Black gram, also known as urad or urd bean, is an important pulse crop grown in India. It fixes atmospheric nitrogen in the soil and improves soil fertility. It is high in protein and nutrients. Major black gram producing states are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The crop grows well in hot, humid conditions with temperatures between 25-35°C. It requires well-drained soil for cultivation. Proper fertilizer application, weed control, irrigation and use of high-yielding varieties can help increase black gram production.

1. Sudhir Yadav
MSc Agronomy
185041020
Nutritive value, varieties, irrigation, plant protection
and other cultivation practices of Black Gram

2. Introduction
• Botanical Name: Vigna mungo Family: Leguminoseae.
• It is one of the important pulse crop grown throughout
India.
• Generally it is consumed in the form of ‘Dal’.
• It is the chief constituent of ‘papad, idly and dosa’
• It is also used as green manuring crop.
• It accounts 13 % total pulses area and 10 % total pulses
production in India.
• It fixes atmospheric nitrogen into soil and improve the
soil fertility.
Source - ICAR - Handbook of Agriculture

3. • . It controls soil erosion and compete with
weeds effectively due to its deep root system
and foliage cover.
• Besides, this green fodder of urdbean is very
nutritive and is specially useful for milch cattle.
• Urdbean being leguminous has the capacity to
fix atmospheric nitrogen and thus helps in
restoring the soil fertility.
• Origin - Urd or black gram is a native of India
Source - Wikipedia and iKISAN

4. Nutrient content
(Per 100g of edible portion)
i. Carbohydrate : 58.9%
ii. Protein : 25.2%
iii. Water : 10.8%
iv. Fat : 1.6%
v. Calcium : 138mg
vi. Iron : 7.57mg
Source – Agropedia from Internet

5. Area, production and productivity of Urdbean
in India
Area (3 million ha)
• Maharashtra (18.55%), Andhra Pradesh (16.23%),
Madhya Pradesh (18.55%), Uttar Pradesh (12.61%)
Production (1.3 million tonnes)
• Maharashtra(23.36%), Andhra Pradesh (18.50%),
Uttar Pradesh (12.29%), Madhya Pradesh (11.86%)
Productivity (kg ha-1)
• Andhra Pradesh (1447.62), Gujarat (976.74),
Karnataka (937.19), Maharashtra (872.14)
Source – Directorate of Economics and Statistics
,Ministry of Agriculture (GOI) - 2018

6. Climate
• It is generally grown in kharif season.
• It grows best in hot and humid condition with ideal
temperature range between 25°C to 35°C.
• It can be grown successfully from sea level up to
an elevation of 1800 meters.
• Heavy rains during flowering are harmful.
• It is best suited to areas having an annual rainfall
of 60 to 75 cm.
Source – IndiaAgroNet.Com

7. Soil
• Black gram does well on heavier soils such as black
cotton soils which retain moisture in a better way.
• It can be grown in all types of soils ranging from
sandy loam to heavy clay, except the alkaline and saline
soils.
• Loam or slightly heavy soils with neutral pH are best
suited for urdbean.
• Soil should be well drained and having good water
holding capacity.
• Waterlogged, saline and alkaline soil should be
avoided.
Source – IndiaAgroNet.Com

8. Land Preparation
• Land should be ploughed in summer followed by
two to three harrowing at pre-monsoon for kharif
season.
• Land should be well levelled.
• Collect the weeds, previous crops stubbles, stones
and clean the field for sowing.
• If necessary, one pre-sowing irrigation should be
given.
Source – IndiaAgroNet.Com

9. Sowing
• Sowing should be done in line by drilling method.
• Seeds should not be sown more than 5 to 6 cm
depth.
Time of sowing
• Middle of June to middle of July is the proper time
for black gram sowing in kharif season.
• For summer, sowing should be done from middle
of February to middle of March.
• Late sowing should be avoided.
Source – Crop Management (2010) S. S. Singh

10. .

11. Seed treatment
• Rhizobium 200 gm + PSB 250 gm /10kg of
seed. Seed treatment with (Carbendazim 1
gm+ Thiram 1.5 gm) per kg of seed.
• Greengram blackgram under intensive
cropping should be treated with Carbofuran @
0.2% one week before Rhizobium treatment
against Root knot and Reniform nematode.
• Black gram fixes 57-105 kg/ha nitrogen

12. Seed rate and spacing
• Kharif -> 12 to 15 kg / ha*seeds with spacing of
30 X 10 cm
• Summer -> 20 to 25 kg / ha*seeds with spacing of
20-25 X 10 cm
• *Kharif season crop requires lesser seed rate and
wider spacing because of very profuse plant
growth but summer season crops need closer
spacing and thereby a higher seed rate is required.
Source – Crop Management (2010) S. S. Singh

13. Varieties
• The powdery mildew - resistant variety LBG 17 is suitable
for rabi in southern zone, and varieties PDU 1 and Mash
414 are suitable for spring season.
Use of resistant varieties is recommended as follows:
• Yellow Mosaic Virus (YMV) resistant varieties : Pant U -
19, Pant U - 30 Sarala, Jawahar urd - 2, Teja (LBG - 20),
ADT - 4
• Powdery Mildew (PM) resistant varieties : TAU - 2 , IPU
02 - 43
• Stem fly resistant varieties : KBG - 512
• Cercospora leaf spot resistant varieties : Jawahar urd - 2,
Jawahar urd - 3 .

