PULSES are annual leguminous crops yielding from one to 12 grains or
seeds of variable size, shape and colour within a pod. They are used
for both food and feed.
The term "pulses" is limited to crops harvested solely for dry grain,
thereby excludingcrops harvested green for food (green peas, green
beans, etc.) which are classified as vegetable crops. Also excluded
are those crops used mainly for oil extraction (e.g.soybeand and
groundnuts) and leguminous crops (e.g. seeds of clover and alfalfa)
that are used exclusively for sowing purposes.
In addition to their food value, pulses also play an important role in
cropping systems because of their ability to produce nitrogen and
thereby enrich the soil. Pulses contain carbohydrates, mainly
starches (55-65 percent of the total weight); proteins, including
essential amino acids (18-25 percent, and much higher than cereals);
and fat (1 - 4 percent). The remainder consists of water and inedible
substances.
Production data should be reported in terms of dry clean weight,
excluding the weightof the pods. Certain kinds of pulses can be
skinned and partially crushed or split toremove the seed-coat, but the
resulting products are still considered raw for classification
purposes.
FAO covers 11 primary pulses. Each is listed below, along with its
code, its botanical name, or names, and a short description.
Only two processed products are included in the FAO list, namely flour
of pulses and bran of pulses.
| FAOSTAT CODE | COMMODITY | DEFINITIONS, COVERAGE, REMARKS |
| 0176 | BEANS, DRY Phaseolus spp.: kidney, haricot bean (Ph. vulgaris); lima, butter bean (Ph. lunatus); adzuki bean (Ph. angularis); mungo bean, golden, green gram (Ph. aureus); black gram, urd (Ph. mungo); scarlet runner bean (Ph. coccineus); rice bean (Ph. calcaratus); moth bean (Ph. aconitifolius); tepary bean (Ph. acutifolius) | Only species of Phaseolus should be included, though several countries also include certain types of beans. Commonly classified as Vigna (angularis, mungo, radiata, aconitifolia). In the past, these species were also classified as Phaseolus. |
| 0181 | BROAD BEANS, DRY Vicia faba: horse-bean (var. equina); broad bean (var. major); field bean (var. minor) | |
| 0187 | PEAS, DRY garden pea (Pisum sativum); field pea (P. arvense) | |
| 0191 | CHICK-PEAS chickpea, Bengal gram, garbanzos (Cicer arietinum) | |
| 0195 | COW PEAS, DRY cowpea, blackeye pea/bean (Vigna sinensis; Dolichos sinensis) | |
| 0197 | PIGEON PEAS pigeon pea, cajan pea, Congo bean (Cajanus cajan) | |
| 0201 | LENTILS (Lens esculenta; Ervum lens) | |
| 0203 | BAMBARA BEANS bambara groundnut, earth pea (Voandzeia subterranea) | These beand are grown underground in a similar way to groundnuts. |
| 0205 | VETCHES spring/common vetch (Vicia sativa) | Used mainly for animal feed. |
| 0210 | LUPINS (Lupinus spp.) | Used primarily for feed, though in some parts of Africa and in Latin America some varieties are cultivated for human food. |
| 0211 | PULSES NES Including inter alia: lablab or hyacinth bean (Dolichos spp.); jack or sword bean (Canavalia spp.); winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus); guar bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba); velvet bean (Stizolobium spp.); yam bean (Pachyrrhizus erosus); | Vigna spp. other than those included in 0176 and 0195 Other pulses that are not identified separately because of their minor relevance at the international level. Because of their limited local importance, some countries report pulses under this heading that are classified individually by FAO. |
| 0212 | Flour of Pulses | Produced through milling or grinding of pulses. This heading also includes meal. |
| 0213 | Bran of Pulses | See Chapter 11. |