Cultivation practices of Pigeon pea

1. Presented By,
Rashmi Ranjan Moharana
B.Sc. (Ag.) 4th Yr.
Adm. No.- 21B/10.

2. •Common name – Arhar
•Scientific name – Cajanus cajan
•Family – Fabaceae
•Origin – Africa (Upper region of
river Nile)

3. INTRODUCTION
Also known as pigeon pea, red gram , tur .
Most drought tolerant crop among pulses .
Contributes about 15% in total pulses area
as well as production of India .
The second most important pulse crop of
India ( 1st – chickpea )

4. Utility Values of Arhar:
 Dry seed is dehulled & the split cotyledons (dal)
are cooked to make thick soup primarily for
mixing with rice (dal-rich source of protein).
 The ability of pigeon pea to produce economic
yields under soil moisture deficit makes it an
important crop of dry land agriculture.
 The husk of pods after threshing is also used as
cattle feed.

6. Botany :
 Deep rooted, Self pollinated
 Hypogeal germination
 C3 short day plant
 Hardy crop, most drought tolerant crop among
major pulses

7. Area and Distribution:
 In India 90% area & 85% production on global basis .
 Ranks 6th in area and production in comparison to other pulses.
India:-
Area-3.61 mha
Production-2.7mt
Productivity-747kgha
Area: Maharashtra > UP > Karnataka
Production: UP > Maharashtra > Gujrat
Productivity: Bihar > UP

8. Varieties
 Short duration ( 110 -125 days)
UPAS 120
Prabhat
ICPH 8 (1st hybrid by ICRISAT in 1991)
ICPL 870
 Medium duration ( 150 – 180 days )
Mukta , C -11 , BDNI-2
 Long duration – ( 180 – 300 days )
Pusa 9
 Odisha varities –
UPAS 120
ICPL 87

9. Criteria for selection of varieties:
 For kharif, early and extra-early varieties are avoided
because rain coincides with flowering and pod
formation. Also late maturing varities face terminal
stress. So medium are ideal.
E.g; ICPL 332 (Abhaya), ICPL 8719 (Asha), Maruti
(LRG-41)
 For Rabi, early maturing varieties are chosen. E.g;
ICPL-87 (Pragati).

10. Soil & Land preparation :
 at least one ploughing during the dry season followed
by 2 or 3 harrowings.
 Summer ploughing
 - to control weeds
 - to control soil moisture
 Well-drained soils for good root and
nodule development.
 Contour beds or a ridge-and-furrow systems prevent
water logging due to draining excess surface water,
also soil erosion.
 It can be grown on a wide range from Sandy
loams to clay loams.
 Avoid Saline, Alkaline and water logged

11. Climate :
Temperature :
•26° to 30°C in the rainy season (June to October)
•17° to 22°C in the post rainy (November to March)
season.
 It tolerates heat and drought.
 It prefers moist and warm climate during
vegetative period and cool and dry period during
reproductive stage.
 It is susceptible to frost.

12. Seeds and sowing:
 Seed Rate: 1) Kharif: 12- 15 Kgs/ ha.
2) Rabi: 45 Kgs/ha.
 Spacing: 1)Short duration-60x10 cm
2) Medium & Long duration -75x20 cm.
 Plant population : 1) Kharif: 55,000 plants/ha.
2) Rabi: 3.33 lakh plants/ ha.
 Sowing time: 1st fortnight of June.
Kharif- June to July, Rabi- Sept. to Oct.
 Early sowings are always better.
 Harvesting index: 19% (Lowest in among pulses)

13. Nutrient
management:-
 RDF = 20 – 50 – 20 kg/ha
NPK
 Zinc Sulphate : 5 kg/ ha
 Manures: 5 tons/ha of FYM
Bio-fertilizers:
 For early and effective
nodulation, seed
treatment with
Rhizobium.

14. Irrigation:-
 Pigeonpea is largely grown as a rainfed crop.
 The critical periods for Irrigation are
-flower-initiation
-pod-filling stages.
 Redgram grown in Kharif does not require any
irrigation.
Weed management
Pigeonpea is a slow -growing crop during the first 6-8
weeks, and 2 harrowings during this period would be
adequate to check weed growth.
Herbicides recommended :-
pre -emergence application of Alachlor (Lasso) @ 1.5 kg
a.i/ha, Fluchloralin (Basalin) @ 1.5kg a.i/ha.

15. Harvesting & Threshing:-
 harvested when 75 - 80 % of the pods are at physiological
maturity.
 The whole plants are cut when most of the pods are
dried. Plants are usually cut 7.5 – 25 cm above ground.
 Delayed harvesting, during bad weather, may increase
the risk of damage to mature seed.
 The harvested plants are tied in bundles and transported
to a threshing floor. These are stacked in upright bundles
to dry. The pods and grain are separated by beating the
dry plants with sticks or by using a thresher .

16. Yield:-
 For irrigated – 15-18 qt/ha
 Rainfed – 10-15 q/ha
 Inter/Mixed cropping- 5 - 6 q/ha
 Stick – 50 – 60 q /ha
IMPORTANT POINTS:
 Protein content : 25 %
Highest productivity: Bihar (1115 Kg/ha.)
Harvesting index : 19% ( Lowest among in all
pulses )

17. Disease –
Wilt , stem rot , Cankers , sterility mosaic
Insect and pest –
Pod borer , plume moth , hairy caterpillar , leaf
hopper , bean fly .
Fusarium wilt
Pod borer

18. Cropping system:-
In India, it was estimated that 80 % - 90 % of the pigeonpea
were intercropped.
Intercropping:-
 Sorghum + pigeon pea
 Maize + pigeon pea
 Pigeonpea + groundnut
Sequential cropping:
 Pigeonpea – Wheat/mustard – greengram
 Pigeonpea + greengram – wheat/mustard
 Maize – pigeonpea
Advantages of intercrops:
 Greater yield when other crop fails
 Intercropping may reduce the incidence of weeds.