Improvement of Pigeonpea in Eastern and Southern Africa Annual Research Planning Meeting 1994 21-23 Sep 1994

This publication is a report of the second Annual Research Planning Meeting of the ICRISAT/African Development Bank Pigeonpea Improvement Project. The 35 delegates included scientists and senior research administrators from nine countries in the southern and eastern Africa region (Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia), and from ICRISAT. Progress made in collaborative pigeonpea research was reviewed at the Meeting, and detailed workplans and budgets formulated for research and extension work in each country for the 1994/95 crop season. The recommendations made at the Meeting stress several aspects, including the need for more rapid technology transfer, better availability of seed, regional nurseries for drought and wilt resistance screening, and more training programs, especially on pigeonpea utilization, in order to increase both local consumption and export

Genetic diversity in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] Landraces as revealed by simple sequence repeat markers

Genetic relationships among 88 pigeonpea accessions from a presumed centre of origin and diversity, India and a presumed secondary centre of diversity in East Africa were evaluated using six microsatellite markers. Forty-seven (47) alleles were detected in the populations studied, with a mean of eight alleles per locus. Populations were defined by region (India and East Africa) and sub-populations by country in the case of East Africa and State in the case of India. Substantial differentiation among regions was evident from Roger’s modified distance and Wright’s F statistic. Greatest genetic diversity in terms of number of alleles, number of rare alleles and Nei’s unbiased estimate of gene diversity (H) was found in India as opposed to East Africa. This supports the hypothesis that India is the centre of diversity and East Africa is a secondary centre of diversity. Within East Africa, germplasm from Tanzania had the highest diversity according to Nei’s unbiased estimate of gene diversity, followed byKenya and Uganda. Germplasm from Kenya and Tanzania were more closely related than that of Uganda according to Roger’s modified distance. Within India, results did not indicate a clear centre of diversity. Values of genetic distance indicated that genetic relationships followed geographicalproximity

Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) of Sorghum and Millets in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia [HOPE Project: Annual Progress Report for Year 3 (July 2011 – June 2012)]

The HOPE project has successfully completed its third year of operations. The project implemented all activities scheduled for Year 3, and produced a large number of major planned outputs. While a few outputs targeted for Years 2 and 3 still lag behind, quite a number of outputs scheduled for completion in Year 4 have already been produced by the end of Year 3

Analysis of production costs, market opportunities and competitiveness of Desi and Kabuli chickpeas in Ethiopia

This study was conducted to examine the existing conditions of chickpeas in relation to production and marketing and outlines the major technological and institutional constraints for harnessing market opportunities in the chickpea sub-sector. The study determines variety introduction, market conditions and seed delivery systems in Ada'a-Liben woreda. This district is one of the major chickpea growing areas in which new market-preferred and high-value Kabuli types are being tested and promoted. Section two of this paper presents the research process and methods. This is followed by discussion of production trends, available technologies, costs and opportunities for chickpeas. An overview of the structure and organization of the chickpea marketing system is given in section four. Section five presents market conditions with emphasis on opportunities for Kabuli exports, quality requirements, grading systems, competitiveness of smallholder producers, and existing potentials in domestic markets. The final section summarizes the key findings and highlights issues for policy and future research

Farmer preferences and legume intensification for low nutrient environments

Improved varieties of legumes adapted to nutrient deficiency have the potential to improve food security for the poorest farmers. Tolerant varieties could be an inexpensive and biologically smart technology that improves soils while minimizing fertilizer costs. Yet other technologies that improve productivity and appear to be biologically sound have been rejected by farmers. To translate benefits to smallholder farmers, research on low-nutrient tolerant genes and crop improvement must keep farmer preferences and belief systems in the forefront. We review farmer participatory research on legume-intensification and soil fertility management options for smallholder farmers in Africa, including recent results from our work in Malawi and Kenya. We suggest that indeterminate, long-duration legumes are the best bet for producing high quality residues, compared to short-duration and determinate genotypes. This may be due to a long period of time to biologically fix nitrogen, acquire nutrients, photosynthesize and grain fill. Also, the indeterminate nature of long-duration varieties facilitates recovery from intermittent stresses such as drought or pest pressure. However, indeterminate growth habit is also associated with late maturity, moderate yield potential and high labour demand. These traits are not necessarily compatible with smallholder criteria for acceptable varieties. Malawi women farmers, for example, prioritized early maturity and low-labour requirement, as well as yield potential. To address complex farmer requirements, we suggest the purposeful combination of species with different growth habits; e.g. deep-rooted indeterminate long-duration pigeonpea interplanted with short-duration soyabean and groundnut varieties. On-farm trials in Malawi indicate that calorie production can be increased by 30% through pigeonpea-intensified systems. Farmers consistently indicate strong interest in these systems. In Kenya, a 55% yield increase was observed for a doubled-up pigeonpea system (a double row of pigeonpea intercropped with three maize rows) compared to traditional, low density intercrops. However, the need for improved pigeonpea varieties with high intercrop suitability, including reduced early branching, was highlighted by a farmer preference study in the same area. These examples illustrate the potential for participatory research methodologies to drive biophysical research in farmer-acceptable directions

Adaptation of spring-sown chickpea to the Mediterranean basin. I. Response to moisture supply

