Everything you need to learn about pulse crops cultivation, harvest and growth.
How to Cultivate Horse-Gram (Kulthi Kalai, Kulthi) ?
Horse-gram is cultivated extensively in southern India, where its popularity as a pulse is more or less like that of gram in the northern region. Large areas are put under it in the states of AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It is also grown in Maharashtra and MP. The crop occupies a total area of about 2 million hectares in the entire country and the total production is about half a million tonnes.
Horse-gram (Dolichos biflorus L.) is an annual climbing, bushy herb, 30-40 cm in height. Leaves are trifoliate with small stipules. Flowers generally light cream in colour, solitary or on axillary racemes. Standard petal broad and auricled at the base; wings linear; keel narrow. Stamens 9+1 is Stigma terminal, with the style bearded below. Pods thin, 3.5-5 cm long and 0.6 cm broad. Seeds brown, light red, black or mottled in colour.
Climate and Soil:
The crop is generally grown under conditions of moderate rainfall. It can also be raised as a dry crop under low-rainfall conditions. Horse-gram is quite hardy and is grown in various types of soils, namely, deep red loams, black cotton soils and clayey soils. Very alkaline soils are, however, unsuitable for it.
Cultivation:
The crop does not require much preparatory tillage. It is grown either pure or in mixture with bajra, red-gram, til, etc. Horse-grams are sometimes grown as a catch crop for fodder. The seed is sown broadcast or in furrows behind the plough, generally in the month of July. Sowing is occasionally done in October after a cereal or an early til.
The seed rate adopted is 40 kg per hectare. The crop is rarely manured, although the yield is considerably increased by application of 40 kg P2O5 per hectare. As the seed- coat is hard, overnight soaking of the seed in water should be done to ensure a better plant stand.
Harvesting and Yield:
The crop is harvested in October-November or February, depending on whether it is sown in July or October. The plants are pulled out and dried for a few days, after which threshing and winnowing are done. The yield of grain is about 7 or 8 quintals per hectare.
Use:
The grains, which have 22% protein, are a good human food. They have some medicinal properties as well and their use by people suffering from urinary trouble is common. The plants serve as a good fodder for cattle. The grains are also fed to milch animals.
Varieties:
Not much work has been done for the improvement of the crop. A few varieties have, however, been developed, namely, Co 1 of Tamil Nadu, Hebbal Hurali – 1 and Hebbal Hurali – 2 of Karnataka. Madhu of Bihar, HPK 2 of Himachal Pradesh and BGM 1 and VZM 1 of AP.
Diseases and Insect Pests:
Some of the more important diseases of horse-gram are:
(i) Anthracnose caused by Glomerella lindsmuthianum, which can be controlled by using healthy seeds, practising crop rotation and sanitation, and also by growing resistant varieties.
(ii) Die-back caused by Colletotrichum capsici, which can be controlled by practising crop rotation and sanitation and spraying Bordeaux mixture.
(iii) Root rot caused by Pellicularia filamentosa, which can be controlled by crop rotation and good cultivation and by treating the seed with Agrosan GN or Ceresan.
(iv) Rust caused by Uromyces appendiculatus, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties or by dusting sulphur.
The important pests are:
(i) Hairy caterpillar (Amsacta spp. and Diacrisia spp.j, which can be controlled by dusting 10% BHC or spraying 0.05% Dichlorvos.
(ii) Grass hopper (Chrogonus spp.j, which can be controlled by dusting 5 – 10% BHC.
How to Cultivate Field Pea (Matar) ?
The common pea is a native of southern Europe. It is a popular pulse throughout the world. In western Asia and India, cultivation of pea dates back to pre-historic ages. Poland, France and the Netherlands are large producers of green peas. Extensive areas are also covered by the crop in Japan, Spain, Yugoslavia and the British Isles. The major portion of its acreage in India is in the Indo-Gangetic plains, UP alone accounting for 0.5 million hectares out of a total of 0.65 million hectares. The total production in this state is about 0.47 million tonnes of grain.
Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an annual, glaucous herb. Leaves paripinnate and alternate; leaf rachis forms a branched tendril; leaflets 4 to 6, sharply toothed; stipules large. Flowers are in short axillary racemes or solitary, bisexual and zygomorphic, about 2 cm long, white, pink, bluish or purplish in colour. Calyx is tubular-campanulate, gamosepalous, and oblique. Corolla papilionaceous, longer than calyx; petals 5, the standard covering the other petals in the bud; 2 lateral petals linear-oblique, forming wing-petals; innermost pair shorter than wing petals, loosely united along the ventral margins constituting the keel.
