CONTENTS

VOLUME 24, No. 3 JULY - SEPTEMBER, 2013

News 1-4 Minister of State for Agriculture, GoI

Applauded the Institute Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Visited the

Institute Institute Foundation Day Celebrated Director General, CIMMYT, Mexico

Visited IIPR Annual Group Meets of AICRPs NICRA Review Meeting Held at IIPRResearch Highlights 4-6 New Varieties Identified Macrophomina phaseolina Causes

Dry Root-rot in Chickpea Primary Invasion of Bruchid in

Pigeonpea and Chickpea Variability for Macro-and Micro-

nutrients in Lentil Enhanced Photosynthesis by Carbon

Nano-tubes Infestation of Convolvulus Arvensis in

Rice under RCT Trial A Leaf Rot of Pigeonpea RCT for Enhancing Pulses

Productivity in Rice Fallows Diversity Studies in Pigeonpea

Varietiesi zkS| ksfxdh gLrkarj .k 7 d"̀kd i zf' k{k.k dk; ZØe vk; ksft r [ kjhQ nyguh Ql yksa ds cht mRi knu i j

i zf' k{k.k vk; ksft r fgUnh fnol dk vk; kst uDirector’s Desk 8

EDITORIAL COMMITTEEDr. N. Nadarajan ChairmanDr. P.S. Basu MemberDr. M.S. Venkatesh MemberDr. Jitendra Kumar MemberDr. Naimuddin MemberMr. D. Upadhyaya Member Secretary

Dr. Charan Das Mahant,Hon’ble Minister of State forAgriculture and FoodProcessing Industries, GoI,v isited the Insti tute onSeptember 22, 2013. On thisoccasion, Dr. N. Nadarajan,Director briefed him about thesignificant achievements of theInstitute towards increasingpulses production and productivity inthe country. Hon’ble Minister, while

addressing the scientists and staff ofIIPR exhorted to work harder for fulfilling

the goals in achieving nutritionalsecurity. Hon’ble Minister visitedthe museum and f ieldexperiments, besidesTechnology Park of the Institute.He expressed happiness andsaid that IIPR is playing asignificant role in increasingproduction of pulses in thecountry.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Visited the InstituteDr. M. S. Swaminathan,

popularly known as the 'Father ofGreen Revolution in India', a globallyacclaimed scientist and FounderChairman, M.S. SwaminathanResearch Foundation, Chennai visitedthe Institute on September 2, 2013. Dr.Swapan K. Datta, Deputy DirectorGeneral (CS), ICAR, was also presenton the occasion. Dr. Swaminathanaddressed the scientists and staff ofthe Institute and visited the fieldexperiments and Institute Museum. He

expressed happiness over thedevelopment in pulses research andappreciated the efforts of the Instituteto eradicate protein hunger in thecountry. He expressed his best wishesto Institute to get success in the efforts tomake India self reliant in pulses production.

Minister of State for Agriculture, GoIApplauded the Institute

2 Indian Institute of Pulses Research

Indian Insti tute of PulsesResearch (IIPR) celebrated its 21st

Foundation Day on September 5,2013. Prof. Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, CSJM University, Kanpurwas the Chief Guest for the occasionand Director, National Sugar Institute,Kanpur, Mr. Narendra Mohan was theGuest of Honour. Dr. N.P. Singh,Project Coordinator (Chickpea)welcomed the hon’ble guests.

Prof . Ashok Kumar in hisinaugural speech expressed hisconcern over the declining per capita

availability of pulses. He added that ifquality seeds and matching productiontechniques are made available to thefarmers, the production can beenhanced by 25-30%. He urged thescientists to develop technologies thatcan help farmers to overcome

Institute Foundation Day Celebratedproduction constraints.Mr. Narendra Mohanexpressed concern overnon-availability of highquality seeds andadvanced productiontechniques to farmers. Hesuggested that farmersshould be a part of variousresearch basedprogrammes for getting good results.

