The strategies to increase the pulse production are discussed hereunder:- 1. Increasing Area under Pulses 2. Balance Fertilization 3. Developing High Yielding Varieties 4. Use of Specific Rhizobium Culture 5. Timely Plant Protection Measures 6. Mixed Cropping with Other Crops 7. Grazing Management 8. Supply of Good Quality Seeds 9. Financial Help 10. Educating Farmers in Modern Technology of Pulse Production.
Strategy # 1. Increasing Area under Pulses:
The total area under pulses in India is very small and there is an urgent need to increase it. In recent years, a number of minor and medium irrigation projects are coming up in the region and irrigation facilities are becoming increasingly available.
Therefore, the scope for increasing the area under pulses in the irrigation command areas in those region is greatly widened. For making the best use of the opportunity, farmers in such irrigation command areas need to be educated in the full and efficient utilization of the created irrigation potential for the cultivation of different pulse crops.
Strategy # 2. Balance Fertilization:
The sloppy undulating land and heavy precipitation receiving area in India, during the kharif season, the clay particles of the soil have been washed out and the soils have been rendered poor in fertility. Therefore, for getting economic yields, the pulse crops also need manure and fertilizers in adequate quantity.
Phosphorus is an important element for increasing the yield of pulses. Its beneficial effect on nodulation, growth, yield and general performance of legume crops is already established. For getting good yields of different pulses, 30 to 80 kg phosphorus per hectare, according to the soil testing results should be applied as a basal dose at the time of sowing of the crop.
Strategy # 3. Developing High Yielding Varieties:
Because of the peculiar agro-climatic conditions in the country, cultivation of pulses is done on a limited scale using traditional pulse varieties. The production of pulses could be increased, if high yielding, superior varieties are made available to the farmers. The moisture retention capacity of the soil, in general is very low and since rainy days are limited the varieties maturing in less than 120 days would be essential.
Also the high humidity conditions prevailed during kharif season poses serious problems of pests and diseases which necessitate taking up work on breeding of varieties resistant to these pests and diseases. Therefore research work on breeding superior, early maturing, high yielding, disease and pest resistant varieties of major pulse crop is needs to be initiated.
Strategy # 4. Use of Specific Rhizobium Culture:
Pulses in general, have an ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil with the help of nodule forming rhizobium bacteria in their roots. The lateritic soils are more or less of acidic in nature.
Therefore, it has become necessary to isolate more efficient nodule-forming rhizobium bacterial cultures from the native soils which would ultimately help in enhancing the yields of the pulse crops. A few promising strains of such bacterial cultures have been isolated and are being tested for their efficiency.
Strategy # 5. Timely Plant Protection Measures:
Pulses mostly grown by farmers are without any plant protection measures. Therefore the yields are very low. Crops like horsegram and cowpea suffers from yellow mosaic which is a virus disease and also attacked by leaf eating caterpillars. All the pest and diseases greatly reduce pulses yields. Therefore, it is very essential to provide need based plant protection measures in order to obtain higher yields.
Seed treatment with organo mercurial fungicides need to be followed as a regular management practices for grain legumes. However, use of pesticides involves additional cost to the farmers. The easier and economic solution to the problem is to breed varieties resistant to different pest and diseases.
The stored grain pests also cause damage to pulses seeds during storage. This poses a serious constraint in supplying good quality seed to farmers in adequate quantities. Storing of grains after thorough drying, the stocks to be used as seed may be treated with insecticides.
Strategy # 6. Mixed Cropping with Other Crops:
Inter cropping of pulses with other crops helps to increase net income per season from the same piece of land by increasing the total production and also provide insurance against failure of the main crop. Beside, pulses crop fixed the atmospheric nitrogen in the soil and build up nitrogen status of the soil at no extra cost. This nitrogen is available to other non-leguminous crop.
Strategy # 7. Grazing Management:
During rabi hot weather season the farmers face the problem of stray cattle in cultivating pulses crops. To overcome this problem it is suggested to encourage the farmers in taking up collective growing of pulses in bigger blocks. This enables the farmers to reduce the cost on providing protection to the crop from stray cattle either by watching or by fencing the block area.
Strategy # 8. Supply of Good Quality Seeds:
Supply of pure and good quality seed of different varieties is another constraint that is observed in pulses cultivation .Therefore, arrangements need to be made for production of quality seed in sufficient quantities by the agriculture universities and other seed producing agencies.
The seed supplies have also to be made in time. For this purpose many agriculture colleges multiplies the seed of different pulses crops to the extent possible and make it available for distribution to the farmers through the extension agencies.
Strategy # 9. Financial Help:
The per hectare grain yields of pulses being low, their cultivation was not very remunerative and therefore, it was not given a serious thought, so for. Thus in the past, cultivation of pulses suffered to a considerable extent.
Therefore, the government may have to give some financial assistant to the farmers as an incentive for taking of cultivation of pulses. Also the price structure in the market will have to be decided by the government, much in advance to ensure reasonable profits to the pulses growing farmers to encourage them to take up cultivation of pulses in a large extent.
Strategy # 10. Educating Farmers in Modern Technology of Pulse Production:
In order to boost up the production of pulses in the India, extensive participation of the farmers in the cultivation of different pulses by adopting improved technology is very essential.
This point out to the need of educating farmers about improved package of practices developed for different pulse crops. Although some effort are being at present by the agriculture universities and the extension agencies in this regard, the programme need to be taken up a very large scale.
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:
(i) Replacement of cereals crops in the prevailing rice-wheat cropping systems with high yielding 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 minimum support price (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, and
(vii) Coordination of research, extension and farmers to encourage farmer’s participatory research.