Lentil Production

15.01.2024

Lentil Production , Daily Current Affairs, RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in  Lucknow

   Why in the news?

India is set to become the world’s largest producer of lentil (masoor) during the 2023-24 crop years on account of higher acreage.

About Lentil:

• It is a valuable human food, mostly consumed as dry seeds.
• In India, it’s mostly consumed as ‘Dal’ by removal of outer skin and separation of cotyledons.
• Lentil is also called Masur and Malka (bold seeded).

Climatic condition

○ Lentil require a cold climate.

○It is very hardy and can tolerate frost and severe winters to a great extent.

○It requires cold temperature during its vegetative growth and warm temperature at the time of maturity.

○Temperature: The optimum temperature for growth is 18-30C. Its range of cultivation extends to an altitude of 3,500 m in north-west hills.

○Soil: Well drained, loam soils with neutral reaction are best for lentil cultivation. Acidic soils are not fit for growing lentil .

It is widely cultivated throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

• The Lentil growing states in India are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, etc
• It is easy to cook and easily digestible with high biological value. Dry leaves, stems, empty and broken pods are used as valuable cattle feed.
• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world top lentil growers in 2022 were Canada, India, Australia, Turkey and Russia.
• Despite being the second largest producer of lentil , India has so far been importing mainly from Australia, Canada, Russia, Singapore, and Turkey.
• During the current year, it also imported some quantities of lentil from UAE, USA, Sri Lanka and Nepal.                                                                       

                                     Source: Indian Express