Dr. N. Nadarajan, Director,highlighted the achievements andvarious on-going activ ities of the

Institute including national andinternational programmes. Hestated that besides release ofthree high yielding varieties ofpulses viz., IPL 316 of lentil, IPFD6-3 of fieldpea and IPA 203 ofpigeonpea developed at IIPR thisyear, scientists at the Institutehave also identified much neededheat tolerant variety of chickpeathat will be shortly available for

cultivation. The online "PulsExpert"system developed by IIPR to identifydiseases in pulse crops and theirremedies is benefiting the farmers. TheInstitute organized an InternationalTraining Programme wherein 30Afghanistan officials were trained onvarious pulse production technologies

in dry areas, he added.

On this occasion, four newpublications viz., Pulses for HumanHealth and Nutrition, Rabi PulsesProduction in Central India, WeedManagement Technology in PulseCrops and Chickpea Cultivation inDryland of India were released.

During the function, Dr. NarendraKumar was awarded the Best ScientistAward 2013. Dr. M.P. Singh wasawarded as Best Worker in TechnicalCategory. Sh. Sukadeo Mahto and Sh.Akhil Kumar were awarded as BestWorker in the Administrative andSupporting Categories, respectively.Vote of thanks was proposed by Dr.Sanjeev Gupta. Later in the evening, acultural programme was held, where inchildren of staff members performeddances and songs, which wereappreciated by one and all.

Director General, CIMMYT, Mexico Visited IIPRDr. Thomas A. Lumpkin, DG,

CIMMYT, Dr. Etienne Duveiller, DirectorResearch, Borlaug Institute for SouthAsia and Dr. M. L. Jat, CIMMYT visited

IIPR on September 2, 2013. Dr. N.Nadarajan, Director, IIPR appraisedthem about on-going researchprogrammes especially the progress in

genomics, transgenics anddevelopment of pulse varieties. Theyalso visited the biotechnology lab andappreciated the excellentinfrastructure facilities. They alsovisited experimental f ields. Dr.Jagdish Singh briefed them onconservation agriculture, resourceconservation technologies, pulsebased cropping systems and dripfertigation scheduling. Dr. Lumpkin

CongratulationsDr. Indra Prakash

Singh, Principal Scientist(Pigeonpea Breeding),Div ision of CropImprovement of thisInstitute joined as Project

Coordinator (AICRP on Pigeonpea) onJuly 3, 2013.

expressed his appreciation on theresearch work at IIPR and showedinterest to have collaboration with theInstitute.

Pulses Newsletter : July - September, 2013 3

Annual Group Meets of AICRPsv The Annual Group Meet of AllIndia Coordinated Research Project onChickpea was held on August 24-26,2013 at Jawaharlal Nehru KrishiVishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur. About 130delegates from cooperating centres of

SAU’s, ICAR Insti tutes, StateDepartment of Agriculture, SeedAgencies and Farm Cooperationsattended the group meet.

Dr. Ram Krishna Kusmaria,Hon’ble Minister, Farmer Welfare andAgriculture Development, Govt. ofMadhya Pradesh chaired the inauguralsession. In his remarks, heemphasized the importance of pulsesspecial ly chickpea for MadhyaPradesh. The Chief Guest, Shri IshwarDas Rohani, Hon’ble Speaker, VidhanSabha (M.P.) mentioned theimportance of pulses in human health.The Guest of Honor at the occasion,Dr. Swapan K. Datta, Dy. DirectorGeneral (Crop Science), ICAR, raisedcertain researchable issues. Dr. VijaySingh Tomar, Vice-Chancellor, JNKKV,Jabalpur recalled the significantcontribution of the University indeveloping high yielding varieties andtechnologies. Dr. B.B. Singh, Asstt.Director General (O&P), ICAR,emphasized the role of short durationvarieties in increasing the pulseproduction.