Chickpea is grown in spring as a rainfed crop in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) regions in areas with mean annual rainfall of not less than 400 mm but where the rainfall amount and distribution are highly variable. We hypothesized that for WANA, the best-adapted cultivars should produce high yields in years with low rainfall and be responsive to moisture supply in years with high rainfall. Studies were therefore conducted to determine whether there is genetic variability in response to moisture supply and if so, to develop breeding strategies that support our hypothesis. Chickpea cultivars of diverse origin were grown under a soil moisture gradient using a line-source sprinkler irrigation system at Tel Hadya, northern Syria during the 1986/87, 1987/88 and 1988/89 seasons. In 1986/87 rainfall (359 mm) was similar to the long-term average but temperatures in the March-May period were lower. In 1987/88 rainfall was high (504 mm); and in 1988/89, it was low (234 mm) and temperatures during the March-May period were higher than the long-term average. Rainfed mean grain yields were 0.984 t/ha in 1986/87; 1.099 t/ha in 1987/88 and 0.187 t/ha in 1988/89. Cultivars varied significantly in response of grain yield to moisture supply (3.93–9.29 kg/ha/mm in 1986/87; 2.15–8.19 kg/ha/mm in 1987/88; and 3.10–9.57 kg/ha/mm in 1988/89). Responsiveness to moisture supply (regression slope) was highly correlated with yield potential. However, the correlation between the responsiveness to moisture supply and drought (rainfed) yield was non-significant. Widely adapted (stable) cultivars (i.e. cultivars which are considered well adapted to variation in moisture supply) in 1986/87 and 1987/88 were those with high mean yield, high rainfed yields and high yield potential; and in 1988/89 when the rise in temperature in spring was fast, additional requirements for wide adaptation were early phenology and high harvest index. Chickpea cultivars with wide adaptation had deep root systems and high pre-dawn leaf water potential

Adaptation of spring-sown chickpea to the Mediterranean basin. II. Factors influencing yield under drought

Drought during the late vegetative and reproductive stages of development i the major constraint to the productivity of spring-sown chickpea in the rainfed farming systems of West Asia and North Africa. This paper examines the contribution of crop traits to yield under drought and determines the relative contributions of drought escape, yield potential and a drought response index (DRI) to such yield. In years with mild drought (1986/87 and 1987/88), high biomass, high yield potential and high harvest index were highly correlated with grain yield. During the severe drought of 1988/89, early flowering and low straw yield, high harvest index, yield potential, pod and seed number and seed mass were correlated with rainfed grain yield. Differences among chickpea cultivars in rainfed (drought) yield were partitioned into drought escape, yield potential and DRI. Drought escape accounted for 41% in 1986/87, 37% in 1987/88 and 69% in 1988/89; yield potential accounted for 47%, 37% and 1%, respectively; and DRI accounted for 4%, 17% and 17% of the variations, respectively. The three factors combined explained an average of 90% of the variability in grain yield. The DRI was used to quantify tolerance or susceptibility of a cultivar independently of drought escape (early flowering) and yield potential. Of the traits which were significantly associated with drought yield, high harvest index, large number of pod and high seed mass were associated with drought escape (early flowering), while deep root system, high leaf water potential at dawn and large number of seeds were associated with drought tolerance (DRI)

Pigeonpea in eastern and southern Africa: summary proceedings of the Launching Meeting for the African Development Bank/ICRISAT Collaborative Pigeonpea Project for Eastern and Southern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 17-18 Mar 1992 and Lilongwe, Malawi, 30-31 Mar 1992

Two meetings took place in March 1992 to launch an African Development Bank-funded collaborative pigeonpea project for eastern and southern Africa. This resulting publication was specifically prepared by ICRISAT for submission to the African Development Bank. It is divided into three sections. The first consists of introductory and background information, the second deals with the Nairobi meeting, and the third the Lilongwe meeting. Summaries of the 19 papers presented at the meetings are included. These cover Country Papers that are statements of the status of pigeonpea research in each country, and Special Topic Papers that provide additional information on various aspects of the crop. The full texts of the opening and closing speeches and the participating countries' lists of national program requirements are also included. Of particular importance are the recommendations and suggested work plans for initiating collaborative pigeonpea research in the two regions

Improvement in Eastern and Southern Africa—Annual Research Planning Meeting 1993, 25-27 Oct 1993

The ICRISAT/African Development Bank (AfDB) Pigeonpea Improvement Project aims to develop and propagate the use of improved cultivars and management practices among pigeonpea farmers in eastern and southern Africa, and to increase the utilization of this crop in both regions. This publication is a report of the Annual Research Planning Meeting 1993, held at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 25-27 Oct 1993 and attended by ICRISAT scientists, AfDB representatives, and NARS scientists from 11 countries. Research progress made since the project was launched is reviewed; the major production/utilization constraints in each country, and ways to alleviate them, are discussed; and workplans (detailing proposed activities, methodologies, budgets, etc.) are presented for collaborative pigeonpea research in eastern and southern Africa

Utilization of landraces for the genetic enhancement of pigeonpea in eastern and southern Africa

The eastern and southern Africa (ESA) region is considered as a centre of secondary diversity for pigeonpea. Accessions (297) of pigeonpea landraces were collected from major production areas in four countries in the region and evaluated for desirable agronomic traits, particularly resistance to fusarium wilt and market-preferred traits. Selected germplasm was utilized in the regional breeding program aimed at genetic enhancement of pigeonpea. Five improved long-duration (LD) cultivars that are highly resistant to fusarium wilt and have large (100-grain weight >15.0 g) grains were developed. Similarly, six early maturing medium-duration (MD) cultivars (averaging 2.5 t/ha) for production in the high latitude areas in the region and three MD cultivars that are able to ratoon, were developed. Seed of pre-released cultivars that are preferred by the farmers was distributed widely in the region in order to facilitate adoption. Consequently, the productivity of pigeonpea and food security in the region improved significantly