The hybrid is suitable for cultivation in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The high yielding and disease-resistant hybrid would give 40 per cent more yield than the popular variety. A kilogram of seeds would cover an acre. A farmer uses about four kg conventional seeds for an acre.
ICPH 2671 is a result of 25 years of research, Dar said adding the productivity of pigeon pea had not increased significantly despite release of new varieties earlier. Pigeon pea is cultivated in 35,00,000 hectare in the country now. The crop is suitable for rainfed agriculture and is drought tolerant, needs minimum inputs and produces reasonable yield under unfavourable agro-ecological conditions.
KB Saxena, principal scientist, who worked on the project, said Pushkal was tested for three years in 21 locations before releasing for commercial use. About $9 million (about Rs 36 crore) has been spent on the project.
Icrisat and other partners in the project produced about 40,000 kg hybrid seed. This will be used in about 10,000 hectare for on-farm validation in different environments and cropping systems this year, Saxena said.
Pravardhan managing director Murahari Rao said the company was looking to cover at least 50 per cent of the pigeon pea cultivation area in two years. It will now focus on increasing the seed production using the genetic material provided by Icrisat. This year, it produced about 1,500 kg of hybrid seed. The seeds are priced at Rs 100 for a 500gm packet.
