Ways to improve PULSES Production and Farmers' incomes

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Pulses provide low returns per hectare, but higher pulses production means improved soil fertility, reduced malnutrition and import substitution. Profitability can be achieved by incentivising production and improving productivity of existing cultivations, as well as growing pulses in vacant rice fallows (or crop fallows) as a second crop of the year. 

Incentivise higher production by higher MSPs and higher pulses procurement for PDS: eg. higher production during 2017-18 (a record 23.2mt, up 2mt) reduced imports in next 9mo from 5mt to 1.8mt. But release of stocks below MSP led to a reduction in acreage devoted to pulses. Cultivate pulses in rice fallows

Improve productivity (high-yielding seeds and better technologies) & Reduce yield variations (drought tolerant varieties, irrigation and better technologies) 

Area expansion to rice or crop fallows, where they can enhance farmers' incomes for a little extra water. Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has identified 8.5 mHa of rice fallows for growing pulses, and most are found in East and Central India: 5 mHa is found in Chhattisgarh & Odisha (3 mHa), Assam (1 mHa) and West Bengal (1 mHa). Cultivate pulses in rice fallows

Is Area expansion in rice fallows possible?

Pulses contain 20 – 25% vegetable protein, which is nearly 2-3 times the value generally found in cereals. Pulses production must be further increased as despite the increase in recent years, the per capita availability at 33 g/person/day is well below recommended levels. What of the 11.7 mHa of unutilised rice fallow for enhancing pulses? Pulses are complementary to rice cultivation due to their nitrogen fixing properties and low water consumption.

Some factors to consider are soil moisture content, use of suitable crops & varieties, eg. short duration pulses such as lentils, grass seeds and chickpeas, and factors such as annual variation in rainfall, socio-economic (willingness to adopt, cost factors) and ecological (soil, pests, weeds, impact of other crops). In West Bengal, a study found 60% of selected rice fallows were suitable or moderately suitable for growing lentils. http://repo.mel.cgiar.org/handle/20.500.11766/7772 Relay/para-cropping /utera cropping is widely practised on cultivated rice fallows and is responsible for poor pulses yields: Seeds of succeeding crops like lentil, gram, pea, lathyrus, berseem, linseed etc. is sown broadcast in maturing, standing rice crop. This practice saves time and money (spent on land preparation etc.), utilizes residual fertility and moisture and is common in both upland (ie. under severe water deficiency) and lowland rice cultures.

Zero tillage method of cropping: Farmers in NE India are unable to grow a second crop on rice fallows because the post-rice growing period is short, there is water scarcity and lack of irrigation facilities to sustain a second crop, and because of high incidence of pests and diseases in the post-rice crops.

Zero tillage helps in timely sowing (October-November), conserves soil moisture, requires less water, saves tillage cost and time, protects soil from erosion due to the retention of surface residues and reduces organic matter depletion.

Field trials have shown that farmers who adopted zero tillage had increased productivity & reduced cost of cultivation (of rice), increased cropping intensity and earned an additional income with less effort. The improved version of this zero tillage cultivation with bee pollination and no chemical method of plant protection may be recommended to the resource poor farmers of the NE in the context of climate change. Zero tillage in rapeseed in rice fallows: ICAR
Efforts to enhance yield and increase survivability in rice-fallows
1. It is recommended that farmers use Zero tillage method with 1/3rd rice residue retention at harvesting. They should use healthy seeds and pest resistant cultivars.

2. New pulse varieties - early maturity is vital as it reduces crop duration and thus minimises crop loss at mid-season or terminal stages due to water deficiency.
3. New pulses varieties - should be not only high yielding but drought-tolerant, and suited for surface seeding (best for rice fallows). Ideally varieties should be amenable to mechanical harvesting. Research is ongoing for this.
4. As soil tends to be poor in N, P, Mo, Zinc, it is useful to add nutrients (2% urea/ DAP) and micro-nutrients, eg. perform pelleting of seeds with super phosphate and rhizobium culture and apply Molybdenum through seed priming.

5. Weeds are very likely due to water-logging in rice cultivation. Special chemical herbicides are used as under relay cropping, the standing rice crop can get affected by commonly used chemicals. Rice ratoons (re-growth of rice stubbles) is a threat to pusles as it uses scarce soil nutrients and moisture. Chemicals are needed to control this, eg. quizalofop-ethyl 100 g/ha, used at 15-20 days after pulses sowing. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329886836_Growing_Pulses_in_Rice_Fallow_Ensuring_Nutritional_Security_in_India