Production Technologies of Rabi crops

Pulses are rich source of protein and demand for protein is increasing by about 3% annually. Awareness about the role of the pulses in human food, animal feed and soil health is increasing day by day. With the increased in irrigated area, pulses are further being pushed to marginal and sub marginal lines because of their ability survive under adverse conditions. This adds atmospheric nitrogen in the soil besides meeting its own requirements of nitrogen.
The mode of adoption of various pulse crops in India is well reflected in the naturally existing plant types. The luxuriant growth, profuse production and shading of flowers, buds, pods and indeterminate and long duration growth habit are the factors the reflect domestication process aimed at maximum survival rather than maximum production.

 

Sowing time:

* Sowing time of crop before or beyond optimum period reduces the yield drastically

* Time and method of sowing in conjunction with availability of soil moisture determine the plant population

* Delay in sowing not only affect the seed germination but also crop yield

* The optimum sowing time for major rabi pulses are;

Crop	Time
Chickpea (Rainfed)	Ist Week of October
Chickpea (Irrigated)	2nd Week of November
Lentil	Last Week of October
Green Pea	3rd Week of November

 

Seed Rate and Crop Geometry:
Since legumes are spreading and bushy in nature, so there response to spacing is not consistent.

Crop	Seed rate (Kg/ha)	Spacing (cm)
Chickpea (Bold seed)	80-85	25 X 5
Chickpea (Small seed)	60-65	30 X 10
Chickpea (late sowing)	70-75	30 X 10
Chickpea (Kabuli)	100-120	40 X 10
Lentil	40-45	20-25
Green Pea	80-100	30-40

 

Pulses responded well to water application especially at their critical stage of crop growth, ie branching and podding. Irrigation provided at pre-flowering and pod formation stages has been proved beneficial, thereby increasing the yield to the extent of 20-30 percent.

 

In chickpea, weed management has contributed maximum followed by fertilizers, insect and diseases management. In most of the pulses 30-45 DAS is an appropriate time for the removal of weeds. Pendamethalin one kg a.i./ha may be applied to control seasonal weed flora before the emergence of crop. Pre-plant incorporation of fluchloralin @ 1.5-2.0 kg a.i./ha may be made in 300-600 liters of water before field preparation. One hand weeding at 30 days after sowing and/or chemical control through pendimethalin @ 1 kg/ha has been recommended for all pulses.

 

Pulse crops are highly susceptible to large number of insect, pests and on an average, 2.0 to 2.5 million tonnes pulses are lost annually due to insect pests. The following points are important to consider with reference to the impact of insects and pest on crop yield.

Use of sex pheromone trap against gram pod borer has been find effective to monitor the population of male moth.

The ideal method of pest suppression is through the development of pest resistant varieties.

Timely sowing of crop minimises the attack of insect pests.