Pulses Production In India Research Articles

Farm level technical efficiency for pulse production in India

Pulses are complementary to cereals both in production as well as in consumption. During the production process, pulses help in improving sustainability by (i) fixing the atmospheric nitrogen into the soil (ii) consuming less water and (iii) controlling diseases and pests. On consumption front, pulses reduce malnutrition and improve human health being a rich and most viable source of protein for vegetarians and poor people. Realizing the importance of pulses, the government of India announces various schemes and programs from time to time to promote the cultivation of pulses in the country. However, pulse production in India has not achieved the targeted level. The paper analyses the production trend of pulses over the last decade and identifies the gap between the targets and achievements. Plot level data from cost of cultivation scheme across major pulses growing states has been used to estimate technical efficiencies of the pulses using data envelopment analysis. The paper also highlights the yield gap of the pulses across major pulse growing states and suggests suitable measures for improving farm level profitability and sustainability by increasing technical efficiency. The study postulated the hypothesis that technical efficiency of the pulses is low and the yield potential of the pulses are not fully harnessed. The results revealed that increase of technical efficiency by 1% will reduce the yield gap by 9 kg per ha and increase total pulse production of the country by 225 thousand tons.

Enhancing pulses production in India through improving seed and variety replacement rates

India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses in the world. Pulses are important for the nutritional security of the cereal based vegetarian diet of large population of India. Due to ever increasing population, rising income of people and pulses being the major source of protein in Indian diet, the demand for pulses continues to grow at 2.8% per annum. It is estimated that 27.5 million tonnes of pulses would be required by 2025. 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. For ensuring availability of quality seed it was estimated that 39.38 lakh q and 46.87 lakh q quality seed of improved varieties would be required in 2020 and 2025, respectively, at increased seed replacement rate (SRR). The SRR of all the pulses under study showed an increasing trend during the last decade. This could be further increased with vibrant formal and informal seed system involving public and private seed industries and promotion of participatory seed production programmes. Since pulses are grown in diverse agro-climatic situations under severe biotic and abiotic stresses, the varietal diversity in seed chain also assumes greater importance. Seed chain is currently being maintained with 236 improved varieties of six major pulses. However, only 44 of them occupied prominence in seed chain and could contribute significantly to increased pulse production in recent times. There is further need to bring sufficient number of high yielding and disease resistant varieties in seed chain which should adequately represent all pulse growing areas in the country. The present paper discusses the options of yield enhancement in pulses through increased availability of quality seed and strategy for enhancing variety replacement, rate (VRR) and seed replacement rate (SRR) of major pulses, viz., chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.), mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek), urdbean (Vigna mungo L. Hepper), lentil (Lens culinaris L.) and fieldpea (Pisum sativum L.)

Total Factor Productivity of Major Pulse Crops in India: Implications for Technology Policy and Nutritional Security

Improving TFP of pulse crops, the major sources of protein, is important to achieve food and nutritional security in India. In this context the paper has examined the consumption pattern of pulses in India and has estimated the TFP growth of major pulses (chickpea, pigeon pea, green gram and black gram) in the country. The study carried out for the period of 1994-95 to 2012-13, has used Malmquist productivity approach to estimate the TFP. The study has also explored the role of technology change in improving pulse productivity by studying the case of chickpea in Andhra Pradesh. The study has noted that per capita consumption of pulses has declined over the years. The consumption of pulses is far less by the lowest income group vis-a-vis the highest income group households. The yield of pulses in general has stagnated over the years. Among the pulses studied, only chickpea and green gram have exhibited improvement in TFP. The study has revealed that pulses are the cheapest source of proteins among all foods and therefore, have a significant place in improving nutrition at individual level as well as country level. It is the development of short-duration and heat-tolerant varieties and better management that have helped in yield improvement. The case study on chickpea in Andhra Pradesh has shown that productivity improvement is directly related to the share of improved varieties adoption. The study has concluded that the development of affordable technologies suitable for marginal environments and emerging cropping patterns would help improve the productivity of pulses in India, thereby may contribute to addressing the under-consumption of protein.

