Millers preference towards technological attributes in pigeonpea in N-E Karnataka

Red gram or pigeonpea, Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp is one of the major pulse crops of tropics and sub-tropics and owed with several unique characters. The major part of pulse produced in India is converted into Dal. Many products are made from whole or de-husked pulses. Pigeonpea undergoes processing before it is taken for consumption. It is important to elicit the preference of the Dal millers so that it indirectly increases the price of the farmers’ produce. Despite release of several improved varieties of pigeonpea millers preference has been concentrated towards certain varieties. The current study was aimed at identifying and evaluating technological attributes of pigeonpea preferred by millers. Data were collected from 30 millers from Kalaburgi, Karnataka district through simple random sampling procedure. The conjoint analysis model was employed to analyse attributes preferred by millers. The results suggested that important traits preferred by the millers were high recovery percentage, low moisture content, medium seed coat and good colour.