KRUSHI DARSHAN - TUVERNI VAIGYANI KHETI PADDHATI LIVE T/C:-05/06/2024

TUVERNI VAIGYANI KHETI PADDHATI
LIVE T/C:-05/06/2024
India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world contributing around 25-28% of the total global production. Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Millspaugh) is one of the most important legume crops, with diverse uses as food, feed, fodder, and fuel, besides enriching soil through biological nitrogen fixation. Globally, the crop is grown on about 7 million hectares (FAOSTAT, 2019), mainly as a rain-fed crop in semiarid tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia, East Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is the primary source of dietary protein for over a billion people in developing countries. Millions of resource-poor smallholder farmers grow this multipurpose crop with minimal inputs to sustain their livelihoods. Domestication of the wild progenitor species Cajanus cajanifolius (endemic to the Indian subcontinent) resulted in the origin of the cultivated pigeon pea in central India more than 3,500 years ago, from where it subsequently spread to other parts of the globe (2, 3). India is the largest producer of pigeon pea, accounting for 72% of global production (FAOSTAT, 2019). It is the second-largest cultivated legume crop (after chickpea) in India, contributing 15% by area and 17% by production. The major pigeon pea growing zones in India can be divided into the south zone (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka), central zone (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat) and northern plain zone (Uttar Pradesh). The states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest yields. The soil types in these three states located in the south, central, and northern zones are red soil (alfisol), black soil (vertisol) and alluvial soil (inceptisol), respectively, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Taxonomy. A large number of pigeon pea varieties are cultivated in India, exhibiting a vast genetic and phenotypic diversity of agro-morphological traits, including variations in plant type, branching pattern, pod and seed size, seed colour, protein content, grain yield, resistance/tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, crop duration, photoperiod sensitivity, and days to flowering and maturity.