What is the importance of pulses in our diet? What are the main
pulses grown in India?

Explanation

Pulses are a very important ingredient of vegetarian food as these are rich sources of proteins. These are legume crops which increase the natural fertility of soils through nitrogen fixation.
(a) India is a leading producer of pulses and accounts for about one-fifth of the total production of pulses in the world.
(b) The cultivation of pulses in the country is largely concentrated in the drylands of Deccan and central plateaus and northwestern parts of the country.
( c) Pulses occupy about 11 per cent of the total cropped area in the country.
(d) Being the rainfed crops of drylands, the yields of pulses are low and fluctuate from year to year.
( e) Gram and tur are the main pulses cultivated in India. Gram is cultivated in subtropical areas. It is mostly a rainfed crop cultivated during rabi season in central, western and northwestern parts of the country. Tur (Arhar) is the second important pulse crop in the country. It is also known as red gram or pigeon pea. It is cultivated over marginal lands and under rainfed conditions in the dry areas of central and southern states of the country. This crop occupies only about 2 per cent of total cropped area of India.