The Hindu Business Line : Pigeonpea stages a comeback in China

PIGEONPEA varieties of the International Crops Research Institute of Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) here have succeeded in ushering in the comeback of the crop in China.

For centuries, pigeonpea was used for rearing lac insects. And when the lac industry collapsed, its cultivation also disappeared from Chinese farmlands. The re-introduction of pigeonpea in China was for conserving soils in sloping mountain regions, so that it could support the cultivation of other crops.

In 1997, the ICRSAT-bred new pigeonpea material was tested for the first time in China. After the initial trials at several locations, Yunnan and Guangxi provinces were selected to conduct research on the role of pigeonpea in various cropping systems, especially for controlling soil erosion and rehabilitating degraded and eroded soils.

According to Dr William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, the impact of the institute's varieties in China recognises the significance of pigeonpea as a crop with many useful qualities.

The partnership between Icrisat and China has shown very encouraging results and now pigeonpea crop can be seen growing on the roadsides, hill slopes and riverbanks. At present, efforts are also being made to popularise pigeonpea for human food, especially as green peas.

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