Pigeonpea
2014
Mallikarjuna, N | Pratap, A | Kumar, J
Pigeonpea ( Cajanus cajan L.) is the sixth most important grain legume in the world and second most important pulse crop after chickpea in India. It is a major source of protein for several resource poor rural and urban families of Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America and can be cultivated successfully under limited inputs as well as rainfed conditions. Although enormous breeding efforts have been put to the improvement of pigeonpea during the last few decades, the progress in terms of increasing production and quality improvement has not been up to the desired level. One of the major reasons behind this is susceptibility of this crop to many biotic and abiotic stresses , as well as a narrow genetic base of cultivated germplasm thereby offering limited chances of genetic recombination and consequently slower rates of genetic improvement. On the other hand, wild relatives of pigeonpea have evolved naturally to survive environmental extremities including droughts, fl oods, excess heat, and cold and also have the capability to withstand damage by insect pests and diseases. Owing to these properties, these species have invoked interest of breeders in utilizing them for the improvement of their cultivated counterparts. Consequently, over the past many years, tremendous improvements of practical importance have taken place in pigeonpea utilizing wild genetic resources. This chapter summarizes such significant achievements and highlights the utilization status of wild species in genetic improvement of pigeonpea.
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