Dr. N. Nadarajan, Director, IIPR,emphasized the role of research and

development activities in increasing thepulses production. Dr. N. P. Singh,Project Coordinator (Chickpea)presented the research highlights of theproject. Two publications viz., Souvenirand Jaiv Urvarkon Evam Molybdenum

Dwara ChanaUtpadakta VridhiTaknik were alsoreleased on thisoccasion. Laterin the technicals e s s i o n s ,programmes ofv a r i o u sdisciplines werediscussed andfinalized.

v The Rabi Group Meet of AICRP onMULLaRP was held at IGKV, Raipuron September 17-18, 2013. Themeeting was inaugurated by HisExcellency the Governor ofChhattisgarh, Shri Shekhar Dutt, inpresence of Hon’ble Minister, Govt. ofChhattisgarh for Agriculture, AnimalHusbandry, Fisheries and Labour, ShriChandra Shekhar Sahu, Dr. B.B.Singh, ADG (O&P), ICAR, Dr. N.Nadarajan, Director IIPR, Dr. S.K. Patil,Vice-Chancellor, IGKV, Raipur and Dr.Sanjeev Gupta, Project Coordinator,MULLaRP. About 80 scientistsattended the Group Meet.

Expressing his concern over lowper capita availability of pulses, theGovernor of Chhattisgarh emphasisedon increasingthe productionof pulses andoilseeds in thecountry. Hes ug g e st e dthat alongwith theagri cu l turedepartments,al l the 52

SAUs should also take up targetedresponsibility for enhancing pulse areaand production in the areas under theirjurisdiction. Shri Chandra ShekharSahu expressed that lathyrus is anatural choice of Chhattisgarh farmersand the state should make perspectiveplan for increasing productivity andproduction of this crop.

In his address, Dr. Patil, statedthat India occupies 32% of global areaunder pulse crops, however, accountsfor only 22% of global pulse production.Due to this mismatch in area andproduction in India, per personavailability of pulses has come downto 20-30 g, which used to be 50 g inthe fifties. He said that lathyrus is thesecond most important rabi crop in thestate and the IGKV has madesignificant contribution by releasingPrateek and Mahateora varieties oflathyrus which are very low in ODAPcontent.

Dr. N. Nadarajan gave a briefscenario of pulse production in India.He pointed out that despite severalproduction related issues, India couldregister record pulse productionrecently, which clearly indicates thatefforts by pulse scientists and differentagencies involved with pulse seedproduction and farmers are bearingfruits. Two publications prepared by theIGKV scientists were released in themeeting. Later, the technicalprogrammes of different disciplineswere discussed and finalized.

4 Indian Institute of Pulses Research

Research Highlights

New Varieties IdentifiedIPFD 10-12: This green seeded dwarffieldpea variety developed from thecross IPF 99-25 x EC 384275 has beenidentif ied for Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Bundelkhand region ofU.P., Gujarat and South Rajasthan. Itmatures in 109 days with average yieldof 2176 kg/ha, an yield advantage of17% over the check variety Adarsh. Itis resistant to powdery mildew disease.

HFP 715: This dwarf fieldpea varietydeveloped through the cross DMR 50x HFP 9948 has been identified forHimachal Pradesh, J & K, hills ofUttarakhand and NEH states. Itsaverage yield is 1531 kg/ha with anyield advantage of about 11% overthe check variety Prakash. It isresistant to powdery mildew disease.

SRJ 1: This rajmash variety developedfrom selection from a local land raceKRC 8 has been identified for easternU.P., Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. Itsaverage yield is 1286 kg/ha with anyield advantage of about 19% over thecheck variety PDR 14. The seeds arelarge and variegated magenta in colour.

GJG 0809: This chickpea varietydeveloped from the cross GJG 9707 xIPC 97-7 has been identified for Jammu& Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,

Uttarakhand and NEH region. Itsaverage yield is 1500-1600 kg/ha withmaturity duration of 157-160 days. Ithas attractive brown colour mediumsize seeds and semi-erect growthhabit. It is moderately resistant to wilt,stunt and root-rot and tolerant toAscochyta blight.

CSJ 515: This chickpea varietydeveloped from the cross FG 712 x CSJ146 has been identified for rainfed areasof NWPZ i.e., North-West Rajasthan,Punjab, Haryana, western UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi. It issemi-erect in nature with profusebranching. Its average yield is 2400 kg/ha and matures in 135 days. It ismoderately resistant against wilt, dryroot rot, collar rot and tolerant againstBGM and Ascochyta blight.

