**Abstract**

The decreasing agricultural lands along with waste lands and poor water resources are the main constraints for sustainable agricultural production. The need of time is to produce maximum with minimum inputs. Depleting levels of major and micro-nutrients in Indian soils have been on the rise, and situation may be more harmful if corrective measures are not followed in time. The soil nutrient deficiencies significantly reduce the crop yields in addition to the soil fertility. In preview of this, the need of the hour is to conserve agricultural sustainability, soil health enhancement, and water management. Farmers are forced to use saline water for irrigation in areas with poor quality water or less available water for irrigation, specifically in arid or semi-arid regions. Every crop plants have threshold limit of tolerance beyond which salinity decreases the crop yield. Legumes are very sensitive crops towards soil salinity, and secondary salinization mainly through irrigation water is the hardest challenge for survival of legume crops in arid regions. In view of this, the sustainability of legumes in salt affected areas is a big challenge for crop productivity being sessile to salinity. Hence, the possible strategies for sustainability of salt sensitive legumes have been briefly reviewed in this chapter.

**Keywords:** soil salinity, pulses, abiotic stress, tolerance, sustainability

#### **1. Introduction**

Pulses are one of the food crops that address the challenge of global food security and climate changes, as well as contribute to healthy diets. In recognition of the importance of pulses for human well-being, year 2016 was declared as the International Year of Pulses by the UN General Assembly. Pulses are a subgroup of legumes belonging to Leguminosae family and its seeds are edible FAO [1]. All legumes are sometimes not categorized as pulses e.g., oil producing soybean (*Glycine max* [L.] Merr.) does not come under pulses but grouped as oil-seed crop. Similarly, some other legumes which are consumed as green vegetables e.g., *Medicago sativa* L. are also excluded from pulses. Pulses can be defined as protein rich plants that contribute to healthy diet for people across the globe. Nutritionally, pulses are rich source of dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins with low levels of cholesterol and fat. The protein content in pulses is more than double in comparison to cereals and hence are the important source for nutritional and balanced diet for humans. Pulses are included in all "food baskets" and dietary guidelines. The World Food Program (WFP), for instance, includes 60 g of pulses in its typical

food basket, alongside cereals, oils and sugar and salt. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world, with 25% share in the global production. In India, mainly mung bean or green gram (*Vigna radiata*), chickpea or Bengal gram (*Cicer arietinum*), urad bean or black gram (*Vigna mungo*), moth bean (*Vigna aconitifolia*), pigeonpea or red gram (*Cajanus cajan*), lablab bean (*Lablab purpureus*), broad bean or faba bean (*Vicia faba*), horse gram (*Dolichos uniflorus*), lentil (*Lens culinaris*), pea (*Pisum sativum var. arvense*), grass pea or khesari (*Lathyrus sativus*), cowpea (*Vigna unguiculata*) etc. are grown as pulses. Generally, two growing seasons are available for pulses kharif and rabi. Rabi season legumes chickpea, lentil, and dry peas are the cool, dry season pulses grown during October–April while pigeonpea, urad bean, mung bean, and cowpea are grown preferably during the warmer, rainy season or kharif from June to October [2, 3]. The global legume/pulse production, area and yield during 2013 was ~73 million tons (MT), ~80.8 million ha (M ha) and ~904 kg ha-1respectively [4]. Further, Africa and Asia together contribute ~49 MT, i.e., 67% of the global pulse production. In India, production of pulses is around 25.23 million tons during 2017–2018 (DAC, 2018) with maximum production of soybean (11.95 MT) followed by chickpea (~11.23 MT), groundnut with shell (9.4 MT), pigeonpea (~4.25 MT), lentils (~1.61 MT) and dry peas (0.6 MT). During the last 50 years from 1961 to 2011, overall, an average of ~1.7 times legume production has increased globally with ~3 times more cereal production in the same period. Increase in yield per hectare of legumes was observed only ~1.4 times with ~3.0 times increase in cereals. These data show that there is an acute shortage of pulses in India to meet the daily recommended diet. The area, production, growing states with distribution of pluses in India is being given in **Figure 1**.

The Legume family consists of important food grain, oilseed, forage, and agro forestry species. The domestication of legumes by humans dates back to Neolithic times. Chickpea is one of the seven Neolithic founder crops of the near East [5].

**Figure 1.**

*Domestic production of domestic pulses in different states of India with percent distribution of each legume. Source [11].*

**99**

*Sustainable Production of Pulses under Saline Lands in India*

able production of pulses in arid and semi-arid regions.