Stamens 10 is diadelphous, Ovary superior, monocarpellary and many ovuled. Style is hard and inflexed. Stigma bearded on the inner face. Pod is linear-oblong, slightly compressed, 4-8 cm long, obliquely beaked at the apex and with a short claw at base. Seeds are globose and pale yellow in colour.
Climate and Soil:
The crop is grown under irrigation in cold weather. Its requirements are similar to those of gram and lentil, though it does better in loamy soils. It is susceptible to frost.
Cultivation:
As already indicated, the crop is very similar to gram in its requirements. However, a’ finer seed-bed than that required for gram is prepared for peas. Seed may be sown broadcast or in rows 30-45 cm apart. The optimum seed-rate is 100 kg per hectare. Early varieties are given closer spacing and higher seed rate.
No manure is generally applied and no intercultural operations are given. It has, however, been seen that the crop does better if manures are applied and interculturing is done. An irrigated crop is not affected much by frost.
Harvesting and Yield. The crop takes from 110 days to as many as 180 days to mature. Harvesting is undertaken when the pods and plants are dry. Either the pods are picked or the plants are cut with sickles. Threshing is done by beating with sticks or by treading by bullocks. A pure crop of pea may yield 13-18 q of grain per hectare.
Use:
The mature seeds are used as dal and the green pods and seeds as vegetable. The plants are used for forage and green manuring.
Varieties:
A few improved varieties have been developed by breeders, which are suitable for different states of the country. Some of them are BR 12, Swarnarekha, Rachna an BR 2 for Bihar; Hans, Harbhajan and Rachna for Delhi; Rachna, DMR 11 and Pant P5 for Haryana; Rachna for Himachal Pradesh; Rachna and DMR 11 for Jammu & Kashmir and MP; Khaperkheda and Rachna for Maharashtra; PG 3, Pant P5 and Rachna for Punjab; RP 3, Rachna and DMR 11 for Rajasthan; Rachna, T 163 and DMR 11 for UP; and B 22, Rachna and DMR 11 for West Bengal.
Diseases and Insect Pests:
The common diseases of peas are:
(i) Powdery mildew caused by Erisyphe polygoni, which is responsible for appreciable losses in yield of the crop, can be controlled by spraying 0.5% wettable sulphur or dusting with sulphur once or twice;
(ii) Wilt caused by Fusarium spp., which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties.
(iii) Bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas spp;
(iv) Downy mildew caused by Peronospora spp;
(v) Foot rot and blight caused by Ascochyta spp., and
(vi) Rust caused by Uromyces spp. All of them can be controlled by using resistant varieties or by proper crop rotation and dusting with sulphur.
Breeding for disease resistance has yielded some encouraging results and three varieties possessing resistance to powdery mildew have been developed, namely, Rachna, DMR 11 and Pant P5.
The common insect pests of pea are:
(i) Pea leaf-miner (Phytomyza atricornis), which can be controlled by spraying 0.05% Dichlorvos, 0.1% Lindane or Carbaryl, twice.
(ii) Pea stem fly (Melanagromyza phaseoli), which can be controlled by dusting 4% Carbaryl or spraying 0.05% Endosulfan or 0.04% Monocrotophos.
(iii) Pea semi-looper (Plasia grichalcea, P. nigrisigna), which can be controlled by hand-picking the larvae, dusting 10% BHC or spraying 0.05% Endosulfan.
(iv) Green Aphid (Macrosiphum pisi), which can be controlled by spraying 0.03% Dimethoate, Phosphamidon or Dicrotophos.
(v) Bihar hairy caterpillar (Diacrisia obliqua), which can be controlled by spraying either 0.04% Parathion or 0.05 Nuvan.
How to Cultivate Chickling Pea (Khesari) ?
Chickling pea, commonly known in northern India as Khesari, is widely cultivated mainly for fodder. The grain is used as pulse by some people. The crop occupies about 7 per cent of the total area under pulses in the country. The grain as well as other plant-parts contains a neurotoxin, BOAA, which produces paralysis of the lower limbs-a disease referred to as lathyrism.
The disease is noticed when chickling pea is consumed in fairly large quantities over a considerable period. The neurotoxin can be effectively removed from the pulse if it is steeped overnight in water. A variety with very low content of neurotoxin, P 24, is now available, which is not likely to produce the disease.
The pulse occupies an area of 1.5 million hectares in India, particularly in W. Bengal, Bihar, eastern UP, MP, central parts of Gujarat and certain parts of the Deccan.
