Urd bean, also known as black gram, is an important pulse crop that is widely cultivated in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other parts of the world. It is a rich source of proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fibers. However, due to the low yield potential of traditional varieties, the demand for improved varieties of urd bean has been increasing among farmers. In recent years, significant progress has been made in developing high-yielding, disease-resistant and early-maturing urd bean varieties through traditional breeding as well as biotechnological approaches.
One of the major challenges in urd bean cultivation is susceptibility to various pests and diseases such as pod borer, aphids, powdery mildew, leaf spot, wilt and rust. To address these issues, researchers have developed several resistant varieties of urd bean through conventional breeding methods. For example, T-9, Pusa-1 and TAU-1 are high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties that have been widely adopted by farmers in different states of India. Similarly, the varieties VBN 5 and 9, CO 6 and ML 365 are known for their good yield potential, tolerance to heat stress and resistance to major diseases.
In addition to traditional breeding, biotechnological tools such as genetic engineering and molecular markers have also been used to develop improved varieties of urd bean with better performance and traits. For example, the transgenic variety Urdbean TAU-1 was developed by introducing the Cry1Ac gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) into the urd bean genome. This variety showed increased tolerance to pod borer and significant improvement in yield compared to non-transgenic varieties.
Apart from disease resistance, other desirable traits in urd bean include early maturity, stress tolerance, high protein content and cooking quality. The variety ADT-3, developed by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, is an early-maturing and high-yielding variety that has become popular among farmers for its good adaptability in various agro-climatic conditions. Other improved varieties such as Urid Bean-1 and UG-3 are known for their high protein content and good cooking quality.
In conclusion, the development of improved varieties of urd bean with desirable traits such as disease resistance, high yield potential, early maturity and stress tolerance is important to meet the increasing demand for pulses. While conventional breeding methods have proven effective in developing several high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties, the use of biotechnological approaches such as genetic engineering and molecular markers offers promising avenues for further improvement of urd bean. The increased availability of improved urd bean varieties will benefit farmers in terms of higher yields, better quality and reduced crop losses from pests and diseases.