Chapter -4 Cluster Bean Agronomy Leguminous Crops (A Regional Overview) CHAPTER -4 Cluster Bean

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Chapter – 4
Cluster Bean
Author’s
Dr. Praval Singh Chauhan
(Assistant Professor)
Medi-Caps University Indore (M.P.). INDIA
Dr. Jyoti Tomar
(Assistant Professor)
ITM University, Gwalior M.P. INDIA
Karan Chhabra
(Assistant Professor)
Medi-Caps University Indore (M.P.). INDIA

Cluster Bean
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CHAPTER - 4
Cluster Bean
 Botanical name:- Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.
 Family:- Fabaceae (Leguminoseae)
 Origin:- India
 Chromosome:- 14
Introduction
Cluster bean or guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) (2n=14) is an annual legume
plant widely grown for its gum, vegetable, fodder and green manure values. West
Africa and India are mentioned as centres of origin for cluster bean by various authors.
The crop is cultivated extensively in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, parts of
Central Africa and in the arid South Western United States to tap its industrial
potential, especially for the extraction of gum from the guar seed.
In India, two cultivars of guar are generally under cultivation i.e. Giant and the
Dwarf types; the former possesses large pods and seeds along with vigorous growth
characteristics. In India, this crop is cultivated mainly in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab,
Haryana and other states.
Clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.Taub.), commonly known as guar,
has come to be recognized as one of the most important commercial crop of arid and
semi-arid region. The seed of clusterbean contains about 30-33% gum in the
endosperm. The discovery of the galactomannan gum in the endosperm during 1948,
led to this hitherto insignificant plant gaining importance as an industrial crop. The
cluster bean [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub. (Syn. C. psoraliodes)], all and bushy
annual herb have a deep rooted system, is a resilient and drought resilient leguminous
crop grown on sandy soils of arid and semi-arid regions. It has been established as a
high-valued cash crop in the arid and semi-arid regions due to its drought hardiness and
multitude of usage and has occupied a special place in the commercial scene because of
its gum. The Indian arid zone characterized by deficient moisture and nutrient, and high
sunlight provides optimum agro-climatic conditions for the successful cultivation of
cluster bean, as the crop is known for high adaption towards poor and erratic rain, for
its need of little surface water, abundant sunshine and low relative humidity during the
cropping season (Pathak and Roy 2015). Indian cultivars and germplasms have wide
variability for morphological and agronomic variability i.e. pubescence of the plant,
pattern of branching, bearing habit, shape, size and texture of the pods, seed size, color

Cluster Bean
65
and quantity of gum in seeds (Dabas et al.1995). Cluster bean has taken its place in the
Indian commodity exchanges like National Commodity Derivatives Exchange Ltd.,
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd., etc. The dicotyledonous seed of cluster bean
from outer side to the interior consists of three major fractions, viz. the husk or hull
(14–17 %), endosperm (35–42 %) and germ or embryo (43–47 %). Green, matured
pod, seed and a cross section of the seed and its constituents are given in Fig. 1.1 and
Table 1.1, respectively. The galactomannan is found in the endosperm which makes up
about 35 % of the dry weight of the seed, 80–90 % being pure galactomannan, having
1:2 ratio of galactose to mannose (Das and Arora 1978). The gum is utilized for many
food items like ice creams, baked and dairy products etc. Moreover, its gum also used
in many other industries like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, mining, textile, paper, oil
drilling, explosive industry etc. (Hymowitz and Matlock 1963 Pawlik and Laskowski
2006 NRAA 2014).Traditionally, pods of the clusterbean are used for vegetable
purpose. Its plant, seed and straw are good source of nutritive fodder and feed for
livestock. Clusterbean is also raised as a green manure and cover crop. Being a
leguminous crop, it enriches the soil fertility by fixing the atmospheric nitrogen. The
crop is mainly grown during rainy season, but it can also be grown successfully during
summer season under irrigated condition. However, the average yield of cluster bean in
arid and semiarid region is very low as compared to its potential. The productivity can
be significantly increased with the use of the following improved production
technologies.
Advantages of growing guar
1. The crop is well suited for dry and arid areas
2. Cultivation is comparatively easy and short duration crop
3. Guar fits well into a crop-rotating program.
4. Since it belongs to the legume group, improves the soil by fixing the nitrogen
5. It works well in rotation with cotton, grain sorghum, small grains, vegetable
and flax etc
Origin and distribution
Cluster Beans is widely used in various forms, with its pods used as vegetable, grain
used as pulse and can also be used as fodder for animals. Cluster Beans is said to be
originated from somewhere in Africa but now it is widely cultivated in Southern Asia.
It is assumed to be developed from African Species Cyanmopsis Senegalesis. Cluster
bean is now widely grown in India and is a legume, which lives on symbiotic relation

