COMPARISON OF EXTRA-SHORT-DURATION PIGEONPEA WITH SHORT-SEASON LEGUMES UNDER RAIN-FED CONDITIONS ON ALFISOLS

Extra-short-duration pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) genotypes generally yie lded more than short-season legumes when sown at the normal time on ra infed medium-deep Alfisols. However, their growth and yield were more reduced by delayed sowings and varied more widely between seasons than those of the short-season legumes, especially cowpea and black gram. All the crops gave lower yields on shallow Alfisols than on medium-dee p Alfisols and none was consistently superior. Partitioning of dry mat ter into grain yield was less affected by time of sowing, soil and sea son in extra-short-duration pigeonpea genotypes than in short-season l egumes. Less sensitivity of biomass accumulation to various abiotic co nstraints is therefore a major objective in improving the adaptation o f extra-short-duration pigeonpea genotypes.