Wild relatives play an important role in the genetic improvement

of cultivated crops. Breeders turn their attention to

the wild relatives of crops after unsuccessful search for

some unique trait in the cultivated germplasm. According

to van der Maesen (1986) the genus Cajanus has 32 species.

Of these, the Indian subcontinent harbors 18 species.

ICRISAT has the global responsibility of collection,

maintenance, and evaluation of germplasm of the wild

relatives of pigeonpea. At present a total of 213 accessions,

representing 20 Cajanus species are conserved for use in

the breeding programs

Li, Zhenghong

Reddy, L J

Saxena, K B

Yang, Shiying

Zhou, Chaohong

Zong, Xuxiao

ICRISAT Open Access Repository

32 ICPN 8, 2001grows at a faster rate but also produces large biomass offresh leaves and tender branches. Hence, pigeonpea canbe used as a fodder and pasture crop for goat and buffalo.In 1999 cropping season short- and medium-durationpigeonpea lines and a local check were evaluated forbiomass production in Nanning in unreplicated plots.Sowing was done on 20 April. Inter-row spacing was100 cm while plants within the row were spaced at 40 cm.ICPL 88009 was the earliest (100 days to flower). Thelocal check took about 8 months to flower. ICPL 85010,ICPL 93047, ICPL 87119, ICP 7035, and local check pro-duced more than 50 t ha-1 fresh biomass and about 25–30 tha-1 of dry biomass. The data also indicated that in com-parison to local check, ICRISAT lines were more efficientin dry and fresh mass accumulation rates. The promisinglines from this material will be selected for more detailedstudies in agronomy, feeding, and multiple cutting trials inthe next season.During 1999 cropping season, two ICRISAT pigeonpealines ICPL 90008 and ICPL 87091 were evaluated forfodder and seed yield in Duan county in Guangxi Province(Figs. 1 and 2). The plantings were done at two locations,one representing high mountain slope and another flatlowland. These lines were sown at the beginning ofrainy season on 20 April and towards the end of rainyseason on 10 July. The lines took more time to flowerand the plants were more vigorous in early sown (April)than late sown (July) crops. In lowland, ICPL 87091took more time to flower and mature and produced morebiomass than ICPL 90008.Soil ConservationThe Institute of Insect Resources of the Chinese Academyof Forestry, Kunming tested a number of ICRISATgermplasm lines for soil conservation in Yunnan Prov-ince. From these, six lines were identified for large-scalefield evaluation in agroforestry, intercropping, and cov-erage of slopy lands.The newly developed ICRISAT pigeonpea lines haveshown great promise for monocropping and intercroppingsystems in China. At present Guangxi and Yunnanprovincial governments have developed elaborate plansto multiply seed of the promising lines and conduct aseries of on-farm trials in the counties where high levelsof soil erosion and drought do not permit the cultivationof other food legumes economically.Wild Relatives of Pigeonpea in ChinaK B Saxena1, L J Reddy1, Yang Shiying2, ZongXuxiao3, Li Zhenghong4, and Zhou Chaohong4(1. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324, AndhraPradesh, India; 2. Institute of Crop GermplasmResources, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Nanning, China; 3. Institute of Crop GermplasmResources, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Beijing, China; 4. Institute of Insect Resources, ChineseAcademy of Forestry, Kunming, China)Wild relatives play an important role in the genetic improve-ment of cultivated crops. Breeders turn their attention tothe wild relatives of crops after unsuccessful search forsome unique trait in the cultivated germplasm. Accordingto van der Maesen (1986) the genus Cajanus has 32 species.Of these, the Indian subcontinent harbors 18 species.ICRISAT has the global responsibility of collection,maintenance, and evaluation of germplasm of the wildrelatives of pigeonpea. At present a total of 213 accessions,representing 20 Cajanus species are conserved for use inthe breeding programs.China is known for maintaining high level ofbiodiversity of different crop species. But the collectionand evaluation of pigeonpea and its wild relatives hasbeen rather limited. In ICRISAT’s global germplasmcollection of wild species none is of Chinese origin. vander Maesen (1986), while reviewing the taxa that areclosely related to pigeonpea, listed six species whichwere found earlier by various researchers in China. Thedetailed description of these species with respect to theirdistribution and morphology is given by van der Maesen(1986) in his monograph. For quick reference a briefdescription of these species is given below and the keyfor indentification is given in Table 1.Cajanus crassus (Prain ex King) van der MaesenCajanus crassus is distributed in India, Myanmar, Thailand,China, Vietnam, Philippines, Java, and Malaysia peninsula.In Myanmar, it is locally called Pe yaing or Taw pe. InChina it has been reported to be found in YunnanProvince in Manhao prefecture, Tonkinensis, Manpau,Red River Valley, middle part of E Mount Poo Peng, andon Babien-Ho between Talang and Puorl.ICPN 8, 2001 33Cajanus crassus is a perennial climber. Leaves are dark,pinnately trifoliate, and lower surface of the leaflets ispubescent. Racemes are crowded and corolla yellow.Calyx is pubescent with short hairs. Pods are sturdy andoblong (2.5–5 cm in length) and contain 5–6 rectangular,rounded, black or cream colored seeds.Cajanus goensis Dalz.Besides China, C. goensis is found in a number of Asiancountries. In China it is reported to occur in YunnanProvince. The areas where this species has been locatedare Szemao mountain, Yu Lu mountain, Haba SnowRange and between Manua and Mantung near Teshelo/Kenghun on Mekong River. It is generally