OAR@ICRISATLegumes in rice and wheat cropping systems of the indo-gangetic plain - constraints and opportunitiesCultivation of legumes for grain, forage, and green manure purposes has been a traditional practice in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region of South Asia. However, this practice has declined in recent decades as the production of the major cereal crops, rice and wheat, has increased since the advent of the "green revolution". Consequences of decreased legume cultivation in the region include reduced opportunities for ameliorative effects of legumes on cropping system sustainability and decreased local accessibility of grain legumes as a nutritious dietary component, particularly for poorer sections of the community. This book updates knowledge of area, production, and yields of legumes grown in the countries of the IGP, Bangladesh, India (northern), Nepal, and Pakistan, making use of geographic information systems (CIS) technology to display and analyze the output. Biotic, abiotic, and socioeconomic constraints facing cultivation of legumes are examined and opportunities for their increased production in the region assessed. Time trend data do indeed reveal declining trends for most major legumes in each country. However, there are some exceptions to this (e.g., lentil in Nepal, mung bean in Pakistan, etc.) and reasons for optimism that many of the declining trends can be reversed. A fundamental problem to overcome in significantly increasing legumes production is to change the prevailing perceptions of their status as subsistence crops and have them considered as commercial crops. This will require aggressive on-farm demonstration of the many seemingly viable technical options, mainly developed on research stations, to alleviate the major biotic and abiotic production constraints. This involves dissemination of improved varieties and of improved, low-cost, and environmentally friendly crop husbandry techniques. There is also a need for changes in government policy considerations with respect to legumes as existing policies overwhelmingly favor cereal cultivation at the expense of legumes. There is continuing need for focussed strategic research efforts to more effectively tackle some of the more intractable biotic and abiotic constraints. To move towards commercialization of legume cultivation in the IGP, a more holistic and integrated approach by the relevant public sector research and extension agencies, non-government organizations, and the private sector is recommended.ChickpeaPigeonpea2000International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid TropicsBook

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