World's 1st pigeonpea hybrid variety developed

MANILA, Philippines – The world’s first hybrid legume has been developed. Called Pushkal, the new variety of pigeonpea (kardis among Ilocanos and kadyos among Tagalogs) was bred by the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

“With 40 percent higher yields than the best local varieties, Pushkal is truly the magic pea,” enthused Dr. William D. Dar, ICRISAT director general and a former Agriculture acting secretary.

ICRISAT said the new hybrid pigeonpea thrives in drought conditions and has greater resistance to diseases than the best varieties. It also creates a strong root system that aids greater nitrogen fixation to keep soils fertile.

“The new variety, which is very affordable for poor farmers, comes during a global pigeonpea shortage which has caused prices to soar, creating misery among millions of poor people who cannot afford them,” it stated.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, a former director general of the Los Baños-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) who is considered the father of India’s Green Revolution, compares ICRISAT’s breakthrough in developing a hybrid pigeonpea to the development of wheat and rice with dwarfing genes that launched the global Green Revolution for cereals in the 1960s.

Now, the “magic pea” is expected to lead “a new Green Revolution in the drylands.”

To date, ICRISAT seeds for the new pigeonpea hybrid have been planted in some 5,000 hectares, but ICRISAT principal pigeonpea breeder Dr. K.B. Saxena foresees that the hybrid will be widely planted in the next few years as the low-cost seed becomes more readily available.

Dr. Dar stressed that pigeonpea is a high-protein dietary staple in many semi-arid tropical countries of the world, including the Philippines.

It provides 20-22 percent of the protein in most of the countries where it is grown extensively. Globally, pigeonpea is cultivated in almost five million hectares with a productivity of 898 kilograms per hectare. – Rudy A. Fernandez