GLK 28127: This chickpea varietydeveloped from the cross GLK 88016x FLIP 88-34C has been identified forNorth-West Rajasthan, Punjab,Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand and Delhi. Its foliagecolour is light green. Seeds are large(34-40 g/100 seeds) and of light yellowor creamy colour with irregular owlshead. Its average yield is 2100 kg/haand matures in 149 days.

NICRA Review MeetingHeld at IIPR

The on-going project on NationalInitiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture(NICRA) was reviewed by the NationalCoordinator of the Project Dr. B.Venkateswarlu and PrincipalInvestigator Dr. M. Maheswari fromCRIDA, Hyderabad on September 25,2013 at IIPR. Dr. Venkateswarluhighlighted the need of climate resilientagriculture and focused on specificobjectives. The overview of project andsalient achievements were presented

by Dr. N. Nadarajan, Director. AllCCPI's from coordinating centres, Co-PIs and research fellows participatedin this meeting. The salientachievements of the IIPR componentof NICRA, included two extra earlymungbean accessions for summer andpromising heat and drought tolerantlines of urdbean and pigeonpeaidentif ied in the project. Theexperiments carried out undercontrolled greenhouse, rainout shelterand wild garden of Vigna were visitedand appreciated by the NationalCoordinator.

Macrophomina phaseolina Causes Dry Root-rot in ChickpeaChickpea dry root-rot infected

samples were collected from GKVK,Bangalore. Dry root-rot pathogen wasisolated. The pathogen produced palewhite colored mycelium in the initialstages of the growth, but later turnedto dark brown to black. The sclerotiavaried in shape andsize with growthpattern of scatteredto clustered. Initially,the pathogen wastentatively identifiedas Rhizoctonia

bataticola on the basis of morphologicalcharacters. However, subsequently thepathogen was identif ied asMacrophomina phaseolina (IMI No.501440) on the basis of morphologicaland cultural characters and growth offungus on media and its 100 %homology of ITS DNA sequence withauthentic ITS sequence of this speciesanalysis by CABI, UK.

M. phaseolina does not normallysporulate in culture as was the casewith this isolate; only sclerotia areproduced. This species is a pathogen

causing dark brown to black rootlesions, silvery discoloration of theepidermal and sub-epidermal layer ofstem bases and tap roots andeventually spreading up the vascularand pith tissues of stems formingnumerous sclerotia along the vascularelements and bordering the pith cavityinfected plants appear stunted andripen prematurely.

Gowdra Nagamma and M. SaifullaUniversity of Agriculture Sciences,

G.K.V.K., BangaloreSclerotia of

M. phaseolina

Pulses Newsletter : July - September, 2013 5

Primary Invasion of Bruchid in Pigeonpeaand Chickpea

A study was conducted to knowthe possibilities of occurance of bruchidCallosobruchus chinensis invasion instanding pulse crops raised without anyinsecticidal exposure. The per centinfestation wasdetermined byaccounting thebrooch hole(s)on pod or seedand succeedinge m e r g e dbruchids on thecollected pod

samples from the farm at crop maturity.The farm invasion of bruchid on podsof early pigeonpea (cv. UPAS 120), latematuring pigeonpea (together on cv.NDA 1 and Bahar) and chickpea (cv.JG 16) was recorded as 1.2, 1.5 and0.2%, respectively. The grain infestationin the field on these pulses wasrecorded as 0.31, 0.38 and 0.20 percent, respectively.

