Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) and its wild spp. germplasm collection status, diversity distribution and trait-specific germplasm mapping using GIS tools in India

Abstract

A total of 2,456 germplasm accessions of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) and its wild spp. having essential geo-coordinates (latitude and longitude)/locality information were analysed for spatial and diversity distribution through GIS tools. Analysis of passport data revealed that maximum number of germplasm accessions are collected from the states of Madhya Pradesh (438 accessions) followed by Jharkhand (387), Andhra Pradesh (326), Telangana (253), Bihar (249), Gujarat (230), Uttar Pradesh (188) and Maharashtra (178). India being the centre of origin and diversity of this crop, collecting resulted in augmentation of 86 landraces from 14 states. Among wild relatives of pigeonpea, only Cajanus scarabaeoides (46) and C. cajanifolius (6) were augmented. GIS mapping of 107 selected trait-specific germplasm (with regard to eight important morpho-agronomic traits) identified few areas – Akola (Maharashtra) for pod bearing length; Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh) for bold seed; and Banaskantha (Gujarat) for high pod number. Unexplored and underexplored areas as well as crop wild relatives belonging to genepool one and two are identified for future collection.