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Pigeon pea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae. Since its domestication in South Asia at least 3 500 years ago, its seeds have become a common food grain in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Contents [hide]
1 Terminology
2 Origins
3 Cultivation
4 Uses
5 Genome sequence
6 Nutrition
7 Pathogens
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Terminology[edit]

The pigeon pea is also known as kardis, gandule bean, tropical green pea, kadios, Congo pea, gungo pea, gunga pea, fio-fio, mgbụmgbụ, no-eye pea, toor dal, arhar dal, togari bele (ತೊಗರಿ ಬೇಳೆ) in Kannada, thuvaram paruppu (துவரம் பருப்பு) in Tamil, thuvara parippu (തുവരപ്പരിപ്പ്[1]) in Malayalam, kandi pappu in Telugu, and mbaazi, and, in Tanzania, mzimbili mussa.

Origins[edit]

Pigeon pea is a perennial which can grow into a small tree.
The cultivation of the pigeon pea goes back at least 3,500 years. The centre of origin is the eastern part of peninsular India, including the state of Odisha, where the closest wild relatives (Mansi) occur in tropical deciduous woodlands.[2] Archaeological finds of pigeon pea include those from two Neolithic sites in Odisha, Gopalpur and Golbai Sassan dating between 3,400 and 3,000 years ago, and sites in South India, Sanganakallu and Tuljapur Garhi, also dating back to 3,400 years ago.[3] From India it traveled to East Africa and West Africa. There, it was first encountered by Europeans, so it obtained the name Congo Pea. By means of the slave trade it came to the American continent, probably in the 17th century.[4]

Cultivation[edit]

Today, pigeon peas are widely cultivated in all tropical and semitropical regions of both the Old and the New Worlds. Pigeon peas can be of a perennial variety, in which the crop can last three to five years (although the seed yield drops considerably after the first two years), or an annual variety more suitable for seed production.

Pigeon peas are an important legume crop of rainfed agriculture in the semiarid tropics. The Indian subcontinent, eastern Africa and Central America, in that order, are the world's three main pigeon pea-producing regions. Pigeon peas are cultivated in more than 25 tropical and subtropical countries, either as a sole crop or intermixed with cereals, such as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), pearl millet (Pennisetium glaucum), or maize (Zea mays), or with other legumes, such as peanuts (Arachis hypogaea). Being a legume, the pigeon pea enriches soil through symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

The crop is cultivated on marginal land by resource-poor farmers, who commonly grow traditional medium- and long-duration (5–11 months) landraces. Short-duration pigeon peas (3–4 months) suitable for multiple cropping have recently been developed. Traditionally, the use of such input as fertilizers, weeding, irrigation, and pesticides is minimal, so present yield levels are low (average = 700 kg/ha). Greater attention is now being given to managing the crop because it is in high demand at remunerative prices.

Pigeon peas are very drought resistant, so can be grown in areas with less than 650 mm annual rainfall. With the maize crop failing three out of five years in drought-prone areas of Kenya, a consortium led by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) aimed to promote the pigeonpea as a drought-resistant, nutritious alternative crop. Successive projects encouraged commercialization of legumes, by stimulating the growth of local seed production and agro-dealer networks for distribution and marketing. This work, which included linking producers to wholesalers, helped to increase local producer prices by 20–25% in Nairobi and Mombasa. The commercialization of pigeonpea is now enabling farmers to buy assets, ranging from mobile phones to productive land and livestock, and is opening pathways for them to move out of poverty.[5]

World production of pigeon peas is estimated at 4.3 million tons2. About 82% of this is grown in India. These days it is the most essential ingredient of animal feed used in West Africa, most especially in Nigeria, where it is also grown.

Uses[edit]

Split Toor dal, used in making Dal (lentil soup) in India.
Pigeon peas are both a food crop (dried peas, flour, or green vegetable peas) and a forage/cover crop. In combination with cereals, pigeon peas make a well-balanced human food. The dried peas may be sprouted briefly, then cooked, for a flavor different from the green or dried peas. Sprouting also enhances the digestibility of dried pigeon peas via the reduction of indigestible sugars that would otherwise remain in the cooked dried peas.[6]

In India, split pigeon peas (toor dal) also called Kandhi pappu in Telugu, Togari bele in Kannada and Tuvaram paruppu in Tamil are one of the most popular pulses, being an important source of protein in a mostly vegetarian diet. In regions where it grows, fresh young pods are eaten as a vegetable in dishes such as sambar. In Ethiopia, not only the pods, but also the young shoots and leaves are cooked and eaten.[7]

Kenyans shelling pigeon peas
In some places, such as the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Dominican Republic, Panama and Hawaii, pigeon peas are grown for canning and consumption. A dish made of rice and green pigeon peas (called moro de guandules) is a traditional food in the Dominican Republic. Pigeon peas are also made as a stew, with plantain balls. In Puerto Rico arroz con gandules is made with rice and pigeon peas and is a typical dish. Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada have their own variant, called pelau, which includes either beef or chicken, and occasionally pumpkin and pieces of cured pig tail. In the Atlantico department of Colombia the sopa de guandú con carne salada (or simply "guandules") is made with pigeon peas.

