Pigeonpea is Significantly More Than Just a Delicious Pulse

Kulbhushan Saxena; Arbind K. Choudhary; Va Dalvi; Rachit K. Saxena; Jyotirmay Ghosh; Sultan Singh; Prasoon Verma; Saurabh Kumar

doi:10.21921/jas.v8i03.1508

Kulbhushan Saxena International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324, Telangana, India
Arbind K. Choudhary ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, Bihar, India
Va Dalvi Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, Guangxi, China
Rachit K. Saxena ICAR-Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, Namkum, Ranchi 834 010, Jharkhand, India
Jyotirmay Ghosh ICAR-Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, Namkum, Ranchi 834 010, Jharkhand, India
Sultan Singh ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, Uttar Pradesh, India
Prasoon Verma ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research Institute, Kanpur 208 024, Uttar Pradesh, India
Saurabh Kumar ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna 800 014, Bihar, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21921/jas.v8i03.1508

Keywords: Cajanus cajan, fodder, folk medicine, green vegetable, lac production, soil conservation.

Abstract

Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], a popular pulse crop of rainfed tropics and sub-tropics, is predominantly grown for its high protein grains under mixed or pure stands. In India, where pigeonpea is grown on over 5.0 m ha, the entire produce is transformed into decorticated splits (dal) for marketing and consumption. Besides this, different parts of the plants are also used in several other ways which directly or indirectly contribute positively towards sustainable rural agricultural system. These include fresh vegetable, animal fodder and feed, soil conservation, folk medicine, lac and fuelwood production, thatch roofing, basket making, and the like. The authors in this paper have attempted to bring all such scattered information together for the benefit of those concerned with the overall pigeonpea research, development, production, and utilization.