Using residual soil moisture after monsoon rice crop for Mung Bean production in drought prone areas, Bangladesh Source FAO Strategic Objective 5 – Resilience, in FAO Keywords Crop rotation, soil fertility, adaptation, crop diversification, mung beans, drought Country of first practice Bangladesh ID and publishing year 6845 and 2012 Sustainable Development Goals Climate action and life on land

Summary Mung bean cultivation may be one of the the residual moisture remaining in the most important long-term adaptation soils and grows, in most cases without the options for drought prone areas in the need for any supplementary irrigation. northern and northwestern parts of The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Bangladesh. Since mung beans require Institute (BARI) has developed a number of minimum moisture, they can be cultivated high yielding varieties of this legume. The after thet. aman rice harvest, using technology was tested in the agroecological the residual moisture in the fields, thus zone of warm humid tropics in mixed responding to water scarcity and drought rainfed farming systems in north-western conditions. This practice describes land Bangladesh. preparation for planting mung bean after 1. Implementation of the technology t. aman rice. November is the suitable sowing time for Description mung bean if grown afterT. aman rice. Well Mung bean is well known in all parts of drained medium high lands with sandy loam Bangladesh and often used in a cropping and alluvial soils are suitable for mung bean cycle across seasons. It is the fifth most cultivation. important pulse in terms of area (53 000 ha) The suitable varieties for Barind areas are and production (34 000 tonnes³). The usual BARI Mung-2, BARI Mung-3, BARI Mung‑4, time for sowing mung bean if cropped BARI Mung-5 and BARI Mung-6. Among in the kharif-I season is between end of these BARI Mung-6 is preferable. The seed February and mid-March. For kharif II, the rate is 25 to 30 kg per ha in case of BARI time of sowing is between the first week of Mung-2, BARI Mung-3, BARI Mung-4, while August and the last week of September. The for BARI Mung-5 and BARI Mung-6 the seed proposed technology suggests November rate is 40 to 45 kg per ha. as suitable sowing time. The value added Slightly more seed (15 to of planting a mung bean crop in November 25 percent) should be used as additional crop immediately after the TECA for broadcast sowing after T. aman harvest is that it efficiently exploits T. aman rice in high Barind TECHNOLOGIES and PRACTICES for SMALL AGRICULTURAL 1/3 PRODUCERS Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction

areas. In case of line sowing, line to line Institutionally, this seasonal adaptation is spacing should be 30 cm. feasible but broad success will depend on Land preparation depends on the sowing dissemination of information about new and method and soil type. For sandy loam to silty improved varieties, as well as community loam, two to three plowings with subsequent preference and whether they are appropriate three to four ladderings are required to for the growing environment in terms of soil give the soil a good tilth, which will result type, climate, pests and diseases. in a good germination. Mung bean requires Figure 2. Mung bean a starter dose of 18 kg Nitrogen per ha. For supply of phosphorus and potassium 100 kg TSP per ha and 55 kg MoP per ha respectively should be applied. Generally, no irrigation is required for cultivation of mung bean except in case of severe drought during late rabi seasons. To get optimum yield it is essential to ensure that the crop is free from weeds. For good economic return one weeding 20 to 25 days after sowing is sufficient. © FAO/TECA Mung bean is a crop of indeterminate 2. Validation of the practice flowering habits, and its pods mature subsequently. The crop has a slight shattering The technology was tested in the agro habit so mature pods are to be harvested ecological zone of warm humid tropics as soon as possible. Generally, two to three in mixed rainfed farming systems in pickings are sufficient. However, if new north‑western Bangladesh. flowers are produced triggered by rainfall at 3. Further reading the time of harvest, two extra pickings may • FOA. 2006. Livelihood Adaptation be required when the cumulative harvest to Climate Change (LACC) – DP9/1- increases by 30 percent of the normal yield. BGD/01/004/01/99, Asian Preparedness Figure 1. Harvesting mung bean Centre, Technical guideline on the establishment of demonstrations during kharif I season. • FAO. 2006. Livelihood Adaptation to Climate Change (LACC) – DP9/1- BGD/01/004/01/99, Asian Preparedness Centre, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2006 – Mission Report Md Mezbanur Rahman. • Hamid, M.A., Hassan, A.A., Salam, M.A., Karim, N.N., Soil Water Management © FAO/TECA and Conservation Practices: Towards a New Cropping Pattern in Drought Prone

2/3 Areas of Bangladesh, Pakistan Journal of 4. Agro-ecological zones Agronomy, 2003 (Vol. 2) (No. 2) 77-84 • Tropics, warm • RWC-CIMMYT. 2003. Addressing Resource 5. Objectives fulfilled by the project Conservation Issues in Rice-Wheat Systems of South Asia: A Resource Book, 5.1 Resource use efficiency Rice‑wheat consortium for the Indo Mung bean cultivation improves resource Gangetic Plains - International Maize and use efficiency owing to the fact that mung Wheat Improvement Center, New Delhi, beans require minimum moisture. Their India, pp. 215-217. cultivation can therefore take place after • Rice-wheat consortium for the Indo- t. aman rice harvest, using the residual Gangetic Plains: Mung Bean Production in moisture in the fields, mitigating the effects Bangladesh of water scarcity and drought. • Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh – Department of Agricultural Extension • Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) • Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)

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