Development of ‘super-early’ pigeonpeas with good yield potential from early × early crosses

To enhance the adaptability of pigeonpea at higher latitude and altitude, a breeding program was initiated at ICRISAT involving different sources of early-maturity. A full diallel mating design involving 11 early-maturing lines were used as parents. In F2–F5 generations, selection was followed for early flowering and maturity, grain yield and 100-seed weight by pedigree method. Four brown seeded (ICPX 060064-4-6-10, ICPX 060077-6-5-14, ICPX 060064-4-6-2 and ICPX 060063-11-8-4) and one cream seeded (ICPX 060036-13-4-8) F4/F5 indeterminate super-early progenies that matured, respectively 25 and 23 days earlier than the control cultivar ICPL 88039 were recovered. ICPX 060036-13-4-8 recorded 107% and 34% grain yield advantage over the checks ICPL 86022 and ICPL 88039, respectively. These super-early lines were derived from crosses involving AL 1518-2 × ICPL 85010, AL 1621 × MN 5, AL 1518-2 × MN 8 and MN 8 × AL 1518-2. Other super-early progenies [ICPX 060016-10-8-1 (from MN 1 × AL 1518-2 cross) and ICPX 060017-12-12-20 (from MN 1 × AL 1621 cross)] with greater 100-seed weight were also recovered. Besides serving as excellent donors for earliness, these lines may be photo/thermo insensitive. These super-early pigeonpea lines may open new niches for this crop and help in intensification of farming system.