Agronomy Leguminous Crops (A Regional Overview)
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with Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria Rhizobium. One of the most important characteristic of
Cluster bean is its drought-resistance. The legume has tap root system with the length
of 25 – 45 inches, and the pods are of 1.5 -4inches with 5-12 seeds within it. Guar plays
a major role as natural manure as it increases the growth of other crops by conservation
of soil nutrients. It is cultivated mainly in the rainy season and major producing states
in India are Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab and to a limited extent in Uttar
Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The crop has now been a choice in southern India also.
In addition to India, the crop is also grown in other parts of the world, viz. Sudan,
Australia (Anonymous 1911), Brazil (Costa 1950), South Africa (Doidge 1952),
Pakistan and parts of United States of America (Undersander et al. 1991). The main
importer countries of cluster bean gum are Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China,
Chile, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Sweden, UK and USA
(NRAA 2014). Rajasthan occupies the largest area (82.1 %) under cultivation of cluster
bean followed by Haryana, Gujarat and Punjab. Cluster bean was also grown regularly
in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha during 1970s but due to closing of the
processing facilities in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the cultivation in these
states is now insignificant. Rajasthan is the largest cluster bean producing states in the
world as it dominates the Indian production scenario contributing to 70 % of the total
production in India followed by Haryana (12 %) and Gujarat (11 %).In Rajasthan,
Churu, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Nagaur, Jhunjhunu and Sikar are the major cluster
bean producing districts whereas Bhiwani, Gurgaon, Mahendragarh and Rewire are the
main districts of Haryana involved in the cluster bean production. In Gujarat Kuchchh,
Banaskantha, Mehasana, Sabarkantha, Vadodara and Ahmedabad are the major cluster
bean producing districts. After seeing great revenues with the crop during previous
years by Rajasthan farmers, farmers in Ananthapur, Guntur, Karnool, Karimnagar,
Nellor, Prakasam and Rangareddi districts of Andhra Pradesh have also started the
cultivation of this crop for seeds in more than 1000 ha (NRAA 2014).
History and economic importance
Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba Taub.), locally guar, belongs to the
Leguminosae family. It is a highly important leguminous crop’ of the kharif season. Its
origin is on the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, and it has been cultivated for a long time in
the hot, dry, saridy areas of Bahawalpur and Thai.
Guar is an important leguminous crop. It is grown in our country mainly as green
fodder, but also for use as grain, green manure, and a vegetable. It is a: very popular
crop, particularly in the low-rainfall areas of Punjab and Sindh. A mixture of sorghum
and guar is the most popular fodder with growers. It is known for its drought resistance
and its soil-renovating qualities. Guar seed is used as concentrate for animals and for
extraction of a gum known as galactomannin. Guar gum has several uses in industry
and in various food products, ‘and is also a foreign exchange earner for our ‘country.
The meal which remains after ‘extraction of the gum from the seed is a high- protein
cattle feed. Moreover, being a leguminous crop, guar also enriches the soil.
Area, Production and Productivity
Although the history of cluster bean dates back from Africa, but now it is widely
cultivated in India, Pakistan, USA, Sudan, South Africa, Brazil, Malawi, Zaire and
Australia. India is the largest producer of Guar with 80% among the world production,
followed by Pakistan with 10-15%. Its production has considerably increased within
the span of past years from merely being a household & fodder need to industrial

