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CAZRI varieties show strong resilience to moisture stress in moth beans
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Thursday, 17 September, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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The ICAR–Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, has reported strong field-level resilience in four recently released moth bean varieties during the current El Niño year, with the crops maintaining growth and reproductive development despite a prolonged period of moisture stress in western Rajasthan.
Moth bean is an important pulse crop of the hot arid regions of western Rajasthan and is cultivated across nearly 10 lakh hectares. However, productivity remains low at around 350 kg per hectare due to low and erratic rainfall of 150–250 mm, prolonged dry spells and limited soil moisture availability. Under these conditions, the ability of varieties to withstand moisture stress while maintaining growth and yield formation is critical for sustaining production.
As part of its long-term breeding and genetic improvement programme, CAZRI has developed varieties with a focus on developmental plasticity, stress resilience and yield potential suited to the harsh arid environment. Four varieties—CAZRI Moth-4, CAZRI Moth-5, CAZRI Moth-6 and CAZRI Moth-7—have been released over the past three years.
Their performance during Kharif 2026 has demonstrated notable resilience, particularly during a moisture-stress period of around 35 days. From July 10 to September 2, cumulative pan evaporation was around 317 mm. Following the last significant rainfall event on August 2–3, when around 86 mm of rain was received, the crop experienced an extended rainless period. Between August 3 and September 7, cumulative pan evaporation was around 180 mm, while rainfall was limited to three to four scattered events of less than 2.5 mm each.
Surface soil moisture at 0–10 cm depth, which stood at around 15–16% until August 2, subsequently declined to around 5–6%. At the 10–40 cm subsurface layer, moisture declined from around 23% to 16%, but continued to contribute to meeting the crop's water requirements.
CAZRI said early canopy development, soil binding and moisture retention in the rhizosphere supported crop establishment and helped the plants withstand the prolonged dry spell. Despite the moisture deficit coinciding with flowering, pod formation and reproductive development, the four varieties maintained a green appearance, good growth and profuse pod development at around 55 days after sowing.
The performance was also supported by appropriate crop management practices, including timely sowing with the onset of the monsoon, optimum plant geometry of 45 × 10 cm, mechanical interculture at 20 days after sowing for moisture conservation, mechanical and manual weed management, and effective canopy development for efficient utilisation of available soil moisture.
The experimental fields were characterised by poor fertility, with organic carbon at 0.13–0.18%, soil pH of 7.9–8.1, available nitrogen of 90–100 kg per hectare, phosphorus of 10–15 kg per hectare and potassium of 250–260 kg per hectare.
CAZRI highlighted developmental plasticity as a key adaptation characteristic of the four varieties. The varieties begin flowering at around 30 days after sowing and can adjust their growth and maturity according to soil-moisture availability. This flexibility is considered particularly important in western Rajasthan, where rainfall varies significantly in amount, timing and distribution.
The institute is also undertaking seed multiplication of the four varieties. Seed production is currently being carried out over seven hectares at the CAZRI Research Farm to meet the Saathi Portal-indented requirement of 23.32 quintals for 2026. In 2025, the combined seed requirement indented through the portal for the four varieties was 63.2 quintals.
According to CAZRI, one quintal of breeder seed can produce around 1,000–1,400 quintals of certified seed. If multiplied and marketed effectively as certified seed, this could support cultivation across approximately 10,000 hectares. Even at 50% of this potential, wider adoption of the varieties in Rajasthan could cover around 25% of the state's total moth bean area. Seed multiplication is being undertaken by Rajasthan State Seeds Corporation, National Seeds Corporation and selected private players.
Dr M. L. Jat, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, said moth bean is a unique crop of the Thar Desert and that CAZRI's climate-resilient varieties could contribute to making the region more prosperous, creating new income opportunities for farmers and strengthening India's self-reliance in pulses.
He said the ability of the varieties to maintain growth and pod development during a prolonged period without rainfall demonstrates the potential of genetic improvement as an important component of climate-resilient agriculture. At the same time, he emphasised that best management practices, including optimum plant population, timely sowing, weed management and moisture-conservation measures, are essential for enabling the varieties to realise their genetic potential under stress conditions.
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