S.K. Singh, P. Duraimurugan*and Hem Saxena

*DOR, Hyderabad

Infestation ofConvolvulus Arvensisin Rice under RCT Trial

Convolvulus arvensis (f ieldbindweed), a climbing or creepingherbaceous perennial plant belongs tomorning glory family (Convolvulaceae).Normally it flowers in summer seasonand one plant can produce up to 520seeds. It is difficult to eradicate thisweed because its seeds remain viablein soil for 20 years. Its deep andextensive root system storescarbohydrates and protein and allowsit to sprout repeatedly from fragmentsand rhizomes following removal ofabove ground plant. During last year(2012), Convolvulus arvensis wasobserved in wheat and chickpea duringrabi season and in mungbean duringsummer season under the resourceconservation trials (RCT) viz., rice-wheat, rice-chickpea and rice-chickpea-mungbean. This year

infestation of this weed was observedin rice field also. Bispyribac-sodiumwas applied as early post-emergenceherbicide to control weeds in rice.However, this weed was visible even15-18 days after herbicide application.It started flowering at early stage, butreached to its full bloom when rice cropwas at maturity and about to harvestin 15-20 days.

Narendra Kumar and S.L. Yadav

Enhanced Photosynthesis by Carbon Nano-tubesGreengram seedlings

treated with soluble carbonnano-tubes showed increase inthe mesophyll cell size andenhanced activ ity ofphotosynthesis. The enhancedphotosynthesis in isolatedmesophyll cells could be due toaccelerated electron flow fromphotosystem II to photosystem I andincreased quantum yield. Theseedlings under water stress alsoshowed increase in the photosynthesisas measured by chlorophyllfluorescence. The carbon nano-tubeswhen integrated with cellular system

may function as multiple electron flowsystem producing higher reductantsand ATP for carbon fixation.

P.S. Basu, Jagdish Singh andRuchika Gautam

Mesophyll cells isolated from leaves treated withcarbon nanoparticles (left) and normal CaCO3 (right)

Variability for Macro-and Micro-nutrients in LentilMg, 3513.25 to 7261.58 mg/kg for P,4.45 to 14.14 mg/kg for Cu, 37.41 to156.70 for Fe, 0.80 to 23.99 mg/kg forMn, 0.24 to 0.63 mg/kg for Se, 25.84to 64.86 mg/kg for Zn and from -0.06to 0.12 mg/kg for trace element, Cd.One of the small seeded entries IPL220, an AVT-1 entry in AIRCP trials,showed relatively higher macro-andmicro-nutrients as well as lowest levelof toxic element Cd.

Jitendra Kumar, Dil Thavarajah andDivya Mahato

Content of 10 important macro-micro-and trace elements, namely,calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg),phosphorus (P), potassium (K), copper(Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn),selenium (Se), zinc (Zn) and cadmium(Cd) was studied in the seeds of 96accessions of lentil including breedinglines, varieties, parental lines andexotic lines. The preliminary resultsshowed a range of variability for thesenutrients. It varied from 43.11 to 494mg/kg for Ca, 4771.43 to 9633.90 mg/kg for K, 139.98 to 829.46 mg/kg for

Emergence holes ofC. chinensis from the

field collected pod

6 Indian Institute of Pulses Research

A Leaf Rot of PigeonpeaA leaf rot disease of pigeonpea

was observed in village Barhapur(Akbarpur) in Kanpur Dehat districtduring September, 2013. Water soakedspots on the leaf lamina that turned intobrownish spot were covered with thickmycelium. There were si lveryconidiophores that bore black conidialheads. Lesions were initially like thatof Phytophthora drechsleri (causalfungus of Phytophthora stem blight)infection. However, on mature lesions,presence of thick mycelium and black

conidial heads on silvery conidiophoresdifferentiated them from those due toPhytophthora drechsleri. Also unlikePhytophthora blight, there were nolesions on petioles and stems. Theaffected leaflets/leaf appeared to turnyellow and finally fall. Based onmicroscopic examination of the fungusin the laboratory, the fungus wasidentif ied as Choenophoracucurbitarum. The leaf bl ight ofpigeonpea caused by Choenophoracucurbitarum is known to occur and isnot observed regularly, but the highincidence as noticed in the presentcase might be due to prevailing weatherconditions that favoured thedevelopment and spread of thisdisease. Infection of this fungus wasmore on the leaves affected by leaffolder insect.