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necessity. It is now widely used in various industries like food, pharmaceuticals and oil.
In India Rajasthan is the major producer of Guar followed by Haryana, Gujarat and
Punjab. Due to high prices of Guar the production has now extended to other states like
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In 20012
-2003 Guar production was only 0.2 million metric tons which increased to 2.7 million
metric tons in 2013 -14. In 2014 -15, the production was 2415 tons with yield of 567
kg/ha in an area of 4255 ha. The major product from Guar is Guar Gum which is a
natural thickening agent used in edible products. One of the major export from India is
Guar Gum, with some more research and development in the process and better
technology, it will be highly profitable to the farmers.
Importance and utility
Cluster bean has a special contribution among the Pulse crops. Cluster bean is more
drought hardy crop as compared to any other pulse. Guar occupies important place in
national economy due to its industrial use. Cluster bean is generally grown for feed,
fodder and vegetable purpose. The crop produces gum which is called guar gum and is
exported in foreign countries. Its seeds contain protein 18% and Fibre 32 % and about
30-33 % gum in the endosperm.
Nutritive value
Nutrient data
(Clusterbean, sprouted raw)
Nutrient
Per 100 gm
Proximates
Energy
30 kcal
Protein
3.04 g
Total lipid (fat)
0.18 g
Carbohydrate
5.94 g
Fiber
1.8 g
Sugar, total
4.13 g
Mineral
Calcium
13 mg
Iron
.091 mg
Magnesium
21 mg
Phosphorus
54 mg
Potassium
149 mg
Sodium
6 mg
Zinc
0.41 mg
Vitamines
Vitamine C
13.2 gm
Thiamine
0.084 mg
Riboflavin
0.124 mg
Niacin
0.749 mg
Vitamine B6
0.088 mg
Vitamine E
0.10 mg
Lipids
Fatty acid, total saturated
0.0446 gm
Fatty acids, total monosaturated
0.022 gm
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated
0.058
Cholesterol
0 mg
Caffeine
0 mg

Agronomy Leguminous Crops (A Regional Overview)
68
Botanical description
Habit: The Cluster bean is an annual, erect, herbaceous and robust legume. It has
indeterminate growth habit and can grow up to 0.4 to 3.0 m. with a life cycle of 80 to
160 days.
Root: It has a deep taproot system with well developed lateral roots. Roots are covered
with light colored root nodules. Effective nodules are slightly pink in color, while
ineffective nodules are white or brown colored.
Stem: Stem is an erect, single, unbranched and strong. Stem is angled or ribbed and
hollow. Stem has appearance of small white hairs.
Leaves: Leaves are alternate, trifoliate, and ovate with serrate margins. Leaves born on
long petioles at the base of which is a marked pulvinus.
Inflorescence: The inflorescence is an axillary racemose type. Flowers borne in
clusters giving the common name Cluster bean.
Flowers: Flowers pass through an array of colors from white to deep blue from the bud
stage to petal drop (Stafford and Hymowitz, 1980). The plants flower buds start out
creamy white and changes to a light pink as the flower opens and turns into deep purple
following the fleshy seed pods. Flower is complete and hermaphrodite with
papilionaceous corolla usually having ten stamens. Each stamen has two anther lobes
which get burst at maturity to liberate pollen grains when stigma is receptive. Thus
ensures the self pollination. The style is curved and the stigma terminal capitates.
Fruits: Pods are linear, erect, clustered, beaked, compressed with double ridges on the
dorsal side and single ridge on the front side. Pods are larger, fleshy and glabrous. A
pod varies single and double seeded to twelve seeds.
Seeds: Seeds are light gray, purpled colored. As plant shows an indeterminate growth
habit there is no uniformity in seed maturity.
Botany
It is an erect annual, stems angled, leaves trifoliate, flowers white or pink borne
in auxiliary raceme, pods compressed, linear, erect and clustered, double ridged on
dorsal side.
Breeding objectives
The major breeding objectives in cluster bean for vegetable use are high green
pod yield, early maturity, ideal plant type (dwarf, single stem), seasonal adaptability
(suitable for growing in both summer and rainy season in northern plains),pod