Genetic improvement of mungbean and urdbean and their role in enhancing pulse production in India

The initial varietal development in mungbean and urdbean focused mainly on selection from landraces or the germplasm samples collected, purified and evaluated. However, systematic efforts were made by National Agricultural Research System comprising Indian Council of Agricultural Research and State Agricultural Universities through All India Coordinated Pulses Improvement Project for varietal improvement. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources and AICPIP centres collected over 8,000 Vigna genetic resources and also introduced germplasm from other countries and made them available for evaluation. Several resistant donors were identified and used to transfer gene(s) for biotic stresses. As a result, a number of high yielding varieties were developed through intraspecific hybridization. Large numbers of these varieties are resistant to one or more major diseases of the specific agro-eclogical niches. Six varieties in mungbean and two in urdbean were also developed through inter-specific hybridization which had new plant type and resistance to prevalent diseases. However, limited success has been achieved for the development of varieties with resistance to insect-pests and abiotic stresses. There is a need to intensify research in these areas through introgression of desirable alleles from secondary and tertiary gene pool into the cultivated type for yield, photo period and temperature insensivity and insect pest tolerance. The onset of genomics provides massive amount of information, but the success will depend on precise phenotyping to achieve desired restructuring in existing plant type.

Fiscal viability of pulses cultivation in Punjab: An economic analysis

Punjab being a pioneer state in early adoption of green revolution technology resulted in making India self-sufficient in foodgrains production. The drastic change in cropping pattern during seventies in the state resulted in relegating pulses and coarse cereals to marginal and sub-marginal lands. India is dependent on pulses import to feed its ever growing population. To augment the production of pulses in India, National Food Security Mission (NFSM) - pulses was started in 2007-08 in some of the selected districts of various states which was later extended to the other districts of the country also. This study was conducted with the objective to see the relative profitability of pulses vis-à-vis their major competing crops. The selected districts of the study included one NFSM district- Ferozepur and non-NFSM district- Moga. The results of the study indicated that there turns per hectare from summer moong in Ferozepur and Moga districts increased after the initiation of NFSM-pulses programme. In case of <italic>Kharif</italic> moong and gram also, the returns per hectare increased in Ferozepur district but this increase was not much sharp. The profitability from total pulses vis-à-vis total major competing crops was little less despite additional returns from summer moong crop in total pulse production. The study highlighted that pulse crops are risky in terms of yield and thereby profitability, therefore, for promotion of these crops in the state, insurance cover to the growers should be provided to compensate the damage to the crop in case of severe incidence of insect-pest and diseases, unseasonal rainfalls and natural calamities. The study emphasised the need for development of efficient marketing mechanism as in case of wheat and paddy for pulse crops also in order to establish them as more lucrative and alternative enterprise to augment the farmers income.

Status, adoption gap and way forward of pulses production in India

Pulses are generally grown under rainfed, highly unstable and complex production environments, substantial variability in soil and environmental factors, high year to year output variability, and variation in soil moisture. One is required to emphasize the need for identifying and quantifying level of adoption and its determinants across agroclimatic regions. The net availability of pulses has come down from 60 g/day/capita in 1951 to 41.6 g/day/capita in 2012-13 due to stagnant production and rapid increase in population. Among so many, the most important way to increase production in the short-run is to reduce yield gaps between research station, on-farm demonstration and farmer's fields. The yield gap and constraint analysis was carried out for pigeonpea and chickpea in high potential high gap states and districts of India. The results showed high to medium level of adoption gaps in almost all the recommendation domains in both the crops. Nearly 80 percent of the respondents had not adopted manurial aspects of the crop and 76 percent had not gone for any plant protection measures. Only 29% adopted the recommended varieties and nearly 60% adopted agronomic practices like line sowing, weed management, spacing, presowing irrigation and proper land preparation. It can be recommended that in order to have the latest information on pulse improvements from researchers, it will be necessary to have appropriate training for the extension workers and subsequently to farmers with availability of matc11hing input supply system.