14. • Varieties recommended for Punjab :-UG 218,
T 9, Mash 1-1, Mash 48, PS 1, PDU 1 (Spring)
• Varieties recommended for Haryana:- Mash 1-
1, Mash 48, T 9, UG 218, PDU 1 (Spring),
Pant U 19.

15. Fertilizer management
• 20:40:20 NPK kg/ha along with 20 kg S/ha greatly increases yield
of pulses and also benefit the succeeding crop.
• Among the micro nutrients Zn is the most deficient nutrient. So
the application of Zn @ 25 kg/ha as basal gives very promising
results.
• Boron and Molybdenum gives better results in acid soil.
• Foliar spray of 2% DAP and 2% KCl at Pre flowering stage
enhances the yield.
Source – IndiaAgroNet.Com

16. Irrigation management
• Kharif season crop is generally given one pre-monsoon at
the time of seed bed preparation to ensure good
germination but thereafter it does not need any irrigation
until an drought occurs, but in summer season irrigation
should be given as per critical stages and availability of
irrigation water.
• Number and frequency of irrigation depend upon the soil
type and weather. The crop should get irrigation at an
interval of 10-15 days.
• From flowering to pod development stage, there is need of
sufficient moisture in the field.
Source – Crop Management (2010) S. S. Singh

17. Weed management
• Two hand weeding should be done once after 20-
25 days and second time after about 35-40 days of
sowing depending upon the weed intensity.
• Weeds can be controlled by the use of herbicides
if labour is not available i.e. Basalin 1 kg a.i. / ha
in 800-1000 litres of water as pre-planting
application.
Source – Crop Management (2010) S. S. Singh

18. Plant protection
• The major diseases are yellow mosaic in northern
plains and powdery mildew in southern and
south-eastern regions (in rabi).
• To control insect and pest, yellow mosaic virus,
application of Phorate in soil before or at sowing
@ 1 kg/ha is required.
• Pod borer- spray Triazophos/ Monocrotophus @ 2
ml/ ltr of water, Carbaryl@ 2 kg/ha
• Aphids- Spray methyl dementon 25 EC @ 1000
ml/ha
• White fly -Spray the crop with Imidacloprid @ 1
ml/3.5 ltrs of water/Flonicamid-200gm/Ha

19. Harvesting, Threshing & Storage
• Urd should be harvested when 70-80 % pods matured
and most of the pods turn black. Over maturity may
result in shattering.
• Harvested crop should be dried on threshing floor for
few days and then threshed.
• Threshing can be done either manually or by
trampling under the feet of bullocks.
• The clean seeds should be sun dried for 3 - 4 days to
bring their moisture content at 8-10% to safely store
in appropriate bins.
• A well managed crop of Urd may produce 12 - 1 5
quintals grains/ha.

20. Recommendation to achieve higher production
• Deep summer ploughing once in 3 years.
• Seed treatment should be done before sowing.
• Application of fertilizer should be based on soil test value.
• In kharif season sowing should be done by ridge & furrow
method.
• Yellow mosaic resistant/ tolerant varieties IPU 94 - 1
(Uttara), shekhar 3(KU 309), Ujala (OBJ 17), VBN (Bg) 7,
Pratap urd 1 etc choosen as per suitability to a region.
• Weed control should be done at right time.
• Adopt integrated approach for plant protection.

21. References
• Singh, S.S. (2010) : Crop Management, Kalyani Publishers. 4:192-196.
• Rai, M. (2013) : Handbook of Agriculture, Indian Council of Agriculture
Research. 6:1087-1119.
• Internet Source : • Retrieved from wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigna_mungo
• Retrieved from iKISAN : http://www.ikisan.com/up-blackgram-history.html
• Retrieved from agropedia : http://agropedia.iitk.ac.in/content/area-
productionand-productivity-major-pulses
• Retrieved from Indian Institute of Pulses Research :
http://www.iipr.res.in/epulse-data-book.html
• Retrieved from IndiaAgroNet.Com :
https://www.indiaagronet.com/indiaagronet/crop%20info/black_gram.html
• Retrieved from TNAU agritech portal :
http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/CropProduction/Pulses/pulses_blackgra
m.html