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quality(long, smooth, succulent, tender and fibreless,
attractive green colour, higher number of pods per
plant, few seeds in pod) and resistance to diseases and
insect pests.
Breeding methods
Cluster bean is mostly a self-pollinated
vegetable with only 2% cross pollination. The breeding
methods employed for improvement in cluster bean
includes pure line selection, hybridization and pedigree
method of selection.
Area and distribution
It is mainly grown in Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan stands first in
terms of both area and production. The consumption
pattern of its seed is largely influenced by the demands
from the petroleum industries in USA and oil fields in
the Middle East. The trend of consumption has also increased in rest of the world that
has led to its introduction in many countries. The world market of the crop is estimated
more than 1.5 lakh tones annually. The total area under its cultivation is 0.2 million
hectare. The world’s total cluster bean production has been figured around 7.5-10 Lakh
tones every year. The production list of cluster bean is dominated by India as leading
producers of the crop in the world contributing to around 75–82 % of the total
production.
Climatological Conditions
Temperature: It is sun-loving plant. dry land crop of tropic regions can tolerate the
high temperature. For proper growth it requires a soil temperature about 25° to 30°C. It
is susceptible to frost. It is definitely a kharif season crop in North India, but some
varieties have been found to grow during March to June as spring-summer crop and
other varieties grow during July to November as rainy season crop under South Indian
climatic conditions. It is a crop preferring warm climate and grows well in the
subtropics during summer.
Rainfall: It grows well in arid zone with 30 -40 cm rainfall. Heavy rains, producing
waterlogged condition or more compact soils disturb its root system with surface
feeding nature and reduce nitrogen fixing bacterial activity
Day length: It is a short day plant. It remains vegetative in long day conditions. During
short day condition it flowers and also attains maturity of pods.
Altitude: In India Cluster bean grows at an altitude ranging from sea level up to
elevations of about 900m. Environmental latitude is generally 30°S to 30°N (FAO,
Peter Griffee, 2000).
Soil
Cluster bean can be grown in all types of soils but medium texture sandy loam
soils are better for its growth. Moderate, intermediate rainfall with lots of sunshine
helps for better growth. The plant cannot tolerate shade and requires long day condition
for vegetative growth and short days for flowering. The Cluster bean prefers a well
drained sandy loam soil. It can tolerate saline and moderately alkaline soils with pH

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ranging between 7.5 and 8.0. Heavy clay soils, poor in nodulation and bacterial
activities, are not suitable for this crop. Soils with medium to light constituents, without
excessive moisture, are suitable for its cultivation. Even soils with poor fertility and
depleted plant nutrients are suitable for growing Guar as a green manure crop.
Land preparation
One deep ploughing from mould board plough or disk harrow followed by 1 to
2 harrowing or ploughing and followed by planking is done after harvesting of Rabi
crop. Properly leveled field is required for good drainage facility.
Varieties
The variety of cluster bean is of two type fodder- grain types and Vegetable
types.
Fodder and Grain type
FS-277:- The variety was developed by CCSHAU, Hisar by selection from local
material and is recommended for cultivation in all over India.
HFG-119:- This variety was developed by CCSHAU, Hisar by selection and is
recommended for cultivation in the entire guar growing area of the India. The crop is
harvested in 130– 135 days providing 25–30 green and 5–6 t/ha of dry fodder. It is
extremely drought tolerant, non-shattering and resistant to Alternaria leaf spot variety.
Guara-80:- The variety was developed by PAU, Ludhiana from intervarietal cross (FS
277 × Strain No. 119) followed by pedigree selection. It is recommended for
cultivation in north western zone of the country. It produces 26.8 t/ha green fodder and
15 q/ha seed.
HG-182:- The variety was developed by CCSHAU, Hisar from a single plant selection
from the genetic stock (accession HFC-182). It is ready for harvest in 110–125 days
Maru Guar (2470/12):- The variety was developed at CAZRI, Jodhpur by the help of
the germplasm material supplied by NBPGR, New Delhi. The variety is a dual type
suitable for western Rajasthan. It yields 22.5 t/ha green fodder and seed yield is 9.5
q/ha.
HFG-156:- The variety was developed by CCSHAU, Hisar for cultivation in Haryana.
It is a tall, branched variety yielding 35 t/ha green fodder.
Bundel Guar- 1:- It was developed through single plant selection at IGFRI, Jhansi. It
provides 35.0 t/h green fodder and 6.5 t/ha of dry fodder with a protein yield of 1.15
t/ha. It provides nutritive fodder in 50–55 days. This variety is moderately resistant to
leaf blight under epiphytotic field conditions. It is lodging resistant, responsive to
fertilizers, drought tolerant and has a non-shattering character. (CVRC- Notification no.
615(E) dated 17th August 1993).
Guar Kranti (RGC-1031):- This variety was developed at ARS, Durgapura and is a
derivative of the intervarietal cross between RGC-936 × RGC- 986/P-10. It is
recommended for cultivation in Rajasthan state. This variety yields 34 t/ha green
fodder and 14.6 q/ha seed.

