Botanical Name : Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba L. Taub
Family : Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Subfamily : Faboideae

Introduction

· Cluster Bean Commonly Known As Guar, Is An Indigenous, Annual And Self-Pollinated Kharif Legume Grown For Feed, Green Fodder, Vegetable, Green Manuring And Gum Extraction From Seed. Being Drought Hardy, It Is Grown Mainly Under Rainfed Conditions In India. It Provides Nutritious Fodder, Fibreless Green Pods For Vegetable, Guar Gum (Having Several Diversified Uses) And Guar Meal (Concentrate) To The Livestock, Adds Fertility To Soil By Fixing A Considerable Amount Of Atmospheric Nitrogen And Adding Organic Matter. It Has Assumed A Great Industrial Importance In Recent Years In Indian Arid Zone Mainly Due To The Presence Of Gum (Galactomannan) In Its Endosperm, Which Constitutes About 30–32% Of The Whole Seed. Guar Gum Has Several Diversified Uses In Textile & Paper Industry, Food Processing, Cosmetics, Mining, Pharmaceutical, Explosives, Petroleum, Well Drilling, Oil Industries, Photography, Refining Etc. Guar Gum And Its Derivatives Are In Great Demand In The World Market.

· Guar Is Commercially Grown Mainly In India, Pakistan And United States. In India, Guar Is Being Grown In Arid And Semi-Arid Areas Of North-Western States Mainly In Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Some Parts Of UP And MP Covering About 2.56 Million Ha With A Production Of 0.72 Million T Of Guar Seed.

Botanical Description

· Guar Plant Is An Erect, Robust Annual With A Height Of 90–180 Cm. It Has Well Developed Tap Root System. The Leaves Are Trifoliate And Toothed. The Flowers Are Purple In Colour And Borne On Short Axillary Racemes. The Pods Are Flattened, Fleshy, Beaked, 2.5–13 Cm Long Containing 5–12 Seeds And Are Borne In Clusters. The Seeds Are Square In Shape And Compressed.

Cultivation Practices

· The Crop Grows Well In Sandy Loams And Alluvial Soils. It Is Susceptible To Water Logging And Prefers Soils With Ph 7.0–8.5. The Field Preparation Requires Two Ploughings Or Two Cross Harrowing And Planking. At The Time Of Sowing ,15–20 Kg N/Ha Should Be Applied. Seed Inoculation With Rhizobium Is Promising For Better Performance Of Fodder Crop. The Crop Grows Well With Application Of 10 T /Ha FYM Or Compost At Time Of Sowing. The Crop Should Be Fertilized With 50 Kg P2O5/Ha. All The Fertilizers Should Be Applied At The Time Of Sowing In Furrows 4–5 Cm Below The Seed.