Productivity, Instability, and Temporal Dynamics Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) drivers in Shirur Tehsil, Pune District, Maharashtra.

Abstract Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) is an important pulse crop of short duration with benefits for soil fertility, crop science, and nutrition. This paper uses an eight-year secondary data set covering years 2004-05 to 2011-12 for analyzing temporal trends in area under cultivation, production, and productivity of mung bean in Shirur Tehsil, Pune District, Maharashtra State. The aims of this research were (i) to analyze growth rates, variability and trend direction in area, production and productivity of mung bean; and (ii) to analyze the link between production and productivity with area of cultivation. The methods that were applied include Sen's slope, Pearson correlation, ordinary least-squares trend estimations, Mann-Kendall rank correlation, coefficient of variation, compound annual growth rate, and descriptive statistics. The mean of production is 1,440.3 t, the mean of productivity is 398.5 kg/ha, and the mean of area is 3,250.9 ha. The greatest variation has been observed in the production (CV 84.2%), next is productivity (50.6%) and last one is the area (34.1%). The end point compound growth is negative for area (–1.11% annually) but positive for productivity (11.20% annually) and production (9.97% annually) but due to the lack of series and year to year variations, trend test is not significant statistically. A significant correlation was seen between production and productivity (r=0.975) and area (r=0.845) as well as productivity and area (r=0.741). Given the 5,000 ha area and 832 kg/ha productivity, the exceptional 2010-11 season produced about 4,160 tons and had a notable influence on growth parameters. From the analysis it is clear that there is no monotonically increasing trend but an unpredictable pattern in mung bean cultivation in Shirur in the research period. As such, reduction of productivity fluctuation, through methods like efficient moisture management, stress tolerant cultivars, appropriate sowing times, proper fertilizer management and suitable agronomic practices, becomes more important than simple expansion of area.