Chickling pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is an annual. Plant more or less erect- Stems winged and glabrous and can grow up to a length of about 0.9 m. Leaves with branching tendril, and one pair of leaflets, 5 to 9 cm long, linear arid long pointed. Stipules are long and leaf-like. Flowers are solitary and long-pedicelled, about 1.5 cm, long with a blue tinge on the standard. Stamens 10, is diadelphous, Pods 2.5 to 3.7 cm long, broad, flat and glabrous. Seeds few in a pod, but produced in abundance, wedge-shaped, angled and white in colour.
Climate:
It is a winter crop, sown in September-October. It is very commonly grown in standing paddy fields, just before the cereal is harvested.
Soil:
It does best on low-lying heavy soils, which can retain water. The crop can also be cultivated on alluvial loams. It is very hardy in nature and can withstand drought, water-logging and also salinity of soil.
Cultivation:
The crop is sometimes grown mixed with gram, barley or linseed. It is very often sown on land, which remains under water for some time during the kharif season. Two on three ploughings are given soon after the rains, except when it is sown in standing paddy. As much as 10-35 kg seed is sown per hectare, either by broadcasting or in rows. When grown in standing paddy, the seed is broadcast a few days before the harvest of the latter. One or two hand-weeding are beneficial to the crop.
Harvesting and Yield. When the crop is mature, the plants are cut with a sickle, dried in the sun for a week or so and threshed by trampling of bullocks. The average yield of grain is 300 to 400 kg per hectare. Higher yields of 600 to 800 kg are also obtained commonly.
Use:
It is consumed by poor people as dal or sattu. The green pods are sometimes used as vegetable. The plants are a good fodder for milch animals.
Varieties:
Although not much breeding work has been carried out for the improvement of the crop, a few good varieties have been developed, particularly in MP, namely, No. 9, Rewa-2, No. 11 and T 2-12. A good variety, Nirmal, has been bred in West Bengal recently. The work in progress in connection with development of neurotoxin-free varieties has led to the discovery of P 24 at IARI. The variety has a very low content of the toxin.
Diseases and Insect Pests:
The important diseases of the crop are:
(i) Downy mildew caused by Peronospora lalhyri palustris, which can be controlled by crop sanitation and spraying Bordeaux mixture or 0.2% Ziram.
(ii) Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe polygoni, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties or by dusting sulphur.
(iii) Rust caused by Uromyces fabae, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties or by dusting sulphur.
(iv) Wilt caused by Fusarium orthoceros, var. lathyri, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties.
The important insect pests are:
(i) Bihar hairy caterpillar (Diacrisia obliqua), which can be controlled by spraying 0.04% Parathion or 0.05% Dieldrin or 18% E.C;
(ii) Aphid (Macrosiphum spp.), which can be controlled by spraying Menazon or Dimetron.
How to Cultivate Green Gram (Moog, Mung) ?
Green gram is a native of India and has been cultivated in this region for about 3,000 years. It is now spreading across many other countries in Asia and Africa. At present, it is being grown throughout India in about 3 million hectares and the total production is about 1.1 million tonnes. The important mung-growing states are MP, UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, AP, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Green gram (Phaseolus aureus Roxb.) is a sub-erect shrub or undershrub with long trailing branches, more or less densely pubescent. Leaves are pinnately 3-foliate and stipulate; leaf-lets ovate-lanceolate. Racemes axillary and few flowered; bracts and bracteoles present. Flowers pale yellow, 6-7 mm long, bisexual and zygomorphic. Calyx is campanulate with linear teeth; sepals 5. Corolla is papilionaceous; standard petal orbicular, much the largest; wings obo,vate-falcate, slightly adnate to the keel; keel incurved and shortly beaked.
Stamens 10 and diadelphous Ovary is superior monocarpellary, with many ovules. Style is filiform, longitudinally bearded. Stigma is oblique with a short beak. Pod linear, nearly erect, septate between the seeds. Seeds are 2 mm long, brown or dull greenish grey; cotyledons yellow or white.
Climate:
Green gram is commonly grown as a rain-fed kharif crop. It is also grown as a summer crop in sub mountain regions and in north-western Himalayas up to an elevation of 2,000 metres. A well-distributed rainfall is beneficial to the crop. Heavy rains at flowering time are harmful. Even moist winds at this stage adversely affect fertilization and hence seed-setting is reduced.
