EVALUATION OF INTRODUCED PIGEONPEA (CAJANUSCAJAN (L.) MILLSP.) GENOTYPES FOR GROWTH AND YIELD PERFORMANCE IN SUDANO-SAHELIAN ECOLOGY OF NIGERIA

Abstract

Evaluation study is essential to ascertain performance and adaptation of improved genotypes across new environment. Field experiments were conducted at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Research Farm, Minjibir, Kano State, Nigeria over two years to assess the performance of twelve improved pigeonpea genotypes comprising of early (ICPL 84031, ICPL 85010 and ICPL 87), medium (ICP 7120, ICP 8863, ICPL 161, ICPL 85063, ICPL 87051 and ICPL 87119) and late (ICP 7035, ICP 8094 and ICPL 9145) flowering groups introduced from International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patencheru, India. Effects due to genotype, year and genotype x year interactions were significant (P=<0.01) for most characters evaluated. Grain yield ranged from 723 kg ha-1 to 2,710 kg ha-1 with ICP 7120 having the highest grain yield followed by ICPL 87119 and then ICPL 84031genotype. The two highest grain yielding genotypes (ICP 7120 and ICPL 87119) were medium flowering type, followed by ICPL 84031, an early flowering genotype whose grain yield did not differ significantly from that of the two medium flowering genotypes. The high yielding and early flowering genotype (ICPL 84031) is a candidate genotype recommended for promotion in short rainfall environments of northern Nigeria. Significantly higher grain yields were obtained during second year with mean yield of 3,118 kg ha-1 compared with 838 kg ha-1 recorded in first year, an indication that delayed planting in first year affected yield and that genotypes responded differently to year and soil effects. Correlation analysis (pooled over two seasons) revealed that number of primary branches plant-1 and pod weight were the most important traits influencing grain yield in pigeonpea.