District wise Promising Technologies for Rainfed Pigeonpea-based Production System in India

Abstract

About 96% area under pigeonpea is rain dependent. Most often these form a part of the intercropping or traditional mixed seeding systems, providing the much needed resilience to the production system. Pigeonpea, particularly due to its long duration is often intercropped with cereals, short duration pulses and oilseeds. Pulse production is also benign to long-term sustainability of natural resources. Actual place of origin of pigeonpea is very controversial as some people believe is to originate in India while others say that pigeonpea was found in the wild estate in Africa in regions of upper Nile and the coastal districts of Angola. From Africa, it spread to other parts of the world and to India. Australian people grow it for fodder and vegetable purposes. Now it is being grown in Africa, America, Australia, Hawaii, Ceylon, Netherlands, Malaya, East and West Indies, India, Indo-China, Pakistan, etc. In India, the major pigeonpea producing states are: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh. Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, also grow pigeonpea.