Pigeonpea diseases in China

A brief description of 7 pigeon pea diseases prevalent in China is given. These were the fusarium wilt (caused by Fusarium udum), phytopthora blight (caused by Phytopthora drechsleri f.sp. cajani), powdery mildew (Oidiopsis taurica [Leveillula taurica]), sterility mosaic, cercospora leaf spot (Cercospora spp.), rust (caused by Uredo cajani) and phoma stem canker (caused by Phoma cajani). Suggested measures for controlling pigeon pea diseases in China are tabulated

Pigeonpea germplasm in China

The current status of pigeon pea germplasm in China is briefly discussed. A summary of pigeon pea germplasm collections in China is presented, including the year, area and number of collections, and the important traits

ICRISAT Pigeonpea Jumps Over the Himalayas

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is an important legume component in the dryland agricultural production systems, mainly because of its ability to produce large biomass and protein-rich seeds. India is the largest producer of pigeonpea, accounting for over 80% of the world production. Other important pigeonpea growing countries are located in the South America as well as in southern and eastern Africa. In Asia besides India, Nepal and Myanmar grow considerable acreage of pigeonpea. The newly bred ICRISAT varieties have taken pigeonpea crop into new areas. The latest example is the success of our varieties across the Himalayan range in China

Pigeonpea: An excellent host for lac production

The major research studies on the use of pigeon pea as a host of the lac-producing insect Kerria lacca for lac production in China are reviewed

Performance of ICRISAT pigeonpeas in China

Results of the experiments on pigeon pea biomass production conducted in Guangxi Province, and on soil conservation potential of pigeon pea conducted in Kunming, China, are presented and discussed. Tabulated data on the performance of short-duration determinate ICRISAT pigeon pea lines tested in Guangzhou, China, during 1998 is given

Pigeonpea: A potential fodder crop for Guangxi province of China

The progress of pigeon pea as a major fodder crop in Guangxi, China is reviewed. The potential of pigeon pea as a source of good quality fodder for the growing livestock industry in the province is discussed

Traditional and alternative uses of pigeonpea in China

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) was introduced to China from the eastern parts of India about 1500 years ago (Zhoujie 1997). Traditionally, it has been used for lac production, fuel wood, soil conservation, fodder, food, and medicine. Its food uses are constrained by some prominent defects in the landraces. These include long-duration (more than 300 days), inherent low seed yield (750 kg ha-1), small seed size, and high amount of trypsin inhibitor. To overcome these constraints, new varieties of pigeonpea have been introduced recently into China from ICRISAT. These varieties are showing good adaptation and have many useful traits (Shiying et al. 1999). Therefore, new uses of this crop need to be identified. This paper reviews the traditional uses of pigeonpea in China and highlights the potential uses identified recently from the research work done in this area

Ecogeographic analysis of pea collection sites from China to determine potential sites with abiotic stresses

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is grown widely throughout China and has undergone natural selection throughout its agricultural range over 2,000 years. Here we characterize collection site habitats to develop an understanding of the key selection pressures likely to be imposed by each environment to facilitate the investigation of specific adaptation. We characterized 240 collection sites of 529 pea landraces, across 25 provinces and 3 municipalities of China comprising the main pea cropping regions for climatic variables. Multivariate analyses showed that collection sites tended to cluster along geographic and abiotic stress clines. Spring sown sites and winter sown sites were clearly separated into 6 and 7 habitat type clusters respectively. In addition, regions which experience extreme abiotic stresses of frost, drought and high temperature in the reproductive period for pea landraces, were identified as targets for germplasm to be tested for respective tolerances to these stresses