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Not a
Featherweight
The erstwhile "orphan crop" pigeonpea is
attracting research attention spurred by its versatility,
productivity under difficult conditions and high nutritional
value.
Ground-breaking research on pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan
[L.] Millsp.) hybrids and related efforts to improve yields,
nutrition and disease resistance while promoting expansion to new
environments help assure food security for the millions of Asians
and Africans who use this crop in their daily diets.
Pigeonpea is very suitable for strengthening food security
through rainfed agriculture. It tolerates drought, needs minimal
inputs and produces reasonable yields of grain containing 20-22%
protein and essential amino acids.
The red seed coat of the pigeonpea
seeds gives it the popular name "red gram." Photo:
ICRISAT.
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In India, split pigeonpea is used to make tasty
dal. Photo: ICRISAT.
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In India, the split peas are cooked to make dal (thick
spicy soup), which is eaten with bread and rice. In southern and
eastern Africa and South America, whole seeds (both dry and
immature) are used as a nutritious vegetable, and in China
pigeonpea is grown on hill slopes to provide the additional benefit
of controlling erosion, while its leaves are used as fodder.
The world's first pigeonpea hybrid, ICPH 8, was released in
1991 by the International Crops Research Institute (ICRISAT) and
the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The release was a
milestone in food legume history, but hybrids that, like ICPH 8,
used genetic male sterility failed to reach farmers' fields.
This was because of high production costs, as male-fertile plants
had to be removed from the field by hand.
Scientists then developed hybrids using cytoplasmic nuclear male
sterility, achieving the first breakthrough in this technology by
crossing the wild species C. cajanifolius with a
cultivated line. The newer method has an excellent and stable male
fertility-restoration system and does not require removal of
fertile plants. It made possible the development of several
genetically diverse experimental hybrids.
Among medium-duration hybrids, ICPH 2671, which matures in
170-180 days, yielded 2,650 kilograms per hectare, or 35.8% more
than the best control, Maruti, in 43 trials conducted from
2005 to 2008. ICPH 2671 has large, attractive seeds and greater
plant height, and is highly resistant to wilt and sterility mosaic
diseases.
ICPH 2671 was selected for commercialization by Pravardhan Seeds
(P) Ltd., a member of the Hybrid Parents Research Consortium led by
ICRISAT. They named it Pushkal, which means bountiful in Sanskrit.
Pushkal was released for commercial production in July 2008.
Under irrigation, ICPH 2671 yielded 3,250 kilograms per hectare
in the field of a farmer in Andhra Pradesh, demonstrating the
potential of this hybrid to break the yield barrier. That
achievement earned the farmer Andhra Pradesh's 2009 Best Farmer
award.
Pigeonpea hybrids will likely be a boon under climate change
because of their speedy growth, greater root and shoot biomass, and
stronger resilience to combat drought, salinity and diseases. A
healthy hybrid crop will not only provide nutritious food and
fodder but will also improve soil fertility and structure.
Rainfall in East Africa is erratic, and maize yields have
suffered. Similarly, the traditional long-duration varieties of
pigeonpea either fail or give low yields under drought.
ICRISAT introduced new varieties to East Africa that flower and
mature earlier than existing strains, are more disease resistant
and drought tolerant, give better yields, have larger seeds, and
are easier to cook than their hard-grained predecessors.
The new varieties have other advantages. Unlike traditional
varieties, they can yield two harvests - the main crop and a ratoon
(or regrowth) crop - and can be used to produce either green
pigeonpeas or dry grains.
An early maturing variety, ICPL 88039, performs well in the
barren and degraded hilly region of Uttarakhand in North India,
producing over 1,000 kilograms per hectare.
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When other vegetables are in short supply, early
maturing pigeonpea features in almost every dish. Photo:
ICRISAT.
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Farmers in the Makueni district of Kenya have realized the
potential of fresh vegetable pigeonpea. This matures when food
reserves are low, making it a popular crop to stave off hunger. Due
to high local demand when other green vegetables are unavailable,
these green peas fetch prices almost twice that of dry grain.
Alluding to its high protein content, the farmers call it "our
beef."
Farmers have cultivated pigeonpea for 3,000 years. This
important food legume is grown on 5 million hectares of rainfed
semi-arid tropical areas of Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. In
India it is grown on 3.58 million hectares. China, Myanmar, Nepal
and Sri Lanka are other Asian countries that cultivate pigeonpea.
In Africa as well, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda
produce considerable amounts of pigeonpea.
Once considered an "orphan crop," pigeonpea has grown
in stature as an income generator and reliable source of nutrition.
If we were to name only one legume that assures food security in
the semi-arid tropics, it would be pigeonpea.
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