Breeding for Earliness in Pigeonpea: Development of New Determinate and Nondeterminate Lines Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Considering the increasing demand for pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], especially in India, breeders have realized the need to develop high-yielding, super-early maturing (<90 d) lines that could be planted in a wider range of latitudes and/or altitudes to enhance the crop adaptation and to diversify the legume-based cropping systems. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) initiated a breeding program in 2006 to develop "super-early" (flowering in <50 d) determinate (DT) and nondeterminate (NDT) pigeonpea lines. Eleven parental lines with days to 50% flowering ranging from 49 d (MN 5) to 103 d (ICP 6974) were crossed using a full diallel mating design. A pedigree-based approach was followed to select for early flowering. The selection gain was larger initially (reduction of 7 d) but there was less reduction (2 d) from F3 to F4. Determinate and NDT lines that flowered in 45 to 56 d at ICRISAT-Patancheru reached advanced (F5 and F6) generations. The newly developed lines flowered and matured at a higher latitudes (tested at 30 N vs. 17 N) and altitudes (tested at 1250, 545, and 247 m asl). These lines could be used in new cropping systems (i.e., pigeonpea-wheat [Triticum aestivum L.]) that would allow expanding pigeonpea production to nontraditional planting areas (i.e., wider latitudes and higher altitudes) and could even offer wider planting time flexibility to farmers. Crop Science Society of America.

published proceedings

  • Crop Science

author list (cited authors)

  • Vales, M. I., Srivastava, R. K., Sultana, R., Singh, S., Singh, I., Singh, G., Patil, S. B., & Saxena, K. B.

citation count

  • 26

complete list of authors

  • Vales, MI||Srivastava, RK||Sultana, R||Singh, S||Singh, I||Singh, G||Patil, SB||Saxena, KB

publication date

  • November 2012

publisher