An agricultural research institute in India has developed hybrid varieties of pigeon pea (arhar), which promise to significantly raise output and cut import dependence for the produce.
It has been done by scientists from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (Icrisat). Its headquarters are in India, at Hyderabad, but it is a global institute, not an Indian one.
Various countries and global agencies helped set it up and its mandate is to do research on agriculture in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Particularly, on five hardy crops — chickpea (chana), pigeon pea, pearl millet (bajra), sorghum (jowar) and groundnut (moongfali).
Icrisat developed the hybrid varieties of pigeon pea, also known as red gram pulse, and claims 30 per cent more yield than traditional breeds. Unfortunately, there is little possibility of replicating this method of success in other varieties of pulses.
Pollination, critical for development of the hybrid, is not possible in other pulses like moong or chana. For over five decades, the productivity of pigeon pea has remained low (600-700 kg per hectare). To meet the annual domestic need of 3.5 million tonnes, India imports about 500,000 tonnes from Myanmar and Africa every year.
After sustained efforts, Icrisat developed commercial hybrids in pigeon pea after hundreds of on-farm trials, said K B Saxena, principal scientist. Two hybrids have been found the most promising and were selected for large-scale seed production, on-farm testing and test marketing.
Saxena said the cost of production was much less as compared to conventional varieties.
With the better yield, cultivation of the hybrid would give a profit of almost Rs 83,000 per hectare as compared to Rs 24,000 from the local variety, he added.