Soil:
Deep, well-drained loamy soils of the alluvial tract of north India as well as red and black soils of the south are very suitable for the crop. It may also be grown on light or shallow stony soils or clayey soils.
Rotation:
In certain areas of Maharashtra, AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, it is grown in the rabi season in paddy fallows. In West Bengal, it is sown after the harvest of aus paddy. While in rabi, the crop is grown alone, in kharif, it may be grown alone or, as a subsidiary crop, in mixture with millets, maize, and even cotton, sugarcane and red-gram. When grown alone in the kharif season, it is usually raised as a catch crop before wheat, sugarcane and certain other crops cultivated in the rabi season of the same year.
Cultivation:
For green gram raised as a pure crop, land preparation is done as in the case of black gram; but in the case of a crop of green gram raised in mixture with cereals, the land is prepared for the main crop. For a pure crop in the khailf season, the land is ploughed once or twice and then harrowed so that a rough tilth is obtained. The summer crop is sown in dry furrows in between the rows of the previous crop and then irrigated. Application of 25-40 kg of P2O5 and 10 kg of N per hectare is beneficial and it increases the yield of the crop.
The kharif crop is sown in June or July, the rabi crop in September or October, the spring crop by 15th February, and the summer crop by 15th April. The seed is sown broadcast or is drilled in furrows behind the plough. A seed-drill may also be used for sowing. A spacing of 25 cm between rows may be adopted.
The quantity of seed required for sowing one hectare of land varies from 15 to 20 kg when sown alone. In the case of a mixed crop, the seed rate is 2 to 6 kg. In rice lands, the seed is broadcast in the standing crop a few days before the cereal is harvested.
The control of weeds during the first 4-6 weeks is particularly necessary. The young, crop receives one hand-weeding and sometimes one hoeing also.
Harvesting and Yield:
The crop generally takes about three months to mature. Some early varieties, however, become ready even in 60 days. In order to avoid losses due to shattering of pods, the crop is harvested before it is dead ripe. At the time of harvest, plants are uprooted or cut with a sickle.
They are then dried in the sun for a week or so, after which threshing is done by beating with sticks or by trampling by bullocks. Winnowing is done as in other pulses. The average yield of grain from a pure crop is 5-6 q per hectare. The yield may go up to 10-15 q if very favorable conditions are made available.
Use:
The grains are highly nutritious and are used commonly as a pulse. They are also made into flour and used in various delicious preparations. The grains may be eaten whole, parched, salted or with sugar.
Varieties:
The breeding work in progress in India has led to the development of a number of improved varieties, which have been recommended for different areas. Some of them are Pusa Baisakhi, PS 16 and ML 131 for Andhra Pradesh; T 44 and Pusa Baisakhi for Assam, Sunaina, Pusa Baisakhi, PS 10, PS 16 and Pant Mung 2 for Bihar; Pusa Baisakhi, Mohini, PS 10, PS 16, Pusa 105, Pant Mung 1 and Plant Mung 3 for Delhi; Pusa 105, Sabarmati Gujrat 1 and Gujrat 2 for Gujarat; PS 10, Pusa 105, ML 267, Pant Mung 1, Pant Mung 3 and Varsha for Haryana; Shining Mung No. 1 and Pusa Baisakhi for Himachal Pradesh; T44, Pusa Baisakhi and PS 16 for Jammu & Kashmir; Jawahar 45, Pusa Baisakhi, PS 16 and ML 131 for Karnataka; Jawahar 45, Mohini (S-8), PS 16 and PDM 11 for MP; Pusa Baisakhi, PS 16, ML 131 and Pusa 105 for Maharashtra; Ratila, ML 131 and Hyb 12-4 for Orissa; ML5, PS10, Pusa 105, Pant Mung 1, Pant Mung 3 and ML 337 for Punjab; Jawahar 45, Mohini, T44, Pusa Baisakhi and D 66-26 for Rajasthan; KM1, ADT-1, Co 4 and ML 131 for Tamil Nadu; T44, K 851, Pusa Baisakhi, PS 16, Pant Mung 1, Pant Mung 2, Pant Mung 3 and ML 267 for UP; and Sonali, Panna, T 44, K 851 and Pusa Baisakhi for West Bengal.
Diseases and Insect Pests:
The common diseases and insect pests of green gram and their control are the same as in the case of black gram.
The work undertaken for the production of disease-resistant varieties has already yielded some encouraging results. Mention may be made in this connection of varieties, Pant Mung 2, ML 5 and ML 267, resistant to yellow mosaic; Pant Mung 3, resistant to yellow mosaic and Anthracnose; ML 337, resistant to yellow mosaic, leaf spot and powdery mildew; and ML 131 resistant to yellow mosaic, powdery mildew and Cercospora.