In Thailand, pigeon peas are grown as a host for scale insects which produce lac.

Pigeon peas are in some areas an important crop for green manure, providing up to 90 kg nitrogen per hectare (Adu-Gyamfi et al., 2007) . The woody stems of pigeon peas can also be used as firewood, fencing and thatch.

Genome sequence[edit]

The pigeon pea is the first seed legume plant to have its complete genome sequenced. The first draft was done by a group of 31 Indian scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research under the leadership of Nagendra Kumar Singh. The paper was published in an Indian journal.

Nutrition[edit]

‹ The template Infobox nutritional value is being considered for deletion. ›

Pigeon Peas, immature, raw

Pigeon peas in Trinidad and Tobago

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy
569 kJ (136 kcal)

Carbohydrates

23.88 g

Sugars
3 g

Dietary fiber
5.1 g

Fat

1.64 g

Protein

7.2 g

Vitamins

Thiamine (B1)

(35%)
0.4 mg

Riboflavin (B2)

(14%)
0.17 mg

Niacin (B3)

(15%)
2.2 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5)

(14%)
0.68 mg

Vitamin B6

(5%)
0.068 mg

Folate (B9)

(43%)
173 μg

Choline

(9%)
45.8 mg

Vitamin C

(47%)
39 mg

Vitamin E

(3%)
0.39 mg

Vitamin K

(23%)
24 μg

Trace metals

Calcium

(4%)
42 mg

Iron

(12%)
1.6 mg

Magnesium

(19%)
68 mg

Manganese

(27%)
0.574 mg

Phosphorus

(18%)
127 mg

Potassium

(12%)
552 mg

Sodium

(0%)
5 mg

Zinc

(11%)
1.04 mg

Link to USDA Database entry
Values for Choline, Vit. E/K available

Units
μg = micrograms • mg = milligrams
IU = International units

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

‹ The template Infobox nutritional value is being considered for deletion. ›

Pigeon peas, mature, raw

Seeds of the pigeon pea

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy
1,435 kJ (343 kcal)

Carbohydrates

62.78 g

Sugars
n/a

Dietary fiber
15 g

Fat

1.49 g

Protein

21.7 g

Tryptophan
212 mg

Threonine
767 mg

Isoleucine
785 mg

Leucine
1549 mg

Lysine
1521 mg

Methionine
243 mg

Cystine
250 mg

Phenylalanine
1858 mg

Tyrosine
538 mg

Arginine
1299 mg

Histidine
774 mg

Alanine
972 mg

Aspartic acid
2146 mg

Glutamic acid
5031 mg

Glycine
802 mg

Proline
955 mg

Serine
1028 mg

Hydroxyproline
0 mg

Vitamins

Thiamine (B1)

(56%)
0.643 mg

Riboflavin (B2)

(16%)
0.187 mg

Niacin (B3)

(20%)
2.965 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5)

(25%)
1.266 mg

Vitamin B6

(22%)
0.283 mg

Folate (B9)

(114%)
456 μg

Choline

(0%)
0.000000 mg

Vitamin C

(0%)
0 mg

Vitamin E

(0%)
0.000000 mg

Vitamin K

(0%)
0.000000 μg

Trace metals

Calcium

(13%)
130 mg

Iron

(40%)
5.23 mg

Magnesium

(52%)
183 mg

Manganese

(85%)
1.791 mg

Phosphorus

(52%)
367 mg

Potassium

(30%)
1392 mg

Sodium

(1%)
17 mg

Zinc

(29%)
2.76 mg

Link to USDA Database entry
Values for Choline, Vit. E/K unavailable

Units
μg = micrograms • mg = milligrams
IU = International units

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Pigeon peas contain high levels of protein and the important amino acids methionine, lysine, and tryptophan.[8]

Following table indicates completeness of nutritional profile of various amino acids within mature seeds of pigeon pea.

Essential Amino Acid

Available mg/g of Protein

Min. Required mg/g of Protein

Tryptophan 9.76 7
Threonine 32.34 27
Isoleucine 36.17 25
Leucine 71.3 55
Lysine 70.09 51
Methionine+Cystine 22.7 25
Phenylalanine+Tyrosine 110.4 47
Valine 43.1 32
Histidine 35.66 18

In contrast to the mature seeds, the immature seeds are generally lower in all nutritional values, however they contain a significant amount of vitamin C (39 mg per 100 g serving) and have a slightly higher fat content. Research has shown that the protein content of the immature seeds is of a higher quality.[9]