India has made remarkable progress in

enhancing production of pulses during the past 15

years. During 2005-06, the total production of pulses

in India was 13.38 million MT, which increased to

25.58 million MT during 2020-21. This shows an

impressive growth of 91% or a compound annual

growth rate (CAGR) of 4.42%. During 2020-21,

chickpea had a lion’s share of 49.3% in the total pulses

production. Among remaining pulses, pigeonpea

contributed 16.2%, mungbean 10.3%, urdbean 9.3%,

lentil 4.9% and other pulses 9.9%. During the past 15

years, the highest growth in production was observed

for mungbean (178%), followed by chickpea (125%),

urdbean (90%), pigeonpea (51%) and lentil (34%)

Gaur, P M

ICRISAT Open Access Repository

Journal of Food Legumes 34(1): 1-3, 2021Former Director,Research Program - Asia,International Crops Research Institutefor the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT),Hyderabad, IndiaEmail: pmgaur@gmail.comDr Pooran Gaur (PhD Crop Science - University ofSaskatchewan, Canada,  former Director of ICRISAT'sAsia Research Program based in Hyderabad, India  anHonorary Fellow of the Indian Society of PulsesResearch and Development (ISPRD) is an AdjunctProfessor of the University of Western Australia. A plantbreeder and geneticist by training, he has over threedecades of experience in chickpea genetics and breeding.He led the global chickpea breeding program ofICRISAT for 17 years (2001-2017) during which 65chickpea varieties were released in eight countries fromICRISAT-bred material. He was Chair of the International Steering Committeefor the Seventh International Food Legume Research Conference (IFLRC-VII)held in Morocco in 2018. He is recipient of Doreen Margaret Mashler Award,the highest scientific award of ICRISAT. He has published over 180 journalarticles, edited three books and contributed over 60 papers/chapters inproceedings and books.Current AffairsCan India sustain high growth of pulses production?POORAN GAURIndia has made remarkable progress inenhancing production of pulses during the past 15years. During 2005-06, the total production of pulsesin India was 13.38 million MT, which increased to25.58 million MT during 2020-21. This shows animpressive growth of 91% or a compound annualgrowth rate (CAGR) of 4.42%. During 2020-21,chickpea had a lion’s share of 49.3% in the total pulsesproduction. Among remaining pulses, pigeonpeacontributed 16.2%, mungbean 10.3%, urdbean 9.3%,lentil 4.9% and other pulses 9.9%. During the past 15years, the highest growth in production was observedfor mungbean (178%), followed by chickpea (125%),urdbean (90%), pigeonpea (51%) and lentil (34%).This is a big leap by India towards attaining self-sufficiency in pulses. This has been possible becauseof the recent mission mode approach adopted by thecountry in boosting pulses production. Thecontributing factors to this success include (1)availability of high yielding cultivars well adapted todifferent environments and growing conditions, (2)improved crop production technologies, (3) enhanceduptake of improved cultivars and productiontechnologies through knowledge empowerment offarmers and by ensuring supply of quality seed andother inputs (establishing 15 seed hubs, conductinglarge number of demonstrations on improved cultivarsand best production technologies, etc), (4) expansionof the area of pulses in rice-fallows, spring/summerseason and other non-traditional areas, and (5)government policies in favor of pulses.The dedicated efforts of Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR) through Indian Instituteof Pulses Research (IIPR) and various All IndiaCoordinated Research Projects (AICRPs) on Pulsesand a network of partners have made significantachievements in development of high yielding cultivarsand their production technologies. Partnership ofICAR with international institutes, particularlyICRISAT in chickpea (desi and kabuli) and pigeonpea;ICARDA in lentil, chickpea (kabuli) and grasspea; andWorld Vegetable Center in mungbean and urdbean,have been very fruitful. Germplasm and breedingmaterials supplied by these institutes have contributedto development of several widely grown cultivars. Forexample, short-duration chickpea varieties, such asJG 11 and JAKI 9218, developed in collaboration withICRISAT contributed significantly to expandingchickpea area in southern India. The National FoodSecurity Mission (NFSM) launched by the Ministry ofAgriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of Indiain 2007 boosted efforts on outreach activities on pulses.One of the greatest success stories for pulses inIndia is the spectacular increase in area andproductivity of chickpea in central and southern India,outperforming rest of the world (all chickpea growingcountries excluding India) in chickpea production.During the past four decades (1979-2019), chickpeaproduction in central and southern India increasedby 445% (from 1.27 to 6.95 million MT) due to 177%increase in area (2.42 to 6.71 million ha) and 97%increase in yield (527 to 1036 kg/ha), while in the rest2 Journal of  Food Legumes 34(1), 2021of the world, chickpea production increased by 133 %(1.85 to 4.31 million MT) due to 49% increase in area(2.80 to 4.17 million ha) and 57% increase in yield(659 to 1033 kg/ha). This outstanding achievementby India in chickpea production in central andsouthern India largely remained unnoticed, as bulk ofthis increased production went in compensating forthe huge reduction in chickpea production occurredin northern India, which was due to replacement ofchickpea with wheat and other irrigated