Spatial Shift in Chickpeas in India
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11. Pests and diseases:
Ascochyta blight, the fungal disease affecting aerial plant parts and Fusarium wilt,
fungal disease affecting root and stem base are the major diseases that affects chickpeas. There are other fungal and viral diseases like Botrytis gray mold, Alternaria
blight, Verticillium wilt, Collar rot, Stunt, Mosaic, Proliferation etc. Bacterial Blight
is the bacterial disease common in chickpeas. Beet armyworm is the pest of chickpea
in India and Mexico that can go through three to five generations in a year. Helicoverpa armigera, common pest in Australia is widely distributed in Asia as well that
cause Pod boring (Integrated Pest Management Package for Chickpea, Ministry of
Agriculture, GOI).
12. Government Policies:
The Government has announced a new MSP scheme PM-AASHA to ensure that
farmers growing pulses benefit from this (Press Information Bureau, GOI). The MSP
of chickpeas now is Rs. 4620 per quintal (Farmers’ Portal, Government of India).
With the country being undernourished, bringing chickpeas under Public Distribution
System can both enhance its production and meet the nutritional security of the
people.
10 Conclusions
The Analysis reveals that there is a shift of area under chickpeas cultivation from
northern and eastern to western, central and southern zones of the country. It is
important to increase chickpeas production in the conventional chickpeas producing
zones by the development of short duration, high yielding varieties that are suitable
for these regions. There is a large amount of fallow land (11.6 million hectares) in
northern and central India because of lack of irrigation after the harvest of rice (Subbarao et al. 2001). With improved high yielding, disease resistant and short-duration
types of chickpeas, there is high chance of expansion of area in these zones. Recent
study on climatic conditions has also revealed that with increasing temperatures day
by day growing cereal crops like wheat, rice/paddy will also be impossible in the
upcoming years. Chickpea breeding programmes need to find varieties that are thermoresistant. Drought and frost are also some serious abiotic stresses in central and
southern India. Varieties that are resistant to pod borers can help in enhancing the
production of chickpeas.
Government procurement policies through lucrative Minimum Support Prices
(MSP) would make it profitable for the farmers who take risks by cultivating chickpeas. They should also be included in Public Distribution System to ensure proper
supply and demand. Since chickpeas are rich in protein, they are often affected by
pests. Proper crop insurance schemes have to be formulated. Improved infrastructure
for safe storage and post-harvest processing can prevent the losses of chickpeas.
423
11. Pests and diseases:
Ascochyta blight, the fungal disease affecting aerial plant parts and Fusarium wilt,
fungal disease affecting root and stem base are the major diseases that affects chickpeas. There are other fungal and viral diseases like Botrytis gray mold, Alternaria
blight, Verticillium wilt, Collar rot, Stunt, Mosaic, Proliferation etc. Bacterial Blight
is the bacterial disease common in chickpeas. Beet armyworm is the pest of chickpea
in India and Mexico that can go through three to five generations in a year. Helicoverpa armigera, common pest in Australia is widely distributed in Asia as well that
cause Pod boring (Integrated Pest Management Package for Chickpea, Ministry of
Agriculture, GOI).
12. Government Policies:
The Government has announced a new MSP scheme PM-AASHA to ensure that
farmers growing pulses benefit from this (Press Information Bureau, GOI). The MSP
of chickpeas now is Rs. 4620 per quintal (Farmers’ Portal, Government of India).
With the country being undernourished, bringing chickpeas under Public Distribution
System can both enhance its production and meet the nutritional security of the
people.
10 Conclusions
The Analysis reveals that there is a shift of area under chickpeas cultivation from
northern and eastern to western, central and southern zones of the country. It is
important to increase chickpeas production in the conventional chickpeas producing
zones by the development of short duration, high yielding varieties that are suitable
for these regions. There is a large amount of fallow land (11.6 million hectares) in
northern and central India because of lack of irrigation after the harvest of rice (Subbarao et al. 2001). With improved high yielding, disease resistant and short-duration
types of chickpeas, there is high chance of expansion of area in these zones. Recent
study on climatic conditions has also revealed that with increasing temperatures day
by day growing cereal crops like wheat, rice/paddy will also be impossible in the
upcoming years. Chickpea breeding programmes need to find varieties that are thermoresistant. Drought and frost are also some serious abiotic stresses in central and
southern India. Varieties that are resistant to pod borers can help in enhancing the
production of chickpeas.
Government procurement policies through lucrative Minimum Support Prices
(MSP) would make it profitable for the farmers who take risks by cultivating chickpeas. They should also be included in Public Distribution System to ensure proper
supply and demand. Since chickpeas are rich in protein, they are often affected by
pests. Proper crop insurance schemes have to be formulated. Improved infrastructure
for safe storage and post-harvest processing can prevent the losses of chickpeas.