13 May Grain Legumes for sustainable agriculture
स्थायी कृषि के लिए दानेदार फलीयॉं या दालें Grain legumes, also known as pulses, are plants belonging to the family Leguminasae, which are grown primarily for their edible grains or seeds. These seeds are harvested mature and marketed dry, to be used as food or feed. Traditionally the system of using legumes as the norm routine diet dates back to ancient times in India. India is largest producer of pulses in the world with 25 per cent share in global production. Chickpea, pigeonpea, mungnean, uradbean, lintil, and fieldpea are important pulses crop contributing 39 per cent, 21 per cent, 11 per cent, 10 per cent, 7 per cent and 5 per cent to the total production of pulses in the country. The total production was estimated 14.56 million tonnes and an area of 23.63 million hectares with average productivity 616 kg/ha (MOSPI, 2008-09) (Fig. 1). In recent years, price of legumes has been increasing drastically forcing small scale farmers to take up the crop at least for home consumption. These plants have the advantage of fixing atmospheric nitrogen for their own needs and for soil enrichment, thereby reducing the cost of fertilizer inputs in crop farming. Figure 1. Area, Production and productivity of Pulses in India Nitrogen Fixation: Legumes form a symbiotic association with...