crops in about4 million ha (almost equivalent to the total chickpeaarea of the rest of the world). Expansion of wheat areawas crucial for India for ensuring food security and,fortunately, expansion in chickpea area in central andsouthern India fully compensated for the loss inchickpea area occurred in Northern India.India has ample opportunities and capabilitiesto sustain this high growth of pulses production. Thereis a need to maintain this momentum and makeadequate and sustained investments in pulses researchand developments and provide favorable policysupport for boosting pulses production.The crop improvement programs are now betterequipped to develop varieties in relatively shorterperiod and meeting the existing and evolvingrequirements of farmers, consumers and the industries.The crop improvement scientists now have access toadvanced tools and techniques to realize high geneticgains. These include genomics resources and highthroughput phenotyping methods for achieving highprecision and efficiency in breeding; rapid generationadvancement methods for speed breeding; novelcrossing methods, such as multiparent advancedgeneration intercross (MAGIC) method for enhancinggenetic recombination; and efficient data managementsystems for making better decisions. The researchprograms need to be adequately funded so that thesecan develop/upgrade research facilities and havetrained human resources needed to integrate moderntools and techniques and gain enhanced efficiency.Some the areas which need greater attention indevelopment of varieties/hybrids include (1) improvedresilience to climate change and adaptability to newniches (early maturity, heat tolerance, etc), (2) region-specific hybrids of pigeonpea with suitable maturityduration and efficient seed production and geneticpurity assessment system, (3) traits that facilitatemechanization (suitability to machine harvesting,herbicide tolerance), (4) further enhanced nutritionalquality (protein, iron and zinc contents), and (5) traitsneeded by the industries. The crop improvementprograms should consider exploitation of wild speciesfor introgression of novel genes conferring resistance/tolerance to existing and emerging biotic and abioticstresses and controlling other desired traits for whichgenetic variability in the cultivated germplasm is notadequate.Though pulses already have appreciable amountof protein and micronutrients, opportunities exit forfurther enhancing protein content by 20 to 30% andsome of the micronutrients, such as iron (Fe) and zinc(Zn), by 50 to 100%. The crop improvement programsshould aim for mainstreaming these traits indevelopment of breeding materials, so that all futurevarieties have higher contents of protein andmicronutrients, and the consumers can get highernutritional benefits even if they consume the samequantity of pulses.India still has vast scope of bringing additionalarea under pulses cultivations. Concerted efforts needto continue on expanding area of pulses in rice-fallowsavailable in eastern and southern states and promotingspring/summer cultivation of mungbean and urdbeanin areas with assured irrigation.Wide yield gaps still exist between the realizedand potential yields of pulses with varying rangeacross crops and geographies. There is a need to mapyield gaps for each pulse crop in major growinggeographies, identify the major contributing factors toyield gaps, and develop suitable strategies for bridgingthe yield gaps. This will involve targeted developmentof improved varieties and production technologiesand enhancing their adoption by empowering thefarmers with required knowledge and inputs supply.Crop production technologies which are expectedto have high potential impacts on production of pulsesneed to be given special attention. These include (1)planting methods, such as raised bed and ridge andfurrow methods, to avoid water logging in rainy seasonpulses, (2) integrated water management and efficientirrigations systems to ensure need-based supplementalirrigations to post rainy season pulses, (3) soil-testbased application of fertilizers to meet the requirementsof both macro and micronutrients, (4) enhancedmechanization in pulses cultivation, and (5)promoting conservation agriculture. It is alsoimportant to promote efficient and cost-effective seed/grain storage methods to minimize losses duringstorage. Development of pulses value chain involvingfarmers among the value chain actors would beimportant to provide much-needed additional incometo farmers.Pulses would continue to be important in Indiain the diets of people for nutritional benefits and insustaining agriculture production systems. Thedemand of pulses will continue to escalate because ofpopulation growth and increasing awareness ofconsumers about the nutritional benefits of pulses.Can India sustain high growth of pulses production? 3There are not many countries exporting pulses thatare in high consumption in India (desi chickpea,pigeonpea, mungbean, and urdbean). Thus, Indiashould continue concerted efforts towards achievingself-sufficiency in pulses. The rapid strides taken byIndia in pulses production in the recent years and thevast opportunities available for increasing both areaand productivity of pulses in the country suggest thatIndia is well-positioned to achieve self-sufficiency inpulses.

Can India sustain high growth of pulses production?

http://oar.icrisat.org/11844/1/Dr%20Pooran%20Gaur%27s%20Article%20in%20Journal%20of%20Food%20Legumes.pdf

Can India sustain high growth of pulses production?

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