Improved crop management practices for sustainable pulse production: An Indian perspective

Pulses are an integral part of Indian agricultural economy next to cereals and oilseeds in terms of acreage, production and economic value. Pulses are rich source of protein and energy, but in India, these are largely cultivated under energy starved conditions resulting in poor pulse productivity. This is mainly because of unavailability of quality seed at desired time, cultivation on marginal and sub-marginal lands, imbalanced use of fertilizers and nonadoption of crop improved management practices. India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world, accounting for about 25% of global production, 27% of consumption and 34% of food use. To reduce the demandsupply gap, government of India launched various programmes in pulses. Still, prime attention is required to meet the food security challenges, especially in case of pulse sector. In order to enhance and sustain the pulse productivity at high levels, the development and promotion of low–cost pulse production technology need greater attention so that technology is widely adopted by the practizing farmers. The most potential technologies in pulse production include improved crop establishment and management practices, integrated soil fertility and pest management practices, etc. which enhance not only the productivity and profitability but also warrants environmental and social sustainability besides nutritional security. Various agronomic researches have shown that improved cultivation practices, such as seed replacement with improved varieties, raised bed planting method, use of biofertilizers, foliar application of fertilizers at critical stages in rainfed areas, application of secondary and micro-nutrients and adoption of appropriate modules for integrated weed and pest management, etc. have great potential in gearing-up pulses productivity. Thus, there is a great challenge for policy makers, farm scientists and farming community to enhance pulse productivity using improved farm technology to meet out the national and local pulse requirements. Thus, this article presents a critical review on capacity of various improved crop management practices to scale-up pulses productivity on one hand and highlight future research priorities on the other with the prime objective of sustaining pulse production in India.

Constraints of growth in area production and productivity of pulses in India: An analytical approach to major pulses

Pulses play an important role in providing a nutritionally balanced diet. These are the principal source of protein for vegetarians. India is the world’s largest producer of pulses, followed by Canada. Brazil produces large beans only. Pulses are the second main source of protein after cereals in Indian diet. India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses. Basically the total pulses area occupied 26.28 million hectares which contributed production 18.10MT during 2010-11. However, the growth rate of pulses area and production were found negligible as compared to cereal like wheat and paddy and there exit wide inter states variability in their yield in the country. This study results the growthrate of area-0.09, -0.60 and 1.62 and production 1.52, 0.59 and 3.35 during 1980s, 1990s and 2000s decades, which affect the net per capita per day availability of pulses, has declined sharply from 61 gms to 32 gms from 1951 to 2010. Therefore, the gap of domestic demand and supply widen sharply. This paper analyses the status of pulses growth, and constraints of technology inadequacy as well as policy reform. The paper also focus on constraints of non-availability essential inputs i.e. quality seed, life saving irrigation, fertilizers and nutrients, price policy implication and marketing to be reoriented to bring it in tune with the emerging demand and supply of pulses in India.

Sources of Growth in Pulses Production in India

This paper has analyzed the patterns and sources of growth in pulses production in India and has examined their implications for future growth of pulses production. The study has observed an increasing trend in pulses production, driven mainly by yield improvements. The contributions of area expansion and prices to pulses growth have been erratic, suggesting that these can not be the sustainable sources of growth in pulses. Further, farmers’ area allocation decisions to pulses are not price-dependent, but depend on nonprice factors, mainly rainfall. These findings imply that in the short-run, to boost pulses production, the policy should address the non-price constraints such as irrigation, access to credit and input supply. However, the growth in pulses production in the long-run must come from technological changes.

