Black gram originated in India where it has been in cultivation from ancient times and is
one of the most highly prized pulses of India. It has also been introduced to other tropical
areas mainly by Indian immigrants.
It is an erect, sub-erect or trailing, densely hairy annual herb. The tap root produces a
branched root system with smooth, rounded nodules. The pods are narrow, cylindrical
and up to six cm long. The bean is boiled and eaten whole or, after splitting, made into
dal prepared like this it has an unusual mucilaginous texture. Ground into flour or paste,
it is also extensively used in South Indian culinary preparation like dosa, idli, vada, and
papadum. When used this way, the white lentils are usually used.
It is very nutritious and is recommended for diabetics, as are other pulses. It is very
popular in the Punjabi cuisine of India and Pakistan where it is known as "sabit maash"
an ingredient of dal makhani. The product sold as "black lentil" is usually the whole urad
bean or urad dal. The product sold as "white lentil" is the same lentil with the black skin
removed.
is used in traditional Indian(AyurvedaJ medicine. Pharmacologically
extracts have demonstrated immunostimolatory activity
Black gram is a member of the Asiatic
crop group. It is an annual pulse grown
mostly as a fallow crop in rotation with cereals. Similar to the other pulses, black gram,
being a legume, it enriches soil nitrogen content and has relatively a short (90-120 daysJ
duration.
About 70 per cent of world¶s black gram production comes from India.The area of
traditional cultivation of black gram is confined to the South Asia and adjacent regions (
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and MyanmarJ.
Black gram is a warm weather crop and comes up in areas receiving an annual rainfall
ranging from 600 to 1000mm. It is mainly cultivated in a cereal-pulse cropping system
primarily to conserve soil nutrients and utilize the left over soil moisture particularly after
rice cultivation. Hence, although it is grown in all the seasons, majority of black gram
cultivation falls in either rabi or late rabi seasons particularly in peninsular India.
The optimum temperature range for growth is 27-30 oC. A dry harvest period is
desirable as this forces the crop to mature and reduces the risk of weather damage,
although black gram is less susceptible to this than mung bean. Black gram will grow on
most soils, with a preference for loams with a P H of 5.5-7.5. It comes up well on water
retentive soils but cannot stand saline and alkaline conditions. Root growth can be
restricted on heavy clays, with a consequent limitation to growth. Black gram is more
tolerant of waterlogging than is mung bean.
India is the largest producer as well as consumer of black gram. It produces about 1.5
million tonnes of urad annually from about 2.5 million hectares of area with an average
productivity of 400 kg per hectare. Black gram output accounts for about 10 per cent of
India's total pulse production
The major producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producing state contributing
for about 24 per cent of total country¶s output followed by Maharashtra and Madhya
Pradesh with 20 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.
India is the largest producer of black gram in the world. The annual production of urad in
India is around 1.5 million tons contributing around 10% of the total quantity of pulses
produced in India. The major states that produce black gram or urad in India are
¦| Madhya Pradesh
¦| Uttar Pradesh
¦| Punjab
¦| Maharashtra
¦| West Bengal
¦| Andhra Pradesh
¦| Orissa
¦| Tamil Nadu
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The area under the cultivation of urad in the country is about 2.5 million hectares.
Madhya Pradesh is the leading producer of black gram in India. Two varieties of urad are
produced in the country ± Desi and T9. Most of these urad producing areas in India
produce Desi urad. Also there is a significant price difference between these two types of
the pulse, Desi being more expensive than T9.
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Type 27,
Type 56,
Pusa 1,
Pant 430,
hargone 3,
ADT 1 to 3,
HPU 6,
T 65,
LBG 402,
LBG 22,
LBG 20
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ADT 1 Selection from 1965 80 450 rice --- High protein content of
Aduthurai fallowJ 19.9%
local
ADT 2 Derivative of 1979 70-75 600 (rice --- High protein content of
Tirunelveli x fallowJ 21.5
ADT 1
TMV Midhi Ulundu 1979 65-70 --- 800 Resistant to YMV and
1 x M 1 tolerant to root rot.
ADT 3 Pureline 1981 70-75 750(rice --- Suitable for rice fallow
selection from fallowJ
Tirunelveli
ADT 4 T9 / ADT2 / 1987 65-70 1000 --- Suitable for raising in field
PANT U- 14 bunds, higher grain
cross weight, resistant to YMV
derivative and stemfly.
Vamba M 1 x H 76- 1987 60-65 780 900 High yielding ,suitable for
n1 1 entire state and tolerant to
YMV
ADT 5 Pureline 1988 70-75 --- 1545 Suitable for rice fallow.
selection from Resistant to major
anpur variety diseases like YMV, root
rot and leaf crinkle and to
stemfly.
