Pulses — The King of Sustainable Crops
Climate change is one of the primary concerns of the current era. Along with climate change, there comes the word “Sustainability”. We are trying to move towards — a sustainable, Net zero carbon lifestyle. Also, food is an essential element of life. So, it’s critical to know about a good diet to have a healthy life as an individual. “Pulses — The King of Sustainable Crops” is such a vital crop.
Fun Fact: Pulses belong to the legume family. And, the First evidence of Pulses is as old as 11,000 years! You can go through the beautiful infographic of the history of pulses by pulses.org
WHY PULSES?
Pulses have a lot of benefits like Health benefits due to high Nutritional content — helps to avoid malnutrition, Helps in maintaining Food Security in underdeveloped and developing countries, Nitrogen fixation in the soil thereby helping farmers in agriculture, By-product of pulses acts as feed for livestock, helps to maintain biodiversity in the field of agriculture and a lot more…
Due to these immense benefits, FAO has announced “World Pulses Day” on February 10th of every year, foreseeing the potential of Pulses on the Sustainability of the world.
How do Pulses impact Climate Change?
Pulses have a significant impact on Environment. Some of the areas where Pulses make impacts are…
1. Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emission
Rice is the staple food crop for around half of the world’s population. But, the fact is that it also acts as a source of Methane emission since Paddy is cultivated in a water-flooded field which blocks the oxygen from entering the soil, thereby causing Bacteria to emit Methane.
“The 100-year global warming potential for Methane is 30 times higher than Carbon Dioxide. And, Methane from rice contributes around 1.5 percent of total global GHG emission.”
And Fertilizers too contribute to GHG emission in the form of Nitrous Oxide — 300 times more global warming potential than Carbon Dioxide. Considering all these factors, Pulses requires low fertilizer content, less water content, and a mechanism of Nitrogen Fixation.
What is Nitrogen Fixation?
Pulses help in nitrogen fixation in the soil with the help of symbiotic action from rhizobia, a soil bacteria. Pulses need less fertilizer to grow and make Nitrogen content in soil for the next crop cycle.
2.Biodiversity Conservation
Pulses increase soil microbial activity by Nitrogen Fixation mechanism, thereby preserving soil Biodiversity. Some Pulses can utilize the soil phosphorus bound to the soil.
Fun Fact: “Pulses contain micronutrients like phosphorus, zinc and magnesium, which are not present in cereals like rice, maize and wheat.”
There are many pulses varieties; therefore, broad genetic diversity makes them resistant to plant diseases. And Pulses helps maintain agriculture biodiversity by assisting farmers in practising No-Tillage Cropping and Intercropping strategies, which helps reduce GHG emission and soil erosion.
Cereals Vs Pulses — Nutritional Content
“A research from 2016 states that — In India, The per capita availability of cereals to pulses has changed from 1:0.152 [1961–1965] to 1:0.108 [2011–2013] which is a reduction of 30%” — and still decreasing.
Due to the benefits mentioned above of pulses, it’s great to add Pulses into our Food Diet.
Comics on Importance of Pulses by FAO
Want to know the facts about Pulses in a fun and simplified manner. Check out this Comics by FAO on Health Benefits of Pulses and Food Security by Pulses.
Additional Reference: The Global Economy of Pulses — By FAO; It’s a complete guide to economy and benefits of pulses.