Some of the earliest domesticated legumes include: lentil ~9000 years [6], beans and soybean (~3000 year) [7, 8]. Legumes include ~750 genera and ~18,000 species [9, 10]. Legumes form an important part of human daily diet especially in several developing and some developed countries and therefore sometimes legumes are considered as poor man's meat. Pulses contain various amino acids and also have medicinal properties and hence, are consumed as Dal, the easily available source of protein. In addition to the nutrient rich seed/grain, plant parts like leaves, pod coats etc. are used as animal fodder e.g., moong bean, lobia, urad bean and gram. These plants are also used as green organic manure to maintain soil health and fertility. Legumes are under explored crops in comparison to staple cereal crops like wheat, rice and maize and hence are prioritized over pulses in most of the crop improvement programs. In addition to that pulses being sensitive to biotic and abiotic stresses, farmers have reduced their cultivating due to low yield potentials. Hence, keeping these facts in view, it is required to pay more attention for sustain-

India will face intense pressure on its land and water resources in agriculture because of diversion of resources to domestic, industrial and other sectors of economy and the likely degradation of these resources, having to feed 1.6 billion people by 2050. Ever increasing demand for good quality land and water resources in the domestic and industrial sectors has already generated enhanced interest in the utilization of salt affected soils. While salt affected soils currently constitute 6.74 M ha in different agro-ecological regions, the area is likely to increase to 16.2 M ha by 2050. Thus, salt affected soils represent an opportunity that can be exploited to increase agricultural production and productivity to ensure national food and nutritional security. The distribution of salt affected soils occurs mostly in arid and semi-arid regions although such soils may exist in every climatic region including a good area of irrigated lands. In addition, the coastal salinity is another big challenge. Hence, the diversity of soil properties in different agro-climatic conditions

requires different approaches to reclaim and maintain the soil properties.

that pulses provide is clearly important in this age of tough economies.

ment and better distribution of the pulses.

The dynamics in the global pulses sector are ever changing and keeping pace with them is much like running on a treadmill. For the past few decades, India has been trying its best to make pulses more and more accessible to its citizens given the rapid drop over the previous few decades. On the other side, there is increased interest in vegetarianism, healthier diets, apart from falling real incomes following slowing economies and the relative lower cost of protein through pulses, all of which increase demand in countries like US and China. There is an increased "return to traditional foods" in African countries like Egypt and Morocco that are adding to the demand mainly import demand. From 2005 when Spain was the second largest importer, followed by Italy and Mexico, in 2012, the profile of importing countries had moved to China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and then Spain. The cheaper access to proteins

Pulses import basket now has mainly dry peas resembling palm oil in edible oils. Yet the record domestic chana production and 40% correction in chana price have not been able to compete with peas. Similar is with Pigeon Peas. India traditionally imported dry peas mainly from Canada, but now cheaper imports from Russia, Ukraine and France are also keeping the prices under pressure making it difficult to keep Chana and Pigeon peas competitive. None of the steps taken in the recent years seem to have paid off in terms of better farmer remuneration, or better availability and better prices for consumers. The only real solution to this problem is increasing domestic production to the extent that over 90–95% of the demand is met internally and the imports are supplemental to ensure prices are not volatile. It requires policies that encourage better technologies, better quality, better post-harvest manage-

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91870*

#### *Sustainable Production of Pulses under Saline Lands in India DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91870*

*Legume Crops - Prospects, Production and Uses*

food basket, alongside cereals, oils and sugar and salt. India is the largest producer of pulses in the world, with 25% share in the global production. In India, mainly mung bean or green gram (*Vigna radiata*), chickpea or Bengal gram (*Cicer arietinum*), urad bean or black gram (*Vigna mungo*), moth bean (*Vigna aconitifolia*), pigeonpea or red gram (*Cajanus cajan*), lablab bean (*Lablab purpureus*), broad bean or faba bean (*Vicia faba*), horse gram (*Dolichos uniflorus*), lentil (*Lens culinaris*), pea (*Pisum sativum var. arvense*), grass pea or khesari (*Lathyrus sativus*), cowpea (*Vigna unguiculata*) etc. are grown as pulses. Generally, two growing seasons are available for pulses kharif and rabi. Rabi season legumes chickpea, lentil, and dry peas are the cool, dry season pulses grown during October–April while pigeonpea, urad bean, mung bean, and cowpea are grown preferably during the warmer, rainy season or kharif from June to October [2, 3]. The global legume/pulse production, area and yield during 2013 was ~73 million tons (MT), ~80.8 million ha (M ha) and ~904 kg ha-1respectively [4]. Further, Africa and Asia together contribute ~49 MT, i.e., 67% of the global pulse production. In India, production of pulses is around 25.23 million tons during 2017–2018 (DAC, 2018) with maximum production of soybean (11.95 MT) followed by chickpea (~11.23 MT), groundnut with shell (9.4 MT), pigeonpea (~4.25 MT), lentils (~1.61 MT) and dry peas (0.6 MT). During the last 50 years from 1961 to 2011, overall, an average of ~1.7 times legume production has increased globally with ~3 times more cereal production in the same period. Increase in yield per hectare of legumes was observed only ~1.4 times with ~3.0 times increase in cereals. These data show that there is an acute shortage of pulses in India to meet the daily recommended diet. The area, production, growing states

with distribution of pluses in India is being given in **Figure 1**.