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Varieties (Grain)
Sl.
No.
Variety/Hybrid
Recommended area
and released
Characters
1.
Pusa Mausami
Selection from a local
collection of
Jaipur,Rajasthan at
IARI,New Delhi
Densely branching, pods smooth
attractive bright green colour,10-12 cm
long, first picking in 65-80 days after
sowing
2.
Pusa Sadabahar
Selection from a local
collection of
Jaipur,Rajasthan at
IARI,New Delhi
Non-branching type, pods green and
12-13 cm long, tender and fibreless.
First picking in 45-55 days after
sowing. Suitable for sowing both in
summer and rainy season.
3.
Pusa Navbahar
Developed from a cross
between Pusa Mausami
and Pusa Sadabahar at
IARI,New Delhi
Non-branching type, pods 15 cm long
and of better quality, single stem,
suitable for both summer and rainy
season. Susceptible to bacterial blight
and lodging.
4.
Sharad Bahar
Developed thorough
selection
Profused branching,single plant
produces about 133 pods
5.
P-28-1-1
Photo insensitive variety, smooth green
and long pods, flowers in 30-32 days in
summer and 40 days in rainy season.
Suitable for both summer and rainy
season.
6.
P28 1
Developed by NBPGR
Cross between Pusa
Navbahar X IC11521
Photo insensitive and suitable for both
summer and rainy season
7.
Goma Manjari
Resistance to Powdery mildew,
Bacterial blight and Leaf spot
Sowing practices
Seed rate:- Optimum seed rate plays vital role in maintaining proper plant population.
The optimum seed rate for both summer and kharif season crop is 15 kg ha-1.
Time of Sowing:- The crop is sown in the first week of July to 25th July. Where
irrigation facility is there the crop can also be grown in the last week of June or after
the onset of monsoon. During summer it can be grown in the month of March.
Seed Treatment :- To prevent crop from soil borne disease seed can be treated by 2 g
Thiram and 1 g Carbendazim /kg seed. Seeds can be treated 2-3 day before sowing.
After fungicide seed treatment the seed is inoculated with suitable Rhizobium culture @
600g / 12-15 kg seed.
Planting distance:- Row to Row-45 cm (normal), 30 cm (single stem variety) Plant to
Plant 15-20 cm.
Irrigation
Usually, clusterbean is grown as rainfed crop in arid and semi-arid condition.
The irrigation should, however, be provided whenever, crop suffers moisture stress, if
irrigation facilities are available. Life saving irrigation should be given to the crop
particularly at the time of flowering and seed formation stage. Since crop often suffers
moisture stress in arid region, it is recommended that water management practices like
bunding of the field, mulching with plant residues @ 3-5 t ha-1 be used for conserving

Agronomy Leguminous Crops (A Regional Overview)
72
moisture in the soil and avoiding moisture loss due to evaporation. Spray of 0.1%
thiourea solution at 25 and 45 DAS also improves the yield of clusterbean during
moisture stress condition. Adequate moisture is required for the crop grown during
summer season. Crop should be sown after applying pre-sowing irrigation. If crop does
not germinate properly, a light irrigation can be given at 6-7 days after sowing. At least
5 irrigation should be given after the germination of the crop at an interval of 15 days.
Never allow water to stand in cluster bean field at any stage of its growth. Crop yield
may be affected due to high temperature and low humidity at the seed setting time.
Therefore, irrigating crop at seed setting time is beneficial for obtaining good yield
during summer season also. Suitable drainage conditions should be provided for the
removal of excess water from the field.
Manures and Fertilizers
Clusterbean being a leguminous crop, needs a small quantity of nitrogen as a
starter dose during early growth period. Clusterbean requires 20 kg N and 40 kg
P2O5 per hectare. Full dose of nitrogen and phosphorus should be applied at the sowing
time. It is advisable to follow integrated nutrient management practices for cluster
bean. About 2.5 tons of compost or FYM should be applied at least 15 days before
sowing. Application of FYM or compost is useful for improving water holding capacity
of the soil and also to supply all the nutrients require for the plant growth. At the
sowing time, 10 kg nitrogen and 20 kg P2O5 ha-1 should be applied as basal dose.
Fertilizer should be placed at least 5 cm below the seed. Seed inoculation with suitable
rhizobium strains and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) is beneficial for
increasing crop yield.
Weed management
In cluster bean two manual weeding given at 20-25 and 40-45 days after
sowing are sufficient to keep the crop weed free. However, sometimes due to non
availability of labour chemical weed control can be done. Before germination of the
crop application of Pendimethalin 0.75 kg/ha a.i. as pre emergence and for post
emergence application Imazehtapyr 40g/ha a.i. in 600 liters of water is applied at 20-25
DAS is suitable for weed control. Wheel hoe and Hand Hoe is used for Inter Culture
operation to reduce the expenditure. Flat Fan Nozzle should be used for spraying.
Insect and Pest management
Sucking insect: Jassids, Aphids and While fly are sucking insect.
Control:- Apply Imidacloprid @ 0.2 ml/liter or Dimethoate @ 1.7 ml/liter of water.
Termite: Termites damage plants by eating away root and stem, which cause poor
plant stand.
Control:-
1. Use well decompose FYM
2. Seed treatment with Chlorpyrifos @ 2 ml/kg seed
3. Application of Chlorpyrifos dust @ 20kg/ha at the time of last ploughing
before sowing.

