climate
change

PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY OF QUALITY SEEDS

 Active involvement of private sector, NGOs, & farmers’ help groups in

production of quality seeds
 Mandatory target to public sector seed corporations
 Popularization of seed village concept with buyback system
 More incentive on production of seeds of new varieties
 Promotion of farmer to farmer exchange of seeds
 Reducing Post Harvest Losses
 Development and popularization of harvesters, threshers and graders
 Development of stored grain pest resistant varieties
 Modernization of existing dal mills
 Establishment of processing units in the production zones
 Development and popularization of low cost safe storage structures
 Ensuring Attractive Price to Producers
 Announcement of MSP well in advance
 Assured procurement and creation of procurement centres in production
zones
 Popularization of mini dal mills at village level
 Development of organized markets for pulses
 Linking farmers with markets
 Promotion of export of pulses like lentil and kabuli chickpea
 Production of value added products and use of by-products
 Ensuring Timely Availability of Critical Inputs
 Advanced forewarning and forecasting systems for pest and disease outbreaks
 Promotion of IPM technologies against Helicoverpa
 Ensuring timely availability of bio pesticides – HaNPV (Helicoverpa armigera
Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus), Trichoderma & herbicides e.g. Pendimethalin
 Seed dressing of fungicides for controlling seed borne diseases
 Providing safe storage structures like Pusa Bin and warehouse facility
 Creation of production units of quality bio-fertilizers and bio pesticides
 Fortification of fertilizers with specific nutrients like S, Fe, Zn, B etc., in specific
regions
 Popularization of sprinklers and micro irrigation techniques in rainfed areas
 Establishment of single window input supply centres for cluster of villages
 Exploiting the pulse production as cash crops in unconventional areas like hills,
coastal and tribal belts of country