Naimuddin, Mohd. Akram, C.S.Praharaj, Purushottam and R.K. Singh

Diversity Studies inPigeonpea Varieties

Sixty two pigeonpea varietieswere characterized for 21 distinctness,uniformity and stability (DUS) traits inorder to protect these varieties underthe Protection of Plant Varieties andFarmers' Rights Act (PPV&FRA) atIIPR. The varieties studied for essentialgrouping traits showed that podwaxiness was absent in all releasedvarieties although waxiness is presentamong germplasm accessions. Basedon growth habits, 8 varieties wereclassified as determinate type, whilerest (54) were of indeterminate growthhabit. Eigteen varieties were classifiedas early, 33 medium, 11 late and 2 asvery late types based on days toflowering. The released varieties alsoshowed high level of diversity for graincolour, where 43 were of brown colour,12 creamy white and 7 had dark brownseed colour.

Basudeb Sarkar, I.P. Singh,Amrendra Pratap Singh and Desh Raj

RCT for Enhancing Pulses Productivity inRice Fallows

Resource conservationtechnology (RCT) deals with soilmoisture conservation, organic matterbuild-up and improvement in soilstructure and microbial population. The

progress made during the last two yearsunder RCT experiments showed thatthe moisture content at root zone (0-30 cm) was highest in rice straw mulch

practice, followed by rice stubblesalong with improved rice cultivar PantDhan 12 during all crop growth stages.However, lowest soil moisture contentwas recorded in no-mulch and localcultivar of rice. Soil moisture at thedepth of 40 cm was observedsignificantly higher in mulch (8.7%) thanno-mulch (6.4%) and stubbles (6.8%)at the time of chickpea harvesting. Themagnitude of results showed thatmulch and stubble gave significantlyhigher (16.6%) chickpea yield over nomulch, besides improving the microbialstatus (soi l dehydrogenase andSMBC) and RWC.

Narendra Kumar, P.S. Basu, P.K.Ghosh, M.S. Venkatesh, K.K. Hazra,

C.S. Praharaj, Senthil Kumar, ArtiYadav and Saumya Singh

Personnel

Promotions

Appointment

TransferMr. Deen Dayal Kumar, Technical

Information (T-3) was relieved on 31.7.2013 ontransfer to NDRI, Karnal.Retirement

Mr. Anil Kumar Saxena, Asstt. AdministrativeOfficer, retired on superannuation on 31.7.2013.Obituary

Mr. Balaram Singh, Sr. Technical Assistant,left for heavenly abode on September 6, 2013.May his soul rest in Peace.

Name Post Date of joiningMr. Mayank Mishra Jr. Clerk 19.9.2013

Name Promoted to W.e.f. Mr. Desh Raj Chief

Tech. Officer 1.7.2012

Mr. S.K. Garg Asstt.Chief Tech. Officer

24.2.2011

Mr. Ramesh Chandra Asstt.Chief Tech. Officer

17.6.2013

Mr. Jokhu Ram Asstt.Chief Tech. Officer

3.2.2010

Dr. Aditya Prakash Asstt.Chief Tech. Officer

3.2.2010

Smt. Rashmi Yadav Senior Tech. Officer

7.1.2013

Pulses Newsletter : July - September, 2013 7

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8 Indian Institute of Pulses Research

Published by Dr. N. Nadarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur-208 024Tel. : 0512-2570264; EPBAX Lines : 0512- 2572464, 2572465; Fax : 0512-2572582

E-mail : director@iipr.ernet.in ; n.nadarajan@gmail.com; Website; http://www.iipr.res.in

Printed at Army Printing Press, 33, Nehru Road, Sadar Cantt. Lucknow-226 002. Tel. : 0522-2481164, 6565333

Director’s DeskDear Readers,

Self-sufficiency in pulse productionin the country had been one of the majorobjectives of the Indian agriculture sincelong. This target was partially achievedthrough development of many highyielding, disease and pest resistantvarieties, matching with diverse climaticconditions across the country. However,the projected demand of the country infuture is much more higher than thepresent day production, therefore toachieve the projected target overallfactors determining the increase inproduction level of pulses need tobe critically analyzed. The recenttrend indicated that India is movingtowards self-sufficiency in pulseproduction with a higher growth ratethan cereals in spite of the fact thatpulses suffer from many constraints.The factor analysis showed that thereare several components involved inincreasing the production of pulsesother than the strong research backup. The production of pulses in thecountry has tremendously improvedduring the recent years. According tothe 4th advance estimates of DAC thepulses production during 2012-13 is18.45 million tonnes which is an all-timehigh level.