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GAPs may be applied to a wide range of farming systems and at different scales. They
are applied through sustainable agricultural methods, such as integrated pest
management, integrated fertilizer management and conservation agriculture. They rely on
four principles:
¦| Ëconomically and efficiently produce sufficient (food securityJ, safe (food safetyJ
and nutritious food (food qualityJ 1]
¦| Sustain and enhance natural resources
¦| Maintain viable farming enterprises and contribute to sustainable livelihoods
¦| Meet cultural and social demands of society.
The concept of GAPs has changed in recent years because of a rapidly changing
agriculture, globalization of world trade, food crisis (mad cow diseaseJ, nitrate pollution
of water, appearance of pesticide resistance, soil erosion...
GAPs applications are being developed by governments, NGOs and private sector to
meet farmers and transformers needs and specific requirements. However, many think
these applications are only rarely made in a holistic or coordinated way.
They provide the opportunity to assess and decide on which farming practices to follow
at each step in the production process. For each agricultural production system, they aim
at allowing a comprehensive management strategy, providing for the capability for
tactical adjustments in response to changes. The implementation of such a management
strategy requires knowing, understanding, planning, measuring, monitoring, and record-
keeping at each step of the production process. Adoption of GAPs may result in higher
production, transformation and marketing costs, hence finally higher costs for the
consumer. To minimize production costs and maintain the quality of agri-food, ACIAR
offers a series of advisable online publications to benefit farmers
: Mumbai, Jalgaon, Latur, Akola, Indore, Bhopal, Vidisha
-
: Delhi, anpur, Hapur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana,
: Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Gulbarga, Sirsa, Sangrur Chennai
Pulses dominantly constitute the staple diet of the people in India. India has
always been the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses. The same trends
follows in the context of Urad or the black gram. Urad has been consumed widely in
India since very long. It is one of the most important and highly prized pulses in India.
Due to the fermenting capability of this pulse, it is used widely in fermented foods that
are the specialty of South Indian cuisine.
The production of urad in India hovers around 1.3 to 1.5 million tons annually. It
is approximately 10% of the total pulses produced in India. Madhya Pradesh leads the
production figures of this crop in India. Urad¶s consumption pattern is quite dispersed as
it is used in most of the regions in India. Though the per capita consumption of urad has
declined over the years, consumption level of this crop is too high to be fulfilled by the
country¶s domestic production. That is why it has to rely upon imports from other
countries. The countries that export urad to India are
The following are the important marketing channels exist in the marketing
of Black gram.
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This is a traditional channel and the most common marketing channel in
India. The main private marketing channels for care as under:
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Some institutions have been entrusted with marketing activities of Black
gram like NAFËD. NAFËD is the nodal agency for procuring Black gram through
providing minimum support prices to the farmers for their produce. The main
institutional marketing channels for Black gram are as under:
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Following criteria should be considered during selecting a marketing channel:
1. The channel, which ensures the higher share to producer and also provides
cheaper price to consumer, is considered as the most efficient channel.
2. Selection should be for shorter channel having lesser market cost.
3. Avoid the longer channel having more intermediaries causing higher market
cost and less producer's share.
4. Select the channel which distributes the produce appropriately at least expense
and secure the desired volume of disposal.
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Margin refers to the difference between the price paid and
received by a specific marketing agency such as a single retailer, or by any type of
marketing agency, i.e. retailers or assemblers or by any combination of marketing
agencies in the marketing system as a whole. The total marketing margin includes cost
involved in moving the Black gram from producer to consumer and profits of various
market functionaries. The absolute value of the marketing margin varies from market to
market, channel to channel and time to time. The Market Cost incurred by farmers and
traders at Regulated market includes
iJ Market fee
iiJ Commission
19
The study says consumers are highly sensitive to prices when making food purchase
decisions. "Consumers tend to switch to low priced pulse varieties and grades when the
price shoots up.
Importers, therefore, look to Myanmar for sourcing the requirement as it offers many
varieties with qualities similar to those produced in India," said Dr N. Raveendran,
Project Co-ordinator, Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies.
The wholesale rates shot up in January-February 2006, following the extensive damage to
the stored pulses in the Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra belt in December.
Pulses production in 2006-07 has been estimated at 14 million tonnes (mtJ. Import is
expected to rise marginally to 1.8 mt against the estimated 1.6 mt in 2005-06. The
Domestic and Ëxport Market Intelligence Cell , expects the demand to be stable and the
crop prospects good for the 2006-07 rabi crop.
Analysts expect the wholesale price to hover around Rs 25 and Rs 27 in April and May
and move upwards in June.
The demand supply gap between domestic production and consumption of black gram
appears to be widening. The import of this highly priced pulse, which is an annual, warm
season crop has been on the rise, say Tamil Nadu Agricultural University researchers.
A study undertaken by the Domestic and Ëxport Market Intelligence Cell of the Centre
for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies in the Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University, Coimbatore has said . black gram import during 2002-03 stood at 35,360
tonnes (valued at Rs 53.70 croreJ.