Icrisat's pigeonpea on Chinese menu

Pigeonpea (red gram) varieties, bred and introduced by the Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), have reintroduced the cultivation of this perennial legume in China the acreage of which has phenomenally increased to 1 lakh hectares in 2006 across 12 provinces from just 50 acres six years ago.

Nowadays, the Chinese are not only eating noodles but also drinking wine made out of pigeonpea, according to William Darr, director general, Icrisat.

Disclosing this here recently, Darr said more than the increase in the area of cultivation, the innovative Chinese farmers have also found diverse uses from pigeonpea such as prevention of soil erosion, crop diversification, fodder for cattle and feed for fishes, as a substrate for mushroom cultivation and lac production among other things.

There is also potential for increase in production when the hybrid pigeonpea varieties, developed at Icrisat and waiting for commercialisation in India, make their way into China, K B Saxena, Icrisat's principal pigeonpea breeder, stated in a press release.