found at 1000–1300 m altitude and flowers in September. In Myanmarit is called Ioe htun. According to Rama Rao (1914),C. geonsis is a good herbal medicine. A decoction of rootpowder is suitable for curing rheumatism, biliousness,impurity of blood, fever, heat, and swelling. It also improvesvitality, increases phlegm, and constipates bowels.It is a perennial climber with long sticky, brown hairson almost the entire plant. Leaves are pinnately trifoliatewith long petioles. Leaflets have prominent ribs. Racemesare lax and pubescent. Pods are curved or straight,narrowed to both ends, and covered with long hairs.Seeds are broad and light brown in color with black mosaic.Cajanus grandiflorus (Benth. ex Bak.) van derMaesen comb. nov.In Chinese language C. grandiflorus is called Siao ChoTen or Siau Ko Ten. Besides China, C. grandiflorus isalso found in India and Bhutan. In China it is reported tobe found in several areas of Yunnan, Kweichow, andAnhwei provinces. In Yunnan province C. grandiflorusis present in Hinyu-hien, La Long Tan, Teng Chung,west bank of Shweli-Salween divide, and Mount Mangtze.Cajanus grandiflorus is a climber with branches coveredwith hairs. Leaves are pinnately trifoliate with membranousleaflets. Racemes are lax with yellow flowers. Pods are3.5–5 cm long and covered with hairs. Seeds are roundand compressed.Table 1. Key to wild Cajanus species reported in China.A. Erect shrubs.Leaflets rounded-obovate, whitish below, pods 4–6 seeded. - C. niveusAA. Climbling or creeping plants.B. Leaflets small.Leaflets elliptic or obovate-obtuse, twiner in grasses. - C. scarabaeoidesBB. Leaflets large.C. Flowers large.Corolla persistent calyx with bulbous based hairs. - C. grandiflorusCC. Flowers small.D. Corolla not persistent.Indumentum fine, spreading, green, bracts very hairy. - C. goensisDD. Corolla persistent.E. Leaflets semi-coriaceous.Leaflets densely gray, hairy below, end leaflets longer thanbroad, pods 8–10 seeded. - C. mollisEE. Leaflets coriaceous.Leaflets brown, pubescent below, end leaflets broader thanlong, pods 3–5 seeded. - C. crassus34 ICPN 8, 2001Cajanus mollis (Benth.) van der Maesen comb. nov.Cajanus mollis is distributed in various countries locatedin the Himalayan foothills. In China, it has been reportedis Szemao mountain, Mapan and Red River Valley inYunnan Province. It is a perennial climber with very longbranches. Leaves are trifoliolate with soft leaflets andprominent ribs. Racemes are short and crowded. Podsare sturdy and oblong ends rounded, 3.5–4.5 cm longand densely puberulous. Seeds are ellipsoid to rectangularin shape and whitish in color.Cajanus niveus (Benth.) van der Maesen comb. nov.Cajanus niveus has been reported from several locationsin Myanmar and Yuenkiang and Ue mountain of YunnanProvince in China. This species is an erect perennialshrub with green pubescent grayish branches. Leavesare pinnately trifoliate; leaflets are covered with densepubescence and have prominent ribs. Racemes are short.Pods are oblong, obtuse at both ends, and covered withhairs. Seeds are cylindrical with very large strophiole.Cajanus scarabaeoides (L.) ThouarsCajanus scarabaeoides is widespread in Asia. In China,it is called Shui Kom Ts’o and found at altitudes fromsea level to 1000 m. In Yunnan Province it is endemic inYang Tse Ferry near La Ka Triang between Yunnansuand Huili while in Hainan it has been found growing inFigure 1. Cajanus scardabaeoides, a wild relative ofpigeonpea found in bushes of Guangxi province in China.Wanning. It is useful in pastures (Dabadghao andShankarnarayan 1973). Kirtikar and Basu (1933) reportedthat C. scarabaeoides is effective against diarrhea in cattle.In August 1999, the authors found this species growingin the wastelands at 180 m elevation in TiandongCounty of Guangxi Province in China (Fig. 1). At thislocation, plants of different ages ranging from youngseedlings to perennials were found. Some plants were inpodding stage.In addition to the six species described, a new specieswas observed in 1999. The authors while monitoringpigeonpea trials in Guangxi province located a few plants(3–4 years old) of a wild relative of pigeonpea growingin the backyard of a farmer in Fengshan County ofGuangxi province at 810 m altitude. In August theplants were at early flowering stage. According to thefarmer the plants of this species were grown as a hedgecrop around his house for several years but only few sur-vived grazing. Based on the perennial habit, generalmorphology, leaf shape, and open branching habit, thisspecies was suspected to be C. cajanifolius, the putativeprogenitor of pigeonpea. However, the critical seed char-acteristics, such as seed color and presence of strophiolecould not be examined as the plants were in early flower-ing stage. It is important to revisit this location to con-firm that the species is C. cajanifolius.Among the wild species so far reported to occur inChina, only C. scarabaeoides can be crossed freely withpigeonpea. It is, therefore, suggested that the samples ofthese species be collected and evaluated in China forvarious economic traits for use in the breeding program,if necessary.ReferencesDabadghao, P.M., and Shankarnarayan, K.A. 1973.The grass cover of India. New Delhi, India: IndianCouncil of Agricultural Research. pp. 109–190.Kirtikar, K.R., and Basu, B.D. 1933. Indian medicinalplants. Volume 1. pp. 809–811.Rama Rao, M. 1914. Flowering plants of Travancore,Trivandrum. 127 pp.van der Maesen, L.J.G. 1986. Cajanus DC. and AtylosiaW.&A. (Leguminosae). Agricultural University Wagen-ingen Papers 85–4 (1985). Wageningen, the Nether-lands: Agricultural University. 225 pp.

Wild relatives of pigeonpea in China

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Wild relatives of pigeonpea in China

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