Western Producer reporter Mary MacArthur continues her travels across India, exploring the land many say could become the next big market for Canadian farmers.
TANDUR, ANDHRA PRADESH – The early pigeon pea crop coming to Partani Dall Industries’ processing plant does not look promising.
Company owner Jaiprakash Partani said excess rain and heat during flowering have created a poor quality seed.
“It is not as uniform,” said Partani, who recently showed early harvested samples of pigeon peas brought to his processing plant by farmers.
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In a normal year, Partani buys high quality seed from farmers and through the local market.
New pigeon pea varieties and new herbicides have improved the seed quality in recent years, he said.
“This year is an exception. There is rather inferior quality and inferior yield,” he said.
The area received more than a metre of rain, about 40 percent more than its 850 millimetre average over the year, creating deformed flowers and poor seed.
Traditional strong prices and good yields of pigeon peas in the local area have kept his fifth generation pulse processing plant in business for 60 years. He also sells fertilizer and pesticides in the spring.
“We are connected to the farmers.” The plant was shut down for maintenance during a recent visit, but when it’s operating, it has a 12,000 kilogram per day capacity and processes about 1.5 million kg of pigeon peas a year.
“In the last four to five years, pigeon pea farmers have had a good price and a good yield,” Partani said.
It takes eight to 10 days to turn the raw seed into finished product, which is sold to wholesalers around the state or other parts of India.
When farmers bring in the seed, they’re paid on an initial grade. The seed is put into a bin and dried to 10 to 12 percent moisture.
After it’s dried, the seed is cleaned in a rotating drum screener and then put though an emery roller, which is a type of abrasion roller.
The first time through the emery roller removes only about eight to 10 percent of the tough seed coat.
Oil is applied to the seed and left for 24 to 48 hours to soften the coat and the seed is put back through the emery process. Usually 70 to 80 percent of the seed coat will be removed in the second abrasion process.
More oil is added and the seed is placed in a dryer and then husked again, during which most of the coating is removed.
The seed is laid out on large concrete pads to dry in the sun before going through a final roller for polishing, splitting and grading.