The Legume family consists of important food grain, oilseed, forage, and agro forestry species. The domestication of legumes by humans dates back to Neolithic times. Chickpea is one of the seven Neolithic founder crops of the near East [5].

*Domestic production of domestic pulses in different states of India with percent distribution of each legume.* 

**98**

**Figure 1.**

*Source [11].*

Some of the earliest domesticated legumes include: lentil ~9000 years [6], beans and soybean (~3000 year) [7, 8]. Legumes include ~750 genera and ~18,000 species [9, 10]. Legumes form an important part of human daily diet especially in several developing and some developed countries and therefore sometimes legumes are considered as poor man's meat. Pulses contain various amino acids and also have medicinal properties and hence, are consumed as Dal, the easily available source of protein. In addition to the nutrient rich seed/grain, plant parts like leaves, pod coats etc. are used as animal fodder e.g., moong bean, lobia, urad bean and gram. These plants are also used as green organic manure to maintain soil health and fertility.

Legumes are under explored crops in comparison to staple cereal crops like wheat, rice and maize and hence are prioritized over pulses in most of the crop improvement programs. In addition to that pulses being sensitive to biotic and abiotic stresses, farmers have reduced their cultivating due to low yield potentials. Hence, keeping these facts in view, it is required to pay more attention for sustainable production of pulses in arid and semi-arid regions.

India will face intense pressure on its land and water resources in agriculture because of diversion of resources to domestic, industrial and other sectors of economy and the likely degradation of these resources, having to feed 1.6 billion people by 2050. Ever increasing demand for good quality land and water resources in the domestic and industrial sectors has already generated enhanced interest in the utilization of salt affected soils. While salt affected soils currently constitute 6.74 M ha in different agro-ecological regions, the area is likely to increase to 16.2 M ha by 2050. Thus, salt affected soils represent an opportunity that can be exploited to increase agricultural production and productivity to ensure national food and nutritional security. The distribution of salt affected soils occurs mostly in arid and semi-arid regions although such soils may exist in every climatic region including a good area of irrigated lands. In addition, the coastal salinity is another big challenge. Hence, the diversity of soil properties in different agro-climatic conditions requires different approaches to reclaim and maintain the soil properties.

The dynamics in the global pulses sector are ever changing and keeping pace with them is much like running on a treadmill. For the past few decades, India has been trying its best to make pulses more and more accessible to its citizens given the rapid drop over the previous few decades. On the other side, there is increased interest in vegetarianism, healthier diets, apart from falling real incomes following slowing economies and the relative lower cost of protein through pulses, all of which increase demand in countries like US and China. There is an increased "return to traditional foods" in African countries like Egypt and Morocco that are adding to the demand mainly import demand. From 2005 when Spain was the second largest importer, followed by Italy and Mexico, in 2012, the profile of importing countries had moved to China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and then Spain. The cheaper access to proteins that pulses provide is clearly important in this age of tough economies.

Pulses import basket now has mainly dry peas resembling palm oil in edible oils. Yet the record domestic chana production and 40% correction in chana price have not been able to compete with peas. Similar is with Pigeon Peas. India traditionally imported dry peas mainly from Canada, but now cheaper imports from Russia, Ukraine and France are also keeping the prices under pressure making it difficult to keep Chana and Pigeon peas competitive. None of the steps taken in the recent years seem to have paid off in terms of better farmer remuneration, or better availability and better prices for consumers. The only real solution to this problem is increasing domestic production to the extent that over 90–95% of the demand is met internally and the imports are supplemental to ensure prices are not volatile. It requires policies that encourage better technologies, better quality, better post-harvest management and better distribution of the pulses.

In the current season chana, moong, tur and urad have all seen production increase with increases in acreages and excellent weather. This may be a good opportunity to also open exports and see if farmer incomes and long term acreages increase with these measures as against the known vicious cycle of acreages decreasing after a season of good production following the crash in prices led precisely by the high production. It may take a few years for the prices to settle and farmers to become globally integrated, but the time has indeed come to take this leap of faith [12].
