PIGEON PEA VARIETIES
PIGEON PEA VARIETIES
Recommended varieties in Malawi include short, medium and long maturing varieties:
Short duration varieties
- These varieties take 120 to 150 days to mature
- They are relatively insensitive to day length; as such they can be grown in a wide range of climatic and soil conditions
- Farmers need to spray at least three times during flowering and poding stages to control pests.
ICPL 87105
(Source-Guide for Groundnut, Pigeon peas, Sorghum and Finger Millet in Malawi)
- It adapts to a wide range of environments and matures in 126 days
- It can grow up to 130 cm
- It is large seeded with yield potential of up to 2000kgs/ha
- It tends to escape the Fusarium wilt because of its earliness in maturity.
ICPL 93026
(Source-Guide for Groundnut, Pigeon peas, Sorghum and Finger Millet in Malawi)
- It adapts to a wide range of environments and matures in 127 days.
- It is slightly taller than ICPL87015 (137 cm)
- It is large seeded with yield potential of up to 2000kgs/ha.
Medium duration
They take 150 to 180 days to mature and they are best suited for mid altitude plateaus areas.
Mwaiwathu Alimi (ICEAP 00557)
Photo credit -Chitedze
- It is a medium duration variety that takes 159 -180 days to mature and grows tall under warm environment
- Its growth habit is non-determinate and semi-spreading.
- It is resistant to fusarium wilt and soil borne diseases
- Its grains are medium with yield potential of 2000kg/ha.
Chitedze 1
Photo credit –Chitedze RS
- It is a medium duration variety that takes between 151 -190 days to mature
- It has wider adaptation in Malawi.
- Its growth habit is non-determinate and semi-spreading and is good for ratooning.
- It is resistant to most leaf diseases but susceptible to Fusarium wilt
- It is large seeded with a yield potential of 2500 – 3000kg/ha.
- It is easy to dehul hence preferred by agro-processors.
Chitedze 2
Photo credit –Chitedze RS
- It is a medium duration variety that takes between 151 -190 days to mature.
- It has wider adaptation in Malawi.
- It is good for ratooning.
- It is resistant to most leaf diseases but susceptible to Fusarium wilt.
- It is large seeded with a yield potential of 2500 – 3000 kg/ha.
- It is easy to dehul hence preferred by agro-processors.
Long duration
Sauma (ICPL 9145)
(Source-Guide for Groundnut, Pigeon peas, Sorghum and Finger Millet in Malawi)
- It is a long duration variety and takes 220-270 days to mature
- It is resistant to fusarium wilt and Cercospora leaf spots
- It is large seeded with yield potential of 2500kg/ha
- It can be grown as an intercrop.
Kachangu (ICEAP0040)
(Source-Guide for Groundnut, Pigeon peas, Sorghum and Finger Millet in Malawi)
- It is long duration variety that takes 190-240 days to mature,
- It is considerably resistant to Fusarium wilt.
- It is large seeded with an average yield of 1.7 tonnes per hectare
- It can be grown as an intercrop.
