______________________________From Orphan Crop to Pacesetter

The problem
Like many legumes, pigeonpea commands a relatively high price in the marketplace, and smallholder farmers benefit from it both as a cash generator and as a foodstuff. But yields of traditional pigeonpea were depressingly low for a crop that spent 6–9 months in the field, averaging about 700 kg ha-1. The basic productivity of the system was insufficient to interest farmers in intensifying their crop management much beyond subsistence level.

The solution
With support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and in collaboration with the University of Queensland, ICRISAT and ICAR scientists made a concerted effort to understand pigeonpea physiology and yield development processes, in the context of both existing and potential cultivation systems – and spotted opportunities for innovation (Chauhan et al. 1987).

They applied this understanding to breed more productive and adaptable, short-duration (4-month), "bush" plant types, which contrast sharply with the traditional, arboreal, asynchronous- flowering, photoperiod-sensitive, late-maturing (6–9 month) varieties. Crossing and selection for short duration combined with good agronomic type were carried out under long days in sub-tropical northern India, for yield at ICRISAT Patancheru, and for resistances to disease, pest, and other

stresses at relevant hot spots across India, in close collaboration with ICAR.

Progeny fitting the desired "ideotype" grew to less than a meter in height in tropical environments, permitting much easier field operations. They were also more synchronous in flowering and grain maturation, opening the door to the possibility of mechanization.

However, it soon became clear that these bush types required substantially different crop management. Being less competitive, they were unsuited to traditional intercropping at low density. Monocropping with a fivefold increase over traditional sowing density was required (Chauhan et al. 1987).

In a sense, the traditional configuration of diversity in space (intercropping) was now supplemented by an additional varietal option that exploited system diversity in time (multiple cropping). This additional dimension could enhance total farm income substantially