Hyderabad, Jan 23 (.) A simple change in planting method could significantly increase pigeonpea yields across India’s rainfed regions, a new research study by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) said on Friday.
The study shows that transplanting pigeonpea seedlings — raising young plants in nurseries before moving them to the main field — can increase productivity by nearly 20 percent, from around 2.5 tonnes per hectare to 3 tonnes per hectare, the Hyderabad-based institute said in a release here.
The method also shortens crop duration by 12–18 days and strengthens plants’ resilience to early-season drought and erratic rainfall.
Currently, pigeonpea is mostly grown under rainfed conditions, with typical yields of 0.8–0.9 tonnes per hectare, far below its potential of 1.8–2.5 tonnes per hectare.
The yield gap exists largely because traditional sowing practices do not support the crop’s full potential.
“Transplanting is an age-old practice that transformed irrigated crops like rice,” said ICRISAT Director General Dr Himanshu Pathak.
“Our research shows it can do the same for pigeonpea, unlocking its full productivity potential under rainfed conditions,” Dr Himanshu said.
Field trials at ICRISAT confirmed that transplanted crops outperform direct-seeded crops across varying climatic conditions.
Stronger root systems in transplanted seedlings improve nutrient and water uptake, enhancing climate resilience.
Dr Stanford Blade, Deputy Director General – Research & Innovation at ICRISAT, said, “The approach is both viable and immediately scalable, allowing farmers to adapt to climate variability with minimal additional inputs.”
To support large-scale adoption, ICRISAT released the Seedling Transplanting Protocols for Sustainable Pigeonpea Production in the Semi-Arid Tropics, developed through a multi-stakeholder consultation in Odisha involving research institutions, extension agencies, government officials, and farmers.
The research and trials were led by Dr Ramesh Singh, Dr Shalander Kumar, and Dr Gajanan Sawargaonkar.
. KNR .