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Spring/summer moong (greengram) cultivation

Spring/summer mungbean (greengram, Vigna radiata) is the cultivation of short-duration moong as a third crop between rabi harvest and kharif sowing, primarily during March-June. It is a flagship intensification practice under the National Food Security Mission - Pulses (NFSM-Pulses), promoted in the rice-wheat belt of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and parts of Madhya Pradesh, and increasingly in eastern UP rice-fallow systems. The practice has grown from a few thousand hectares in 2015 to over 25 lakh hectares by 2023-24 according to DA&FW estimates.

Principle

Mungbean varieties bred for 60-70 day duration mature within the 75-90 day window between wheat harvest (April) and paddy transplanting (late June). Three benefits drive adoption:

  • Nitrogen contribution: 30-40 kg N/ha symbiotic fixation through Bradyrhizobium nodulation, plus 20-25 kg N/ha root and leaf biomass after grain harvest, reducing N requirement of the following kharif paddy
  • Soil-health restoration: residue incorporation breaks the rice-wheat continuous-cereal cycle that depletes soil organic carbon
  • Additional income: 8-12 quintals/ha grain at MSP (Rs 8,558/q in kharif 2024-25 series; CACP-recommended) plus saleable mung husk for fodder

Implementation

  • Varieties: SML 668, SML 832 (PAU Ludhiana), Samrat (IPM 2-3), Virat (IPM 2-14), Shikha (IPM 5-10), Pusa Vishal, MH 421, PDM 139, MH 1142 — selected for synchronous maturity, short stature and MYMV tolerance
  • Sowing: 25 March-15 April after wheat harvest, with a pre-sowing irrigation
  • Seed rate: 20-25 kg/ha, treated with Rhizobium + PSB at 20 g/kg seed, and carbendazim 2 g/kg as fungicide
  • Spacing: 30 x 10 cm; flat sowing or raised-bed (FIRB) on heavy soils
  • Nutrients: 15 kg N + 40 kg P2O5/ha as basal; foliar 2% urea + 0.5% KNO3 at flowering on light soils
  • Irrigation: 3-4 light irrigations at branching, flowering and pod-fill; critical because the crop runs into peak summer (38-42 deg C)
  • Plant protection: scout for whitefly vectors of Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV); spray imidacloprid 17.8 SL at 100 ml/ha if whitefly count crosses 5/plant; for thrips and pod borer, follow IPM with chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC
  • Harvest: 2-3 picks of mature pods, threshing on the third pick when 80% of pods turn black

Adoption context

Punjab and Haryana have led summer moong expansion through state seed subsidies, free zinc-PSB consortia and PAU-led varietal turnover. Under NFSM-Pulses, ICAR-IIPR and SAUs run cluster demonstrations of 25-hectare blocks with subsidised certified seed (50% subsidy capped at Rs 2,500/q) and IPM modules. The rice-fallow rabi/spring mung promotion has been extended to eastern UP, Bihar and Jharkhand under the Pulses Acceleration Programme.

Limitations

The crop is vulnerable to heat stress above 40 deg C at flowering, which causes 30-40% flower drop. Late sowing (after 20 April) compresses the maturity window and clashes with paddy nursery preparation. MYMV remains a risk where whitefly populations build up early. In Punjab and Haryana, residue incorporation must be completed by mid-June to avoid paddy transplanting delay. Water availability is the binding constraint — without 3-4 irrigations, the crop is non-viable on most soils.

See also: Greengram crop, Blackgram crop, MYMV — Yellow mosaic virus, Pulses MSP & PSS procurement, NFSM-Pulses overview.

Sources

  1. Summer greengram cultivation. ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur.
  2. Summer mungbean in rice-wheat system. ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat & Barley Research.
  3. AICRP-MULLaRP annual report 2022-23. ICAR-IIPR.