Promotion of Pulses Project Boosts Farmers’ Incomes in Tripura

Ampi, Dec 16, 2024, By Our Correspondent

The College of Agriculture, Lembucherra, Tripura, in collaboration with ICAR-IIPR, Kanpur, and Bagma Agri Producer Company Limited (BAPCL), is executing a transformative project titled “Promotion of Pulses in NEH Region (Tripura).” Focused on post-kharif black gram cultivation, the initiative is revitalizing fallow upland paddy and maize fields in the Gomati and South Tripura districts. This effort gained momentum following severe August floods that damaged paddy crops across the region. Keen to recover losses, farmers welcomed the distribution of black gram seeds (IPU-10-26 and Tripura Maskalai), Rhizobium, Trichoderma, fungicides, micronutrients, herbicides, and cost-effective seed drills during a September training session at the BAPCL training hall.n December 1, 2024, Principal Investigator Dr. Abhijit Saha and BAPCL Managing Director Sudip Majumder visited the fields and observed robust black gram growth with abundant pod production. Farmers from Maharani, Amarpur, and Shabroom expressed satisfaction with the superior yield of the IPU-10-26 variety, cultivated across 20 hectares. Productivity is estimated at 850-900 kg/ha, a substantial improvement from last year’s 600 kg/ha average. 

Advanced technologies, such as mechanized sowing, Rhizobium inoculation, soil treatment, and foliar spraying, have significantly boosted yields and reduced cultivation costs. Additionally, efforts to promote Rabi pulses like lentils and rajma aim to make Tripura self-reliant in pulse production