What are Pulses?

Pulses are an important part of the Indian diet as they provide vegetable protein. Some pulses are gram or arhar, urad, masur (lentil), moong (black gram), and matar (peas).

Pulses Cultivation

  • Temperature ranging between 20°C and 25°C and rainfall between 50 cm and 75 cm are required for growing pulses.
  • Pulses grow well in dry light soil.
  • Gram is the leading pulse and is sometimes grown along with wheat. While gram is raised as a rabi crop in regions receiving about 10 cm of rainfall, urad and moong are raised as kharif crops.
  • Pulses are leguminous crops which increase the content of nitrogen in the soil, increasing its fertility.

Distribution of Pulses

India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh are the five leading states producing pulses.


Problems Faced by Indian Agriculture

Environmental Factors

  • Unreliable rainfall
  • Lack of irrigation facilities
  • Soil erosion
  • Reduction in net sown area

Institutional Factors

  • Small and fragmented land holdings
  • Exploitation of farmers

Economic Factors

  • Subsistence agriculture
  • Challenges posed by globalization

Technological Factors
Use of old and inefficient techniques by Indian farmers

Steps Taken to Improve Agricultural Production in India

  • Introduction of various reforms such as the abolition of the Zamindari Act.
  • Consolidation of fragmented land holdings
  • Creation of irrigation infrastructure
  • Announcement of minimum support prices
  • Provision of subsidies to farmers for purchasing fertilizers and seeds

Green Revolution

Green Revolution is a term that is used to describe a manifold increase in farm production in India. Its main features are

  • Use of large-scale capital and technological inputs
  • Use of high-yielding seed varieties
  • Use of chemical fertilizers and extensive irrigation facilities
  • Adoption of modern scientific methods of farming

Impact of the Green Revolution

  • Owing to large production, the Green Revolution changed Indian agriculture from subsistence farming to commercial and market-oriented farming.
  • Creation of more employment opportunities.
  • Farmers were benefited by increased productivity leading to rural prosperity.
  • It made India self-sufficient in food grains.
  • However, the Green Revolution was criticized by environmental scientists because of land degradation caused by overuse of fertilizers and decease in soil fertility due to over irrigation.

Also, Read Agriculture in India-Food Crops

Discover more from Home of learning

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Scroll to Top