INTRODUCTION 

Pulses are the most important source of vegetable protein in Pakistan. They are cultivated on 5% of the total cropped area. Their use ranges from baby food to delicacies of the rich and the poor. Because of the population growth, demand for pulses is increasing day by day. There is a need to develop varieties with higher yield potential that respond to improved management practices so as to meet the increasing demand of pulses.

Major pulse crops grown in the country are chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.), mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), black gram or mash (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) and khesari (Lathyrus sativus L.). There are other summer and winter pulses such as pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.), Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia (Jack) Merechal), common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.). These minor pulses are grown on small areas. 

The total area under major pulse crops in Pakistan is about 1.5m hectares. Among these pulses, chickpea is the major winter food legume and mung is the major summer legume. Chickpea occupies 73% of the total pulses area with 76% contribution to the total production, whereas mung bean occupies 18% of total area devoted to pulses contributing 16% to the total pulses production. The black gram and lentil, each are cultivated on 5% of the total pulses area and each of them contributes 5% to the total pulses production.

OBJECTIVES

• To develop varieties of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lentil (Lens culinaris), mungbean (Vigna radiata) and blackgram (Vigna mungo), through breeding, molecular techniques and selection.

• To develop varieties responsive to high inputs, e.g., irrigation, fertilizers and Rhizobium inoculation.

• To develop disease, drought, cold and herbicide resistance in pulse crops.

• To enhance genetic variation in pulses germplasm.

• To develop and introduce appropriate production technology including seed rate, planting time, fertilizer application, weed control strategies among the farmers for increased production.

CHICKPEA
Chickpea has been the focus of research since the inception of systematic research work on pulses in Pakistan. Major importance to chickpea improvement was attributed because it contributes 70-80% to the total pulses area and production. The Thal desert that can not support/sustain major cash crops due to low fertility and lack of artificial irrigation is well known as home of chickpea. This is because chickpea can perform well under conditions of moisture stress in marginal soils. The drought tolerance in this crop is extremely desirable attribute for moisture deficient areas of the country. The medium fertility, moderate moisture levels, sandy loam soils and moderate winters provide optimum conditions for chickpea cultivation. The study of the production profile reveals swear fluctuation highlighting the problem of instability, which may be attributed to 3 major constraints. Drought or moisture stress and wilt are the twin problems that occur together. The third major constraint to chickpea production is Ascochyta blight. The major emphasis was placed on these issues and consequently various institutes released 10 blight resistant varieties of Desi chickpea. By the release of these varieties, chickpea captured more area in Potohar; chickpea area had reduced to minimal level. Keeping these priorities into consideration, pulses programme, NARC, Islamabad is engaged in multidisciplinary research to develop blight resistant genotypes of Kabuli chickpea that have high yield potential. Breeding of Desi chickpea with emphasis on development of varieties with multiple resistances against disease and with drought resistance is in progress. At present, 5 candidate lines of Desi chickpea and 5 of Kabuli developed by NARC are in national yield testing programme.

DISEASE RESISTANT HIGH YIELDING VARIETIES FOR POTOHAR AREA.

Chickpea blight caused by Ascochyta rabiei has been a major disease constraining chickpea production in the country. This problem caused total crop failure in the early nineties. Potohar area that has been traditionally a chickpea growing area has become a hot spot for this disease. Progressively the area of chickpea in Potohar reduced drastically. Realizing the gravity of the problem Pulses program NARC initiated a breeding program aimed at development of blight resistant varieties of chickpea. Pulses Programme, NARC released two high yielding disease resistant varieties during 2003 to replace blight susceptible cultivars.

VARIETIES DEVELOPED (DASHT AND PARBAT)
Salient features

• These varieties possess a good level of resistance against blight.

• Both varieties have displayed resistance against multiple isolates of blight pathogen.

• Both are tolerant to cold.

• Both varieties are resistant to iron chlorosis.

• Their seed quality parameters are comparable with those of released varieties.

• Yield potential of both cultivars is 1500-2000 kg/ha on farmer's field.

• 1st October to 15 November is the optimum sowing time for these varieties in Potohar.

• 25-30 kg/acre seed rate is recommended for better harvest for these varieties.

