Profitability and production cost of hybrid pigeonpea seed

Abstract

Hybrid pigeonpea technology, based on cytoplasmic nuclear male-sterility and natural out-crossing, was developed at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the first commercial hybrid 'ICPH 2671' performed well in farmers' fields with 30-35% yield advantage. The commercial viability of this hybrid, however, depends on the availability of seeds at an affordable cost so that even a small pigeonpea farmer could reap the benefits of this technology. So far no information is available on this aspect hence, the present investigation was undertaken at Agriculture College Research Farm, Indore (M.P.). In this large-scale experiment, one kilogram of hybrid (A x R) seed was produced at the cost of Rs 18.85. Further, the estimated profit from growing one hectare of seed production plot of this hybrid was Rs. 70,005. It was concluded that the seed production technology is easy and it can be adopted by seed producers; however, the presence of pollinating insects in the production area is essential.