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Disease and management
Bacterial blight
It is caused by a bacterium
Xanthomonas cyamopsidis. This
disease infestation mostly occurs
during kharif season crop at the
surface of leaf. The spot of the disease
are intraveinal, round and well defined
on the dorsal surface of the leaf. The
pathogen invades vascular tissues and
causes flaccidity of the affected
portion. The flaccid spots become necrotic and turn brown. The infection advances to
petiole and stem. It results in blackening and cracking of stem. Resistant varieties and
certified seed should be used for sowing purpose. Seed should be treated with 250 ppm
of agrimycine or 200 ppm of streptocycline for 3 hours. Spray of streptocycline @ 5 g
or plantomycine @ 50 g with 100 L water per hectare should be done at 35-40 days
after sowing.
Alternaria leaf spot
The casual organism of
alternaria leaf spot disease is a fungus
Alternaria cyamopsidis. The symptoms
of the disease appear mainly on the leaf
blade of leaves as dark brown, round to
irregular spots varying from 2 to 10
millimeter in diameter. The water
soaked spots later on turn grayish to
dark brown with light brown lines inside
the spots. Spray of zineb @ 2 kg in 500
L of water per hectare should be done at
an interval of 15 days at least twice.
Anthracnose
This disease is caused by Colletotrichum capsici f. cyamopsicola. the symptoms of the
disease appear on the leaves, petiole and stem in the shape of black spots. spray of
zineb @ 2 kg in 500 L of water per hectare should be done for controlling this disease.
Powdery mildew
This disease is caused by a fungus Erysiphe polygoni. The symptoms of the disease
start with white powdery growth over the leaf surface. This white growth consists of
the fungus and its spores. The disease can be controlled by spray of wettable sulphur

Agronomy Leguminous Crops (A Regional Overview)
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like suffex at the rate of 2-3 kg ha-1 or dusting of sulphur powder @ 20-25 kg ha-1 or
spray of dinocap @1.5 ml L-1 of water.
Thrips (Thrips palmi): Thrips palmi is polyphagous but mostly found on
Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae crops. Egg is colorless to pale white in color, and bean-
shaped in form, turns yellow towards maturation; laid singly inside the plant tissues.
The larvae resemble the adults in general body form though they lack wings and are
smaller. They usually feed on older leaves. Full fed larvae descends to the soils of leaf
litter where it pupates making an earthen chamber. Adult are pale yellow with
numerous dark setae. A black line from the juncture of wings runs along the back of the
body. Slender fringed wings are pale. Fringe is shorter on the anterior edge than
posterior. Body length is 0.8 -1.0 mm. adults feed on young growth. Thrips antenna is
seven segmented, Ocelli red pigmented.
Whiteflies (Bemisia tabacii): Eggs are yellowish white laid singly on the under surface
of leaves. Nymphs are yellowish and brownish, sub elliptical and scale like. They are
found in large numbers on underside of leaves. Pupae also resemble nymphs in shape
and have brownish opercula. Whitefly is a well-known vector, which transmits leaf curl
virus. It has piercing and sucking mouthpart and both nymphs and adults feed on lower

