Demonstration of lentil cultivation in rice fallow under CFLD programme by Krishi Vigyan Kendra - Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh

Lentil (Lens culinaris L.) is a significant pulse crop, member of the leguminosae family. Lentils are an essential and reasonably priced source of protein. The primary reasons for the low productivity of lentils includes: negligence, a lack of good quality seeds, a lack of proper technical assistance and improper crop management. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra - Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh organized frontline demonstrations on scientific lentil farming practices under the CFLD on Pulses initiative in a cluster strategy during the Rabi seasons of 2015–16, 2016-17 and 2017–18. In the demonstration plots, the use of the improved variety HUL-57, rhizobium inoculation, treatment of boron (20%) and need-based fungicide application were recommended. The demonstration plots resulted 30.56% higher yield over farmer's practice. During the three years period of demonstration; technology gap was 599 kg/ha. In each of the research years, the benefit-cost ratio of the demonstration plots was greater than that of the farmers' practices. The benefit-cost ratio was 2.41 in farmers' practices and 2.66 on average in demonstration plots. The outcomes unequivocally show that FLDs are superior to the current approaches in terms of benefits.