Tur Arhar

The other name given to Toor dal is Pigeon Pea or Arhar Dal.

History

The history of cultivation of Toor dal is considered as old as 3500 years. The origin of its cultivation was seen in eastern areas of peninsular India that majorly include Orissa state. Later, this was grown in the areas of East and West Africa.

Nutritional Value of Toor Dal

Toor Dal is a rich source of protein and also contains necessary amino acids.

It has been seen that completely mature seed have higher nutritional values than the immature seed which have higher amounts of Vitamin C and higher content of fats. Even the protein found in the immature seeds is higher in comparison to completely mature seeds.

Cultivation of Toor Dal

During the current times, Toor Dal is cultivated in the regions of tropical and semitropical climatic conditions. The maximum cultivation of Toor dal is done in the following regions and these are Indian subcontinent, eastern part of Africa and Central America. It has been recorded that there are almost a total of 25 both tropical and subtropical countries that cultivate this as an individual crop or even at times, it is cultivated as a mixed crop along with cereals like pearl millets, peanuts etc. Since Toor dal belongs to the family of legume so it has the capability of enriching the coil by maintaining its nitrogen.

This crop is resistant to drought and can be grown in the areas with rainfall as low as 650 mm annually.

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