Lesson 6.39.0 PIGEON PEA - Cajanus cajan

  

FOOD FOREST COURSE

AGRO-ECONOMY Lesson 6.39.0 

PIGEON PEA - Cajanus cajan

 

Pigeon pea originated in tropical Africa, but many parts of Asia, India and other dry tropical areas are very much suited to this productive legume.

Pigeon pea has been cultivated for around 3,000 years. The peas that form on the bush are a nutritious, high protein pulse and it is the dried and split seed that is the dahl that Indians traditionally eat.

Cultivation

Pigeon pea thrives in dry, poor soil conditions. The shrub sends a main taproot into the subsoil to mine minerals.  This plant has a useful life of about five years if it is not coppiced too often.  Seed production however tapers off after the first couple of years.

Pigeon pea is easily raised from seed, but the seed won’t germinate until the weather warms up and it’s also important that the right rhizobia are present in the soil.  Wherever glycine or desmodium (a legumous vine) grow, the right bacteria are already present in the soil for the pigeon pea.  If there is no sign of this vine, the bacteria should be introduced to encourage nodules to grow on the roots.  Once the bacteria is introduced into the soil, they should remain there for the next few years as long as plants such as pigeon pea are being grown there.

The right bacteria are necessary for the nitrogen to be fixed into the soil from the air through the nodules on the roots of these legumes as this will contribute to a fertile soil.  The nodules on the roots of leguminous plants do the work of drawing nitrogen from the air into the soil through the plant.

It is quite easy to broadcast the seed onto freshly cultivated soil.  I have seen freshly constructed swales absolutely covered with the pigeon pea.  It really is a sight for sore eyes.  If trying to germinate the seed in pots, a word of advice, leave them in the sun.  It’s the warmth of the sun that helps the seed to germinate.

Problems to look out for include borers, moths, and worms of all descriptions as well as caterpillars and grasshoppers.  Humid weather can also bring on leaf spot and downy mildew.  This is not to say that pigeon pea is so vulnerable to all the above, rather it is a hardy shrub that is very productive in a Permaculture system, but these problems can occur occasionally.  Text from the roots, Elisabeth Ferkonia (Aus.) PDC studied with Bill Mollison,



 

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