• Seed treatment with Benlate @ 2g/kg seed is recommended for the eradication of primary inoculums on seed

CANDIDATE VARIETIES

LENTIL
Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is the second major winter season pulse crop after chickpea in Pakistan. Lentil is mainly grown in Punjab province. The area as well as its production has been decreased gradually mainly due to shift of main lentil area to other crops, weed and disease problems, and non-availability of certified and quality seed of improved varieties. So far, only nine varieties have been released for commercial cultivation. Masoor-93 has wider adaptability with high yield potential (3843 kg/ha) than others. Shiraz-96 is suitable for cold and dry areas of Balochistan. Presently, about 18 research units or institutes are involved in lentil research and development in Pakistan. The lentil hybridization programme is going on only at three research institutes. Lentil blight, rust and pea seed-borne mosaic are serious diseases. Weed control, application of basal dose of nitrogen with Rhizobium inoculation, phosphorus, zinc, and optimum seed rate are proved to be highly economical inputs for maximizing lentil production. For enhancement of lentil production in the country, two approaches are suggested (a) development of improved high yielding, disease resistant, black-spotted, herbicide resistant micro-sperma varieties suitable for marginal areas under drought conditions and (b) bringing more areas under lentil cultivation in different agro-ecological zones and cropping systems. At present, 11 candidate lines of lentil developed by NARC are in national yield testing programme.

VARIETIES DEVELOPED (SHIRAZ-96)

• Pedigree: ILL5865 (ILL470xILL1334)

• Approval: Balochistan Seed Council in December, 1996

• Variety registration: Federal Seed Certification and Registration in March, 1997

• Recommended area: All highland (>1000m altitude) areas of Balochistan

Lentil candidate lines developed by NARC currently in the national yield testing programme

MUNGBEAN
Mungbean is one of the important kharif pulses of Pakistan. It is also grown during spring season mainly in southern Punjab and Sindh province. Punjab is the major mungbean growing province that alone accounted for 88% area and 85% of the total mungbean production. Cultivation is concentrated in the districts of Layyah, Bhakkar, Mainwali and Rawalpindi. It is mainly grown in Kharif season (July October). Although it is grown in different crop rotations, about 75% cultivation follows mungbean - wheat crop rotation. The breeding improvement of mungbean had been limited until 1970 due to the selection from land races which were of trailing types. Research on this crop like other pulses gained momentum form 1980 when Coordinated Pulses Research Program was started at federal level by PARC in collaboration with provincial research institutes. This program, through generation of funds, short term and long-term trainings, exchange of germplasm/research material with National and International Research Institutes and evaluation of new improved lines, strengthened research on pulses. From 1985-86 to date about ten improved varieties have been released for general cultivation in the country. With the development of short duration and uniform maturing varieties, mungbean can be fitted in various cropping systems. Among the major constraints weeds, insect damage and lack of seed production are the most important ones. Research activities on mungbean have mainly been focused on the development of high yielding varieties with wider adaptability, resistant to diseases like mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MYMV) and Cercospora leaf spot (CLS), early maturity and insensitivity to photo period.

CANDIDATE LINES

1. NCM-209

2. NCM-257-2

3. NCM-252-7

MASH
Mash or black gram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper] belongs to family Leguminosae. Mash occupies an important position in Pakistan's agriculture. It grows on marginal land where other crops perform poorly. Being leguminous, it demands less nitrogenous fertilizer, and fits well as source of protein (25-32%). The worldwide yield of mash (including Pakistan) is very low because mostly indigenous land races are cultivated and also because the crop is often grown on marginally fertile land with insufficient water. In Pakistan, mash is the least researched crop among pulses despite its high nutritive and economic value due to which its area and production decreased continuously. The lack of suitable and high-yielding varieties and basic information about production technology are major inhibitors. Therefore, research on mash improvement aims at development of high yielding varieties with resistance to diseases (MYMV & CLS).

VARIETIES DEVELOPED (NARC MASH-1, NARC MASH-2 AND NARC MASH-3)

CANDIDATE LINES

1. 9092

2. VH9440034-1

3. VH9440023-2

4. VH9440039-8

PULSES AGRONOMY
Nodulation capability studies on chickpea, lentil and mung.
High and effective nodulation on the roots of the pulse crops is an important agronomic factor. This trait can be exploited in the breeding programs of the pulses to develop genotypes with high nodulation and consequently with higher yields. A fair amount of costly fertilizer can be saved in this way. Nearly 35 promising genotypes of chickpea, lentil and mungbean have been screened for their nodulation behavior.

Plant density/population studies on lentil and chickpea
Optimum seed rate in pulses is the most important factor for realizing good yields. It has been observed that farmers still use lesser seed rates especially in chickpea and lentil. Experiments on seeding density have been carried out at NARC on promising and commercial varieties of lentil and chickpea. As a result of studies;

• Sowing rate for lentil was optimized as 45kg/ha.

• Optimum plant population for better yield in chickpea was identified as 0.67m plants/ha.

Nutrient management studies
Fertilization with P, Zn and B for chickpea, with P and B for mash and with Zn for mungbean has been found beneficial.

