Physiological Mechanisms of Tolerance to Drought and Heat in Major Pulses for Improving Yield under Stress Environments

Reduction in biomass and pollen fertility are the two major constraints resulting in poor grain yield in major pulses grown under rainfed agrosystem. Generally, pulses are encountered into both heat and drought stresses during terminal reproductive stages. Though pulses have many adaptive features to counter the adverse effects of various abiotic stresses but yield is substantially reduced when the magnitude of these stresses is very high. The factors have been identified to enhance grain yield under stress environments which include promotion of biomass in the above ground part enabling crops to reserve a maximum amount of photosynthesis and water in the plant system itself before the onset of drought and heat stresses during reproductive stages. Various physiological mechanisms and fertility enhancement components including genetic diversity in key traits have been discussed here to improve yield of pulses under stressed conditions

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Not AvailableMilling is the process of dehusking and splitting of whole pulse grains to improve the culinary properties. The milling by-product, mixture of husk and cotyledon powder, is rich in bioactive compounds, viz., protein, phenol and antioxidants, but often utilized as low value cattle feed. The present study encompasses the biochemical properties of whole seed, dal and fractions of chickpea milling by-products for potential edible and therapeutic usage. Chickpea cultivars IPC-11-112 and DCP-92-3 were milled in lab scale grain testing mill. Milling by-product was fractionated with the help of electromagnetic sieve shaker to obtained fractions >1.00, >0.25 and <0.25 mm particle sizes. Biochemical estimation of by-product fractions revealed that for both the varieties, milling by-product fraction >1.00 mm was rich in phenol content and antioxidant activity, whereas fraction <0.25 mm had higher protein content than cotyledons, indicating location of protein globules in peripheral region of cotyledons. Calorific values of the product (dal) and by-product were also determined. Chickpea milling by-product was observed to be rich in nutritional and bioactive components, hence, can be utilized for human consumption and healthNot Availabl

Long-term impact of pulses and organic amendments inclusion in cropping system on soil physical and chemical properties

Abstract Mono-cropping of maize–wheat, mechanical disintegration of soils, and continuous chemical fertilization have deteriorated soil health in the Indo-Gangetic Plains. We studied the long-term impact of pulse-based cropping systems with integrated nutrient management on soil physical and chemical properties and yield sustainability. We evaluated four different cropping systems: (1) maize–wheat (M–W), (2) maize–wheat–mungbean (M–W–Mb), (3) maize–wheat–maize–chickpea (M–W–M–C), (4) pigeonpea–wheat (P–W) each with three degrees of soil fertilization techniques: (1) unfertilized control (CT), (2) inorganic fertilization (RDF), and (3) integrated nutrient management (INM). The field experiment was undertaken in a split-plot design with three replications each year with a fixed layout. P–W and M–W–Mb systems enhanced soil properties such as volume expansion by 9–25% and porosity by 7–9% (p < 0.05) more than M–W, respectively. P–W and M–W–Mb increased soil organic carbon by 25–42% and 12–50% over M–W (RDF). P–W system enhanced water holding capacity and gravimetric moisture content by 10 and 11% (p < 0.05) than M–W. Pulse-based systems (P–W and M–W–Mb) had higher available nitrogen (8–11%), phosphorus (42–73%), and potassium (8–12%) over M–W (p < 0.05). M–W–Mb increased 26% maize yield and 21% wheat yield over M–W (p < 0.05) at the thirteenth crop cycle. P–W system had a higher sustainable yield index (p < 0.05) of wheat over the M–W. Thus, pulse inclusion in the cropping system in combination with INM can enhance physical and chemical properties vis-à-vis sustainable yield index over the cereal-cereal system