Developed at ICRISAT, these lines have been selected by the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Pigeonpea
Six high-yielding pigeonpea pre-breeding lines derived from wild Cajanus species with an average yield potential ranging from 1,400- 3,000 kg/ha, were proposed for initial varietal trials across India for the 2019-20 crop season. This development is significant on two counts. One is of pre-breeding lines directly reaching the varietal pipeline and the second is the utilization of wild Cajanus species for broadening the ‘stagnant’ genetic base of pigeonpea cultivars in India.
Current breeding programs in India have been using a ‘cultivated’ gene pool wherein the narrow genetic base and unadaptive segregants led to yield stagnation at around 850 kg/ha in the past 70 years in varied ecologies of the country. Further, pigeonpea improvement programs are focusing on developing short-duration varieties, particularly in mid-early maturity duration group. Concerted efforts at genetic enhancement of pigeonpea by using wild Cajanus species at ICRISAT resulted in the development of a number of high-yielding introgression lines in different maturity duration groups. Amongst these, six lines derived from popular variety Asha (ICPL 87119) as the recipient and wild Cajanus acutifolius and C. cajanifolius as donor parents performed exceedingly well in Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states of India which account for about 90% of the pigeonpea cultivated area in the country.
Agronomic fitness, stability in yield and market preference were excellent in the ICRISAT pre-breeding lines. Hence, breeders from the national agricultural research system (NARS) of the five states nominated them to the Initial Varietal Trials of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Pigeonpea.
The six lines nominated are ICPL 15010, ICPL 17116, ICPL 15072, ICPL 15062, IBTDRG 8 and IBTDRG 10.
These lines will be evaluated across 13 locations in the Central Zone and eight locations in the Southern Zone in India. The nominations were made at the annual meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) AICRP on Pigeonpea held from May 25-27 at the Agricultural University Kota, Rajasthan.
Use of promising pre-breeding lines in breeding programs
ICAR and State Agricultural University (SAU) pigeonpea breeders across the country opined that pre-breeding lines derived from wild Cajanus species will aid in identification and release of broad-based high-yielding cultivars for cultivation across India.