Pulses occupy an important place in Indian agriculture. They provide protein and fibre, and are a great source of vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc and magnesium. In India, pulses are grown over an area of 2.38 crore hectares with a total production of 1.86 crore tonnes. The average yield of pulses in India is about 735 kg/hectare. Pulses are generally grown in irrigated as well as rainfed area and belong to leguminaceae family. Madhya Pradesh is the leading state in India in pulses, in terms of cultivated area and productivity.

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Environment benefits:

• Pulse crops are important components of production systems that are resilient to climate change.
• Pulses are able to convert nitrogen in the atmosphere into compounds in the soil. This process is known as nitrogen fixation.
• Some (types) of pulses are also able to free soil-bound phosphorous. Both nitrogen and phosphorus are essential nutrients for growing plants.
• The ability to produce them naturally drastically reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides while at the same time improving yields.
• The less fertilizers and pesticides applied, the lower the risk of environmental contamination and unintended effects on the environment.
• Including pulses in intercropping farming systems and cultivating them as cover crops not only reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers, but also helps reduce soil erosion, thus contributing to the creation of healthy soils.
• Healthy soils, are in turn, better able to retain moisture and facilitate the uptake of nutrients by plants.
• Pulses in general need lesser water compared to rice, wheat and sugarcane. This in turn helps in conserving the dwindling ground water resources and help the dry-land farming grow.
• The reduced need for synthetic fertilizers indirectly reduces the level of greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere.
• Fertilizers are energy intensive and a significant source of emissions. At the same time, pulses also promote higher rates of accumulation of soil carbon than cereals or grasses.
• Including pulses in intercropping farming systems and cultivating them as cover crops creates a more diverse environment at the field level.
• This, in turn, supports a broader range of insects and “wildlife” above ground and in the range of bacteria and fungi in the soil.
• The presence of this broader range of insects and microbial life provides for a more resilient “ecosystem” that helps keep harmful insects, diseases and pathogens in check, thus reducing the need (to) use pesticides.
• There are hundreds of different varieties of pulses and only a limited number of these are widely grown.
• It is from this diversity that climate-resilient varieties (which are adaptive) to changes in temperature and have the ability to grown in poor soils or under drought conditions can be derived.
• Since climate experts suggested that heat stress will be the biggest threat to bean production in the coming decades, the improved pulse varieties will be of critical importance, especially for low-input agricultural production systems.

Economic benefits:

• Pulses contribute to food security in a number of ways.
• They represent an important source of food.
• They can be a source of income for the farmer, simply by selling some of what has been produced.
• The possibility of further processing or value addition may be another source of revenue while also generating employment opportunities.
• The crop residues left after harvest may be used to feed livestock, further contributing to a diversified diet and potential source of income.
• Pulses production can help curb the import bill of the country which can be used for other socio-economic development.
• Minimum support price for pulses is expected to help push up their output and thereby contain food inflation

Way forward:

• New research efforts should be initiated to achieve a breakthrough in the productivity.
• Innovative ideas need to be implemented instead of conducting routine research and material evaluation.
• Scientists to work for development of shorter duration, widely adaptable and biotic and abiotic stress resistant varieties to boost the production of pulses.
• Modernization of pulse breeding programme, supporting genetic gains through transgenic technology, enhancing biological nitrogen fixation through development of super nodulating plant types and breeding short duration varieties for achieving self sufficiency in pulses.
• Extension workers and agriculture technology information centers should work more towards development and dissemination of newer technologies.

Conclusion:

India need to produce 40-50 lakh tonnes of additional pulses for meeting the domestic requirement and this can be possible only if we develop high yielding short duration, drought and insect-pest resistance varieties of pulses. The important role that pulses can play in sustainable crop production systems, in particular through their contribution to improved soil fertility and to agro-biodiversity along with providing a balanced and healthy diet as evidenced by their use by the World Food Programme and other food aid initiatives makes it a naturally optimal choice.