Breeding CMS-based white seeded pigeonpea hybrids

Most people in Gujarat prefer vegetarian diets. Their protein requirement is derived from pulses, vegetables, and various milk products. However, tuar dal (pigeonpea) is, by far, the most popular and cheap source of protein in their diets. The state produces 2.4 lakh tonnes of pigeonpea annually, but this quantity is insufficient to meet the ever increasing domestic needs. Since the scope of increasing pigeonpea area in the state is limited, the emphasis is now centered on increasing its productivity. In this context, the recently developed CMS-based hybrid pigeonpea technology has shown a promise and hybrids such as ICPH 4506, ICPH 4503, ICPH 4502 and ICPH 4429 have demonstrated >50% yield advantage over the popular cultivars. The commercial hybrid seed production technology was successfully tested for over two years and, on average, yield of about 1000 kg/ha has been recorded. This paper summarizes the successful joint efforts made by ICRISAT and Biogene Agritech, Ahmedabad (a private seed company) in developing and testing the first ever white-seeded high-yielding, and wilt and sterility mosaic disease resistant pigeonpea hybrid for Gujarat.