Cluster Bean
75
surface of the leaves causing deformation of young leaves. Whiteflies also excrete
honeydew, causing sooty mold.
Aphid (Aphis pisum): This is a cosmopolitan pest and highly polyphagous. The adult
color is highly variable and it varies from light green to greenish brown. The adult
color is highly variable and it varies from light green to greenish brown. Both wingless
and winged forms occur. They possess a pair of blackcolored cornicles on the dorsal
side of the abdomen. Aphids mostly are found in groups. Both the nymphs and adults
possess piercing and sucking mouthparts. They occur in large numbers on the tender
shoots and lower leaf surfaces, and suck the plant sap. Slightly infested leaves exhibit
yellowing. Severe aphid infestations cause young leaves to curl and become deformed.
Leaf miner (Phytomyza horticola): The pea leafminer Phytomyza horticola (Diptera,
Agromyzidae) is a
polyphagous species. P.
horticola has a wider host
range and an important pest in
India. The female deposits her
eggs in leaf tissue, leaving
small brown puncture wounds.
Adults feed on plant fluids that
exude from these wounds. The
larvae of all leafminer species
feed inside the leaves of their
hosts, creating unsightly mines
in the leaf tissue. Dark fecal
material accumulates in the
mine as the larva feeds. Larvae

Agronomy Leguminous Crops (A Regional Overview)
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destroy cells as they feed, so heavily mined leaves can die and heavily infested plants
can lose vigor.
Tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura): The tobacco caterpillar is one of the most
important insect pests of agricultural crops in the Asian tropics. The eggs are spherical,
somewhat flattened, and 0.6 mm in diameter. They are usually pale orange-brown or
pink in colour, laid in batches and covered with hair scales from the tip of the abdomen
of the female moth. Egg masses measure about 4-7 mm in diameter and appear golden
brown because they are covered with body scales of females. The larva is hairless,
variable in colour (young larvae are light green, the later instars are dark green to
brown on their backs, lighter underneath). Larvae cause damage by consuming foliage.
Young larvae initially consume leaf tissue from one side, leaving the opposite
epidermal layer intact. By the second or third instar, larvae begin to make holes in
leaves, and eat from the edge of the leaves inward. Later instar larvae feeds on beans by
making holes.
Integrated Pest Management strategies
The following Good Agricultural Practices should be adopted for the management of
various pests of cluster bean:
 Destruction of debris, crop residues, weeds & other alternate hosts.
 Deep summer ploughing.
 Frequent raking of soil beneath the crop to expose and kill the eggs, grubs &
pupa.
 Hand collection and destruction of infested leaves and fruits.
 Adoption of proper crop rotation and avoid growing of cucurbit crops in
sequence.
 Use of resistant and tolerant varieties recommended by the State Agricultural
Universities of the region.
 Early maturing varieties are less affected by fruit flies than later ones. Slight
raking of soil during fruiting time and after the harvest to expose pupae from
the soil.
 Use cue-lure traps to attract B. cucurbitae males.

Cluster Bean
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 Use poison bait against fruit fly-mix 500 gm jaggery, 20 ml malathion and
keeping plastic containers (100ml/container) @ 5 nos/Acre for monitoring and
20/acre for mass killing of fruit fly.
 Use fish meal trap @ 10-15 nos/acre for fruit fly.
 Use 10 banana pulp traps/acre against fruit fly-mix 20gm banana pulp, 3 drops
of palm oil and 10 granules of carbofuran and keep in plastic container.
 Cover fruits with polythene/ paper bags to minimize fruit fly infestation.
 Conserve predators such as Pennsylvania leather wing beetle (Chauliognathus
pensylvanicus); larvae of which feed on pumpkin beetle larva.
 Conserve parasitoids such as Celatoria setosa (grub).
 Use well decomposed FYM @ 8-10 tones per acre or wormi-compost @ 5 tons
per acre treated with Trichoderma sp. and Pseudomonas sp. @ 2 kg per acre as
seed / nursery treatment and soil application for controlling soil borne disease
such as root rot, wilting. Apply neem cake @ 100 kg per acre for reducing
nematode population.
Harvesting and yield
For grain purpose crop, harvesting is done when leaves become dry and 50% pod turn
brown & dry. After harvesting crop should be sun drying then threshing is done by
manually or thresher.. for fodder crop, crop cut when crop at flowering stage.
Yield
By adopting improved package of practices, crop can produce 10-15 q seed yield/ha. if
crop grown for fodder purpose 250- 300 q green fodder per ha can be achieved. Utility
of the Cluster Bean Green pods can be used as vegetables.
1. Green nutritious fodder for animals.
2. It is also used as green manure (40-50 kg/ha Nitrogen).
3. N- Fixation (25-30 kg/ha) is done by guar.
4. Increase soil fertility.
5. Gum can be produced from the crop.
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