The neglected species of pulses

Reviving neglected pulses could boost nutrition, reduce imports and improve farmers' incomes

In a country where pulses (dal) are the major source of protein for most people, malnutrition is rampant, and import dependence for meeting pulses requirements is substantial, the suboptimal utilisation of the existing diversity of indigenous legumes is hard to justify. Only eight of the available 14 species of pulses are grown and consumed on a regular basis. The others (leguminous crops) have either been abandoned or are cultivated and consumed in specific areas on a small scale. Many of these underexploited species have impressive nutritional profiles. Their mainstreaming can be a boon to consumers, as also to small and marginal farmers, who have traditionally been growing these hardy and drought-resistant crops in arid, semi-arid, and degraded lands, but have stopped doing so because of waning market demand. 

These underutilised species include Moth bean (Moth dal), Lathyrus (Khesari dal), Horse gram (Kulthi), Faba bean (Bakla or Kala matar), Rice bean (Sutri or Lal bean), and Adzuki bean (Lal mung or Lal chowri). Their farming is confined to limited areas, chiefly for local consumption. Going by their merits, in terms of versatility, ease of cultivation, and health benefits, these deserve better usage. 

Unfortunately, these species of pulses have been neglected even by agricultural scientists and are, therefore, often dubbed as “orphan crops”. Not enough research & development has been done to improve their productivity, grain quality, processability, and marketability by developing superior high-yielding crop strains. Such apathy towards these valuable legumes is unwarranted, given the dire need to augment the availability of protein-dense foods to strengthen nutritional security. 

The country’s pulses sector is dominated by just five legumes, which together account for 90 per cent of production and consumption. These are pigeon pea (tur or arhar), chickpea (chana or gram), green gram (mung), black gram (urad), and lentil (masoor). The bulk of the remaining 10 per cent consumption is shared by three pulses – red kidney beans (Rajma), black eyed peas (Lobiya), and field peas (Matar). 

There are, indeed, several good reasons for harnessing the untapped potential of the little-used pulses. For one, these can boost the domestic supply of legumes to reduce pulses imports, which amounted to 7 million tonnes in 2024-25 and 6 million tonnes in 2025-26. Besides, these pulses can grow on poor-quality lands not ideally suited for cultivating main cereals and commercial crops. In fact, being leguminous crops, these can improve the fertility of such lands by fixing atmospheric nitrogen in the soil. These crops can, therefore, serve virtually as an effective means of regenerating degraded lands, which abound in India, spanning over 98 million hectares. Moreover, these crops, requiring little investment in cash inputs, can be a vital livelihood support for resource-starved farmers owning such lands. And most importantly, they are regarded by farm scientists as a repository of genes that might prove useful in imparting climate change-resilience, immunity against diseases and pests, and other desirable traits, in future crop species. 

Interestingly, most of these underexploited crops possess significant amounts of dietary fibre and bioactive compounds, which can mitigate the challenges posed by the rising incidence of lifestyle and flawed nutrition-induced ailments, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer. 

The reasons for these species of pulses falling out of favour, though formidable, are not difficult to overcome. Many of their drawbacks can be remedied through simple treatment and managerial intervention, such as soaking in water or processing them into value-added products to prepare nutritious snacks. In the case of Moth bean, for instance, the main problem is the long time it takes to cook. This can easily be cut down to half by soaking the grains in water overnight. Preparing in a pressure cooker can reduce it further. 

The Khesari dal, which has a very high protein content of 26-28 per cent, was temporarily banned because of the rise in the incidence of neurological disorder called lathyrism (paralysis of lower limbs) among its regular consumers in regions like Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Scientific studies later revealed that this condition was caused due to the presence of a neurotoxin, called beta-ODAP, in Khesari dal, and affected primarily those who ate this cheapest available legume almost as a staple. Studies also showed that the problem could be largely solved by soaking it in salt water, and discarding the water. This lowers the toxin level down to almost safe limits, especially if consumed in moderation. 

Sprouting is another simple and effective way of improving the digestibility of these less used pulses, and also their acceptability among people. It activates their internal enzymes, which transform these grains into nutritional powerhouses. 

There is, thus, a strong case for making better use of the underexploited legumes to enhance the overall availability of pulses. The Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, set up last year to make the country self-sufficient in pulses by 2030-31, would hopefully do the needful in this direction.

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surinder.sud@gmail.com