Diseases and pests of pigeonpea in eastern Africa: a review

Pigeonpea is one of the major legume crops grown in eastern Africa but has been relatively neglected in terms of research and development. The peas ar e a rich source of protein and the crop is nitrogen-fixing and drought tole rant. It is an ideal crop for the semi-arid areas of Africa and there is gr eat potential for it to be more widely grown. The large number of pests and diseases which attack pigeonpea in Africa (and elsewhere) is perhaps the m ain constraint to increased production. The most important pest worldwide i s the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, but the flowers and pods are attract ive to a wide range of insect pests. The most important disease in eastern Africa is Fusarium wilt (Fusarium udum) and considerable effort has been de voted by ICRISAT to developing wilt-resistant pigeonpeas, adapted to cultiv ation in the region. This paper reviews the literature on pests and disease s of pigeonpea with special reference to eastern Africa and presents some n ew information on distribution and damage levels for the key pests and dise ases.