How to Cultivate Cowpea (Barbati) ?
Cowpea is a very old crop and is probably a native of central Africa although it has been grown in south-eastern Asia for more than 2,000 years. It has since been introduced into the tropics and subtropics of both the hemispheres. The crop is grown throughout India, particularly in the central and the peninsular regions. However, it is cultivated on a limited scale.
Cowpea (Vigna sinensis (L.) Savi ex Hassk.) is a vigorously growing annual, bearing numerous horizontally spreading laterals. Stems are prostrate. More or less erect varieties also occur. Leaves are long, petiolate and pinnately trifoliate. Petioles long, with 1 to 1.8 cm long stipules, inserted far above the base.
Leaflets shortly stalked, rhomboid-ovate, entire or broadly cuneate or rounded at the base, with the apex gradually narrowed and acute, glabrous or slightly pubescent, 7.8 to 13.0 cm long. Flowers are shortly pedicelled, borne on axillary racemes; usually 2 to 3 flowers on each peduncle, having 3 bracts at the base. Calyx glabrous is with small, triangular and acute lobes.
Standard petal whitish to violet in colour, with violet wings, truncate at base. Stamens 9+1 are Ovary linear with several ovules. Style compressed and bearded along the inner face. Pod 15.25 to 30.50 cm long, cylindrical and slightly curved, with a thick obtuse beak, pendent and slightly constricted between the seeds. Seeds are very variable in size, globular to kidney shaped.
Climate and Soil:
Its requirements are very much like those of green gram. However, it can withstand a greater moisture stress.
Cultivation:
It is commonly cultivated as a kharif crop. In certain parts of Maharashtra, AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the crop is cultivated in the rabi season, after paddy. Early varieties of cowpea can also be grown in spring or summer in the northern parts of the country. The crop is commonly grown in mixture with maize for fodder. Preparation of land and method of sowing are like those of green gram. The space between adjacent rows is 45 cm and the seed rate per hectare is 20 kg. No interculturing is generally done.
Harvesting and Yield:
It is a quick-growing crop. Pods are picked for vegetable in two months or even less. While the short-duration varieties complete fruiting in 3 months, the long-duration varieties take 5 months or so. Harvesting and threshing of the crop are done as in the case of green gram. As much as 10 q of seed and 225-250 q of green fodder can be obtained from one hectare.
Use:
The young pods and seeds are consumed as vegetable and the dry seeds as pulse. The crop is used for purposes of fodder and also for green manure.
Varieties:
A few improved varieties have been developed, of which special mention may be made of early-maturing Pusa Falguni, RC 19 and V240, which mature in 60-65 days, and the high-yielding, medium-maturing variety, C 152. The last two are suitable for most of the states and can, therefore, be regarded as more or less cosmopolitan.
Other varieties suitable for different states are Gomati for Bihar; Types 2 and 5269 for UP; JC 10 for Rajasthan; No. 74 for Punjab; Co3 and Co4 for Tamil Nadu; K 11 for MP; S 488 for Karnataka; and Type 5269 for West Bengal.
Diseases and Insect Pests:
Some of the common diseases of cowpea are:
(i) Anthracnose caused by Glomerella lindemuthianum, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties or by practising crop rotation and sanitation and by spraying 0.2% Ziram.
(ii) Bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas vignicola, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties or using disease-free seeds, together with crop rotation.
(iii) Die-back caused by Colletotrichum capsici, which can be controlled by practising crop sanitation and rotation and by spraying Bordeaux mixture.
(iv) Mosaic caused by virus, which can be controlled by roguing out diseased plants, selecting seeds for sowing from disease-free plants and by growing tolerant varieties.
The common insect pests are:
(i) Bihar hairy caterpillars (Diacrisia obliqua), which can be controlled by spraying either 0.04% Parathion or 0.05% Nuvan;
(ii) Aphid (Macrosiphum pisi), which can be controlled by spraying Menazon or Dimecron.
How to Cultivate Lentil (Musuri, Masur) ?
Lentil is one of the most ancient of food plants and is a native of southern Asia. It is believed to have existed centuries ago in western temperate regions of Asia and also in Greece and Italy. Later, it was introduced in Egypt, Europe and India. Lentil is now cultivated all over northern India and in MP and certain parts of Maharashtra, the total acreage and production in the country being roughly 9 lakh hectares and 4.5 lakh tonnes respectively.
