Fig. Perennial pigeonpea

Introduction

Pigeonpea is recognized as an important crop for subsistence agriculture especially so due to its drought tolerance and ability to recover from the losses caused by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Pigeonpea is cultivated in an array of systems and it has great flexibility in a wide range of cropping systems. Pigeonpea is a superb intercrop and a non-competitive crop to plant with food crops (cereals, etc), cash crops and other plantation crops. The plant is a good alternative crop with low fertilizer requirements and with minimum pesticide use. Due to its hardiness, ability to grow on residual soil moisture, and slow early growth, pigeonpea is an ideal, non-competitive crop to plant with cereals or plantation crops. In traditional cropping systems, pigeonpea is mostly cultivated as secondary or mixed with other crops. The crops is alternately grown in rows with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rice (Oriza sativa), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), sesame (Sesamum indicum), cotton (Gossypium spp.), pineapple (Ananas comosus), pearl millets (Pennisetum glaucum), maize (Zea mays), and in between plantation crops like coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), banana (Musa species), mango (Mangifera indica L.), and citrus (Citrus spp). A cropping system refers to a combination of crops in space and time. An ideal cropping system should make the most efficient use of the natural resources, and provide stable and high returns. Cropping systems should also be ecologically sustainable. Perennial Pigeonpea Pigeonpea is cultivated under varied cropping systems. Botanically Pigeonpea is a perennial plant, but is most often cultivated as annual. In many parts of Africa and central America where pigeonpea is grown as backyard crop , its perennial habit enables the production of multiple harvests. Traditional landraces and cultivars of pigeonpea are harvested after 180-280 days. Because of the long-duration, the pigeonpea landraces and traditional cultivars are almost always grown in intercropping or in mixed cropping systems with shorter duration crops.