Pigeon pea hybrid breaks yield records

Scientists working to improve the grain legume pigeonpea , Cajanus cajan, announced recently that the new hybrid ICPH 2671 produces nearly 50 percent more grain than the popular Indian cultivar Maruti, definitively breaking the yield barrier that has had them and farmers frustrated for many years.

Development of the world's first commercially viable system for producing hybrid pigeonpea seed was completed 2 years ago by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT), working in close collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). "The technology represents a major breakthrough," says ICRISAT Director General William Dar, permitting pigeonpea yields of 3 to 4 tons per hectare.

Eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan predicts that the new pigeonpea hybrids, with their "quantum leap in yield," could open the way for a revolution in the production of this important pulse, similar to the transformation of wheat and rice production made possible several decades ago by novel semi-dwarf varieties.

According to K.B. Saxena, the ICRISAT scientist who led development of the new pigeonpea technology, 100 to 150 tons of hybrid seed, enough to plant about 25,000 hectares, should be available to farmers in 2008. It is being produced with the help of 16 public and private seed companies. Meanwhile, Swaminathan is overseeing a project that will seek to make the hybrids accessible even to the poorest growers.

ICRISAT and ICAR scientists embarked on a collaborative program of pigeonpea improvement in the mid-1970s and quickly registered important gains in their efforts to raise productivity. By the 1980s, they had developed early maturing varieties, which can be harvested in just 3 to 4 months, compared to the standard growing period of 6 to 9 months. These varieties are now being grown in rotation with wheat in northern India, resulting in a more diverse and sustainable cropping system. Scientists also succeeded in developing resistance to two major pigeonpea diseases, fusarium wilt and the sterility mosaic virus. But despite the release of dozens of improved varieties over the years, all of them conventional inbred lines, research was unable to make a dent in average yields, which remained near 700 kilograms per hectare.

While the pigeonpea hybrids offer a sizable benefit, there is also a cost. Rather than produce their own pigeonpea seed year after year, farmers will need to obtain new supplies of certified hybrid seed each year, just as farmers do with hybrid maize and rice. The reason for this is that hybrid vigor is expressed only in the first generation of progeny that result from crossbreeding. If farmers grow seed harvested from hybrid pigeonpea plants, they will see a sharp decline in crop yields.

ICRISAT is working closely with a consortium of private- and public-sector seed companies in India to commercialize pigeonpea hybrids and ensure that ample supplies can be made widely available within the next couple of years. Moreover, the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation has launched a project that will enable women farmers to produce pigeonpea hybrid seed themselves for their own use and for sale to neighbors. The idea is to create low-cost sources of seed for small farmers, while also fostering small-scale enterprises that generate employment and income for women.

India , where pigeonpea is referred to as "red gram," accounts for nearly 85 percent of world production. But the crop is also grown in many other developing countries across Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. It is especially well suited to poor soils in drylands. The grain provides poor consumers with a vital source of cheap protein, while the pods are consumed as a green vegetable. Pigeonpea plants serve as animal feed as well (for both livestock and fish), and the crop is commonly grown to prevent soil erosion, raise soil fertility and rehabilitate degraded lands. In China, where pigeonpea has undergone a major revival in recent years, food technologists have even developed a variety of processed foods and drinks from pigeonpea seeds.

CGIAR