Rapid Fire
Heat-Tolerant Pigeonpea
- 13 Jun 2025
- 2 min read
Scientists have developed a heat-tolerant pigeonpea (tur dal) variety named ICPV 25444 using speed breeding technique, with the potential to transform fallow lands and reduce reliance on imports.
- Key Features: It can withstand temperatures up to 45°C, making it ideal for India’s hot, semi-arid regions, and can utilize 12 million hectares of rice fallows left uncultivated post-kharif due to water scarcity and heat.
- It enables 4 crop generations/year, cutting development time from 15 to 5 years, doubling yields from 1.1–1.2 to 2 tonnes/ha, and reducing harvest time to 4 months from the usual 6–7, improving rotation and profitability.
- It could drastically reduce India’s pigeonpea imports, which cost USD 800 million annually, by bridging the 1.5 million tonne shortfall in domestic production.
- About Pulses: India is the world’s largest producer, consumer, and importer of pulses and aims to eliminate imports by 2028.
- The top 3 pulses-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
- Tur dal (Pigeon Pea) is a key protein-rich legume in India, thriving in tropical and semi-arid regions.
- Under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), the government ensures procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds, and copra from farmers at Minimum Support Price (MSP) when market prices fall below MSP.
- The Union Budget 2025–26 announced a 6-year Mission for Self-Reliance in Pulses, aiming to achieve self-sufficiency in crops like Tur, Urad, and Masur
Speed breeding accelerates plant growth by controlling light, temperature, and humidity, enabling multiple crop cycles per year.
| Read More: India to Import Tur Dal from Mozambique |