Lentil (Lens esculenta Moench) is a slender, tufted, much branched annual, 30-60 cm in height. Stem weak and hence the crop usually lodges. Leaves are pinnate with 4 to 14 opposite or alternate leaflets, oblong-oval to linear-oblong in shape, and the terminal leaflet being represented by a short tendril.
Flowers are small, bisexual, zygomorphic, 1-3, on short axillary axis. Calyx is gamosepalous; sepals 5 are Corolla papilionaceous; petals are unequal. Stamens 10, is diadelphous, Pod 1.25 to 1.9 cm long and almost as broad. Seeds are 2 in each pod, convex on both sides, grey brown to red in colour.
Climate:
Lentil is grown in the cold season. Its cultivation extends from the warm regions of MP and Maharashtra to the cold areas of Ladakh at an elevation of 3,500 metres. Lentil is preferred to gram in areas, where winters are sufficiently cold, on account of its frost tolerance. It is also better adapted to drought conditions of northern India.
Soil:
In Upper India, the crop is grown on light loams and alluvial soils, whereas in MP and Maharashtra, on well-drained, moderately deep, light black soils. The crop is suited to low fertility and has the ability to withstand a moderate amount of alkalinity.
Rotation:
Lentil is generally grown pure after rice or millets. In many areas, its seed is sown broadcast in standing paddy, just before the latter is harvested. It is also grown in mixture with barley and mustard or with both. Lentil can be grown as an intercrop in sugarcane, which is planted in autumn.
Cultivation:
While the cultivation of lentil is more or less like Bengal gram, a finer tilth of the soil than required for the latter is preferable. Usually 2-3 ploughings are necessary. However, land preparation is not feasible when the crop is sown in standing paddy fields.
The sowing of seed is done either by broadcasting or in rows, 20-30 cm apart, the seed-rate varying from 30 to 50 kg per hectare, depending on seed size. Normally, manuring, weeding and interculturing are not required. However, control of weeds in early stages of the crop and application of 10 kg of N and 40 kg of P2O5 per hectare would be beneficial. Lentil is rarely irrigated, but one or two irrigations may be useful if winter rains are meagre.
Harvesting and Yield:
Lentil matures in about three and a half months. The plants are harvested before they are dead ripe. They are dried in the sun for a week or so and threshed by beating with sticks or by trampling of bullocks and then the seed is winnowed as other pulses. Yield of grain is 4-5 quintals per hectare in the case of the unirrigated crop and 8-9 quintals in the case of the irrigated crop.
Use:
Lentil has a high percentage of protein and is commonly consumed as a nutritious dal. Unripe pods are used as a green vegetable and the dry plants, husk and broken grains as good cattle feed.
Varieties:
Breeding work in progress in India has led to the development of a few improved varieties of lentil. Some of them suitable for different states are BR 25, Pant L 406, Pant L 639 and BR 26 for Bihar; Pant L 639 and Lens 4076 for Delhi; Mallika and Pant 639 for Gujarat; Lens 4076 and Pant L 639 for Haryana; L9-12 for Himachal Pradesh; Type 36 and L9-12 for Jammu and Kashmir. JLS-1, Pant L 639, Lens 4076 and Mallika for MP; Pant L 639 and Mallika for Maharashtra; L9-12, Pant L 406 and Lens 4076 for Punjab; Type 36, Pant L 406, Pant L 639, VL Masoor 1, Lens 4076 and Mallika for UP; Ranjan, Asha, C 31 and PL 77-2 for West Bengal; and Pant L 406, Pant L 639, T 36 and BR 25 for North Eastern Hill Region.
Diseases and Insect Pests:
The common diseases of lentil are:
(i) Dry root rot caused by Macrophomina phaseoli, which can be controlled by practising crop rotation, using healthy seed and by growing resistant varieties.
(ii) Rust caused by Uromyces fabae, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties and by dusting sulphur or spraying wettable sulphur @ 2.4 kg/ha.
(iii) Wilt caused by Fusarium orthoceros var. entidis, which can be controlled by growing resistant varieties.
Plant breeders have been successful in developing two varieties of lentil, namely, Pant L 406 and Pant L 639, which possess resistance to rust, and one variety, namely, PL 77-2, which possesses resistance to wilt.
The most common insect pest is cut worm (Agrotis spp.), which can be controlled by raking into soil 5% Aldrin, Heptachlor or Chlordane and dusting the crop with 10% BHC.