Pulses

11. Malaviya Chamatkar is a variety of: [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2014]

(a) Pea
(b) Pigeon-Pea (Arhar)
(c) Moong
(d) Wheat

Correct Answer: (b) Pigeon-Pea (Arhar)

Solution:Arhar is an important legume crop and protein-rich food which is primarily consumed as dal in India. It is predominantly a crop of tropical areas mainly cultivated in semi arid regions of India. It is commonly intercropped with a wide range of crops. In India, it was estimated that 80-90% of the pigeonpea were intercropped. The important diseases of Pigeon pea are Wilt, Sterility mosaic disease, Phytophthora blight, Alternaria blight and Powdery mildew etc. The Pigeonpea's long growth cycle and sensitivity to day length have hindered breeding efforts, with only about 250 varieties released globally over six decades. It has low glycaemic index and is rich in thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, vitamin A, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Major Pigeon pea producing states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

12. Which of the following is correctly matched? [U.P.P.C.S.(Spl). (Mains) 2008]

(a) Arhar - Bahar
(b) Barley - PVW 343
(c) Gram - Aparna
(d) Paddy - NW 1014

Correct Answer: (a) Arhar - Bahar

Solution:Arhar is an important legume crop and protein-rich food which is primarily consumed as dal in India. It is predominantly a crop of tropical areas mainly cultivated in semi arid regions of India. It is commonly intercropped with a wide range of crops. In India, it was estimated that 80-90% of the pigeonpea were intercropped. The important diseases of Pigeon pea are Wilt, Sterility mosaic disease, Phytophthora blight, Alternaria blight and Powdery mildew etc. The Pigeonpea's long growth cycle and sensitivity to day length have hindered breeding efforts, with only about 250 varieties released globally over six decades. It has low glycaemic index and is rich in thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, vitamin A, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. Major Pigeon pea producing states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

13. 'Bahar' is a popular variety of- [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2013]

(a) Pea
(b) Groundnut
(c) Pigeon pea
(d) Gram

Correct Answer: (c) Pigeon pea

Solution:Malaviya Chamatkar is a variety of Arhar. Other main varieties of Arhar are Amar, Azad, Malaviya Vikas, Paras and Bahar. Bahar is a popular variety of pigeon pea. It is also called as arhar and tur in India.It requires 600-650mm of annual rainfall along with moist conditions for the initial eight weeks and dry conditions during its flowering and pod development phase. It can be grown with a temperature ranging from 26°C to 30°C in the rainy season and 17°C to 22°C in the post rainy (November to March) season. It can be grown on all types of soil, however, sandy loam or loam soil is most suitable for its cultivation. It is very sensitive to low radiation at pod development, therefore flowering during the monsoon and cloudy weather, leads to poor pod formation.

14. The leafless variety of pea is: [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2013]

(a) Arkel
(b) Azad Pea-I
(c) Aparna
(d) L-116

Correct Answer: (c) Aparna

Solution:'Aparna' is a new high- yielding. leaf-less variety of pea. It is a compact, medium dwarf variety of pea that is resistant to wilt and pod-borers. It is tolerant of powdery mildew and leaf miners. It was developed by crossing T163 and EC109196. In trials at Hissar, it gave a mean seed yield of 2626 kg/ha.

15. Which of the following states was the largest producer of pulses in 2011-12? [U.P.P.C.S. (MAINS) 2013 U.P.R.O / A.R.O (mains) 2013]

(a) Tamil Nadu
(b) Uttar Pradesh
(c) Rajasthan
(d) Madhya Pradesh

Correct Answer: (d) Madhya Pradesh

Solution:Madhya Pradesh is the largest pulses producing state in India. The state's annual pulse production in India stands at approx. 58.51 lakh tonnes in FY 2022-23. Gram, Tur, and Urad top the pulses list and are highly cultivated and grown in Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan is the second leading producer of pulses in India. The state's annual production stands at approx. 39.93 lakh tonnes in FY 2022-23. The state produces the highest quantity of pulses like moong, moth, moong, and gram in the rabi season and arhar in the Kharif season. This shows the state is famous for producing quite a list of pulses. Maharashtra is the third largest pulses producing state in India. The state's annual pulses production stands at approx. 38.22 lakh tonnes in FY 2022-23. Besides, Maharashtra has around 20 lakh hectares of land that cultivates tur pulse in the majority.

16. Assertion (A) : India has a shortage of pulses, but not of protein. [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2009]

Reason (R) : There is a priority in demand of pulses.

In the reference of the above, which of the following is correct:

(a) (A) and (R) both are correct, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) (A) and (R) both are correct, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(c) (A) is correct, but (R) is wrong
(d) (A) is wrong, but (R) is correct

Correct Answer: (a) (A) and (R) both are correct, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Solution:India has a shortage of pulses but there is no shortage of sources of protein. In India shortage of pulses is due to the high demand although India is a leading producer of pulses in the world. Therefore, both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

17. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched? [U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2017]

Crop	Variety
(a) Mustard	1. Varuna
(b) Field Pea	2. Sapna
(c) Linseed	3. Surya
(d) Groundnut	4. Kaushal

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Correct Answer: (c)

Solution:Surya is a variety of Mango, Papaya and Potato. It is not a variety of Linseed.