Photoperiod Insensitivity in Pigeonpea Introgression Lines Derived from Wild Cajanus Species

Abstract

Pigeonpea is a photoperiod-sensitive crop; therefore, the introgression of photoperiod insensitivity could increase its adaptability to new environments. We determined the effect of extended daylength (ED; 16 h light) on the phenotypical traits of extra-early, early, and mid-early maturing pigeonpea introgression lines (ILs) derived from wild Cajanus species belonging to secondary and tertiary gene pools. Plants were grown under natural daylength and extended daylength in a greenhouse. Comparisons of the time of floral bud initiation, days to flowering, plant height, number of branches, and number of leaf nodes on the main stem at flowering revealed photoperiod-insensitive lines. All traits varied widely among the ILs. Analyses of flowering traits revealed large genetic components with low genotype × treatment interactions and high broad-sense heritability. The photoperiod most strongly affected the number of primary branches, followed by plant height. The extended day advanced flowering by approximately four days in extra-early ILs, confirming that these ILs are quantitative, short-day plants. The photoperiod insensitivity index varied from 0.88 in ICPP 171541 (moderately photoperiod sensitive) to 0.99 in ICPP 171546 and ICPP 171561 (photoperiod insensitive). These photoperiod-insensitive extra-early flowering ILs can be used to enrich the genetic diversity of pigeonpea and to develop photoperiod-insensitive cultivars for cultivation in new environments.