Milestones on agronomic research in pulses in India

Pulses being an inseparable ingredient in Indian vegetarian diet, and soil ameliorative values remained an integral component of subsistence farming since time immemorial. Increasing awareness about protein mal-nutrition, deteriorating soil health and environmental issues brought pulses on priority agenda of Government of India. Consequently, a multi-disciplinary All India Coordinated Pulse Improvement Project was launched in 1966 to organize comprehensive and systematic research program to boost pulse production. As a result of this, new varieties of different pulses with special characters such as tall-erect and short duration in chickpea, dwarf-leafless in peas, short duration-synchronous in mungbean and urdbean, early types in pigeonpea, and resistance to major diseases in most of the pulse crops were developed besides matching agro-techniques. In non-traditional areas, pulses were introduced like frenchbean and pigeonpea during winter/post-rainy season in north-east plains, urdbean in coastal peninsula and short duration pigeonpea in north-west plains. New cropping systems such as maize/rice-wheat-mungbean, rice-mustard/potato-mungbean/urdbean, pigeonpea-wheat, and rice-chickpea in north, and rice-urdbean in south became popular. This research out-put alongwith developmental activities of Government led to spectacular increase in total production of pulses from 9 million tonnes in sixties to 18 million tonnes in 2010–11. In fertilizer schedule, potassium (20–30 kg K₂O/ha), sulphur (20 kg S/ha) and zinc (15–20 kg Zn SO₄) were added on the basis of soil test values. Emphasis was laid on seed inoculation with efficient Rhizobium strains and foliar application of 2% urea solution at flowering and pod initiation stages in rainfed pulses. Irrigation schedule on critical crop growth stages like late branching and pod initiation, and IW/CPE ratio (0.4–0.6) were advocated. Beneficial effect of water absorbing polymer (Jalshakti) in rainfed crops was established. Pendimethalin has been identified as most effective pre-emergence herbicide for all pulse crops. As post-emergence herbicides, quizalofop-ethyl and imazethapyr proved effective. Ridge-furrow and raised bed planting of pulses especially in rainy season crops was advocated. Long-term trials to quantify effect of pulses in cropping systems on soil health and system productivity have been initiated in 2003 at IIPR, Kanpur.