Varietal Spectrum of Seed Production of Pulses in India: An Updated Approach

Pulses play a pivotal role in Indian agriculture as they are considered as the basic source of protein in Indian diet. Therefore, the biggest concern is to feed country’s 1.2 billion population with balanced diet and to maintain the production in line with the growth of population. To step-up production of pulses, quality seed is one of the crucial factors on which the performance and efficiency of other inputs or factors depends. Due to painstaking efforts of different organizations the overall breeder seed production of major pulses increased more than 130 % in the last decade. Breeder seed production in urdbean has continuously increased during the last five years. Similarly, an increasing trend has been seen in pigeonpea (except for the year 2010) with recording the highest seed production of 131.72 t in 2012. Among rabi pulses, breeder seed production of chickpea was highest in 2011 with 1,171.79 t production whereas in lentil and fieldpea it was highest as 53.14 and 94.63 t production in 2011–2012 respectively. The leading varieties are generally those which are high yielding along with resistance to biotic stresses e.g. JG-11 and Vijay in chickpea, BSMR 736 and TJT-501 in pigeonpea, Pant U 31 and IPU 02-43 in urdbean, SML-668 and Samrat in mungbean, Pant L-8, HUL 57 and JL-3 in lentil and Prakas, Vikas and Aman in fieldpea. They are the most preferred varieties with maximum seed indent. Therefore, a more concerted effort would be needed for evolving high yielding varieties having resistance/tolerance to abiotic stresses along with resistance to major biotic stresses in the coming years.

Response of pulse production to phosphorus-a review

Phosphorus is a key element involved in various functions in growth and metabolism of pulses. It is frequently a major limiting nutrient for plant growth in most Indian soils. Phosphorus deficiency is usually the key factor for seed yield of pulse crops on all soil types. Out of 135 districts under pulses, soils in 68 districts are low and 62 districts are medium in available P status. The application of P to pulse crops must be one of the most important strategy to increase productivity of pulses in India. Mainly mungbeen uptake around 24 kg P2O5 while chickpea and urdbean uptake around 10 kg P2O5. This variation among crops due to variation in the length of growing season and yield. Yield of pulses can significantly be increased by applying P on the basis of soil test information. P applied to pulses crops may yield residual effect up to a limit of 20–35 kg P2O5 ha−1. The degree of response to applied P can further be improved through management viz., timely sowing, maintenance of optimum plant population, proper moisture maintenance and effective pest and weed management practices.

Enabling Pulses Revolution in India

Historically India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses. Although it is the world’s largest pulses producer, Indiahas been importing 3-4 million tons (MT)of pulses every year to meet its domestic demand. However, during the last decade, growth in pulses production has increased significantly. India achieved a record output in pulses production at 18.1 MT in 2010-11 with an all-time high production achieved in chickpea (8.25 MT), moong (1.82MT) and urad (1.74 MT). Even though pulses production increased significantly during the last decade, continuing the faster growth is a bigger challenge for researchers, extension agencies and policy makers. For some crops such as oilseeds, earlier experience shows most of the success is short lived if we don’t align production technology with policy support (Reddy 2009). Still, the productivity of pulses in India (694 kg/ha) is lower than most of the major pulse producing countries and yield potential attained at research stations and on-farm demonstrations. The brief discusses strategies followed to increase pulses production in the last decade and the way forward to sustain the increased production. It also examines the factors behind the fast growth in production of pulses in recent years with chickpea in Andhra Pradesh as an example. Introduction of chickpea crop into non-traditional areas like south Indian states is an example of technological and institutional breakthrough to be replicated in other crops. Introduction of chickpea into black cotton soils, availability of plenty of rabi fallow lands, adoption of short duration and high yielding varieties like KAK- 2 and JG-11, and well developed land lease market to facilitate large scale mechanization to cope with labor shortage in villages are some of the contributing factors for the expansion of chickpea area into south Indian states. It highlighted the importance of (i) successful government programs like National Food Security Mission in increasing pulses production, (ii) development and distribution of improved seed through semi-formal seed systems and farmers participatory varietal selection (FPVS) , (iii)emphasis on abiotic and biotic stress management to increase stability in area and yields through integrated approach (iv) increased availability of subsidised improved seed, micronutrients like sulphur, gypsum, popularization of herbicides and farm machinery to cope with labor shortages, and lastly (v) developing market information systems and warehouse infrastructure, enhancing credit availability, establishing markets with state-of-the-art post harvest management and cold storages