Rhizobium x fungicide interaction in chickpea and lentil
Nodulation and yield improved with simultaneous application of Rhizobium and seed dressing fungicide "Benlate" over seed treatment with benlate only.

Planting time for mungbean
Sowing time of mungbean has been controvercial for many reasons especially in its growing areas. Experiment carried out at NARC revealed that 1st two weeks of July is better sowing time for mungbean under rainfed conditions.

PULSES PATHOLOGY
Identification of resistant mungbean and mashbean genotypes against Cecospora leaf spot for incorporating in breeding programme to develop disease resistant varieties

Fifty-eight mungbean genotypes were evaluated for resistance against Cercospora leaf spot disease under artificially inoculated disease condition in the field. There was a considerable variation among the genotypes with respect to disease reaction. Disease score of the genotypes ranged from "1-5". Twelve genotypes; NM-98, 98-cmg-003, C2/94-4-42, NM-1, NM-2, 98cmg-018, BRM-188, CO-3, Basanti, PDM-11, BARI Mung-2 and VC3960-88 with disease score "1" were found highly resistant and 15 with disease score "2' showed resistant reaction against the disease, while 17 revealed the moderately resistant (tolerance) reaction. Rest of the genotypes with disease rating "4-5" was either susceptible or highly susceptible.

Evaluation of chickpea national and international Ascochyta blight screening nurseries

Three hundred and fifty five chickpea germplasm accessions were evaluated for blight resistance under greenhouse conditions during the Rabi season of 2005-06. The results revealed that fifteen genotypes with disease rating score 3 were resistant, 81 genotypes with disease rating score 4-5 were moderately resistant and 259 were susceptible. Most of the resistant genotypes were developed at International Center Agricultural Research in Dry Areas and National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad.

Biological pathotypes of various A. rabiei isolates using a set of cultivars and grouping of isolates on the basis of their virulence

Fourteen isolates of Ascochyta rabiei derived from single spore cultures representing 14 collecting sites of Pakistan were studied for morphological characters and disease development on ten chickpea varieties. The isolates exhibited variation for morphological and cultural characteristics. AR-10 was the most virulent isolate whereas AR-1 was the least virulent isolate. On the contrary, the AR-1 was the fastest growing and AR-12 was the slowest growing isolate. There was a variation among chickpea genotypes for blight. Punjab-91 was susceptible to all the isolates where as the remaining cultivars acted as differentials and showed considerable variation in disease development with different isolates. The varieties, Pujab-91, C-44, Piadar and ILC-263 revealed high degree of susceptibility. The differentials were identified in chickpea genotypes but no variety could be tolerant/ resistant against all the isolates. It might be due to complex nature of A. rabiei. The situation suggests modifying chickpea breeding for blight resistance as to use multiple crosses to build resistance pyramids involving parents with known level of tolerance.

Screening of chickpea germplasm against Fusarium wilt to identify resistant sources

158 chickpea lines/genotypes were evaluated for resistance against wilt under artificial disease condition in the field. There was a considerable variation among these genotypes with respect to their disease reaction. At the later stage when the crop was near to maturity, four genotypes with 0-8.3% disease were resistant and 4 with 11-20% rated as tolerant while the rest 150 were susceptible. At the seedling stage most of the genotypes were resistant and only 22 were susceptible. The disease symptoms initiated 30 days after sowing. It was observed that there was more incidence of disease at seedling stage than the later stage.

Identification of resistant lentil genotypes against blight for incorporating in breeding programme to develop blight resistant lentil varieties

Seventy five lentil germplasm accessions, obtained from exotic and local sources were evaluated under greenhouse conditions at National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad against a virulent isolate of Ascochyta lentis originated from Pakistan. Variability in disease reaction was observed among genotypes. Most of the lines from Pakistan and Syria were susceptible to blight. Only three lines (UJL 129, PI 299127 and Precoz) were found resistant and 25 were moderately resistant to Ascochyta blight. This study reported some additional sources of resistance in world collection of lentil germplasm against a virulent isolate of A. lentis from Pakistan.

Fungicides used for the determination of variability in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri.
Variability among the isolates of F. oxysporum was also determined on the basis of sensitivity of isolates to different fungicides. It was observed that there was a significant variability in this regard. Benlate was found to be the most effective in suppressing the growth of all the test isolates. It was followed by Ridomil and Sancozeb with respect to efficacy. Captan and PCNB were the least effective while Trimiltox forte, Antracol, Dithane M-45 and Copper oxychloride exhibited intermediate response in efficacy.

Chickpea, lentil, Mung bean and Mash varieties released in Pakistan through National Testing Programme