It is noteworthy to record that therainfall in the country as a whole duringSouth-West monsoon 2013 (1st June to30th September) is 6% in excess of thenormal. It is above normal or excess overall the four pulse growing meteorologicalregions except East and North-EastIndia, where it was 28% deficit. In centralIndia, the pulse bowl of the country, therainfall is 23% above the normal as perthe latest data of IMD. Because of goodmonsoon and better reservoir position,the recent report of Prime Minister’sEconomic Advisory Council (PMEAC) hasforecasted that the output of food grainswill be a new record this year. The reportforecasted that output of pulses may becrossing 20 million tonnes, the highestoutput level ever recorded. As per the firstadvance estimates (released on24.09.2013), production of kharif pulsesin the current season is likely to be 6.01million tonnes, which is higher than the

average production by 0.42million tonnes mainly due  to higher  thanaverage production of pigeonpea and urdbean. The total kharif sown area underpulses during the week ending on4.10.2013 stands at 106.41 lakh hectareas compared to 101.48 hectare last year.There is an increase of 5 lakh hectaresarea under pulses. Export of pulses fromIndia has been banned since June 27,2006, except the export of kabulichickpea, and 10,000 tonnes of organicpulses and lentil. Before the ban, India

exported around 447.44 thousand tonnesduring 2005-06, which then fell to 250.7thousand tonnes during 2006-07 (44%decline). Ban on export of pulses wasfurther extended by a year till March 2014to enhance the domestic supply. Customduty on import of pulses has beenreduced to zero with effect from June 8,2006 and is extended up to 31-3-2014.Along with the ban on exports, to ensuretheir availability and check prices, thegovernment imposes stock holding limiton pulses which was recently extendedup to September 30, 2014. This decisionwould help in taking effective de-hoardingoperations by fixing stock limits andlicensing requirements in respect ofpulses.

W ith technological back up/interventios of National AgriculturalResearch System and financial supportof Planning Commission and Ministry ofAgriculture, Govt. of India, severalschemes have been launched during XIPlan period to boost pulses production.

The central governmentannounces the minimum support prices(MSP) for a host of crops every year. Thisyear while announcing the MSP for kharifcorps, the support price of pigeonpea hasbeen hiked by Rs. 450 to Rs. 4,300/q thisyear. The price of mungbean has beenincreased by Rs. 100 to Rs. 4,500, whilefor urdbean it has been retained at lastyear’s level of Rs. 4,300, After 2007-08the MSP for pulses were increasedsharply. The government has allowed thefollowing four agencies to procure

pulses at MSP from the farmersunder Price Support Scheme(PSS):NAFED (National AgriculturalCooperative Marketing Federation ofIndia)., Small Farmers’ AgribusinessConsortium (SFAC): through theFarmer Producer Organisations(FPOs); Central WarehousingCorporation (CWC) and NationalCooperative Consumers’ Federation(NCCF). However farmer is notassured of procurement of hisproduce when the market price islower than the government’sminimum support price (MSP).Hence the announcement of MSP for

pulses is not serving its purpose. In manymarkets, prices of pulses are lower thanthe MSP announced by the government.Government should implement its policyfor procurement of farmers’ produce atMSP whenever the market prices arebelow the MSP.

Consistent policy support ofGovernment, followed by innovativeapproach integrated with strong researchback up will provide confidence forsustained pulse production in India inyears to come. The favourable monsoonfor the last 2-3 years boosting pulseproduction is a clear indication thatminimum life support irrigation canenhance pulse productivity considerablyand probably the most critical input whichhas not yet drawn attention of pulsegrowers, hence popularization of micro-irrigation techniques appears to beessential to enhance pulse productivityunder rainfed situations.

(N. Nadarajan)