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Maruti (ICP-8863) redgram Photo: EqualStock IN · Pexels License · source ↗

Maruti (ICP-8863) redgram

Maruti — pure-line selection ICP-8863 from the ICRISAT pigeonpea germplasm — was notified in 1986 as a fusarium-wilt-resistant pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) variety for Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Its wilt resistance, derived from C-11 background and selected at Gulbarga, rescued a large area of wilt-sick pigeonpea fields in the Deccan in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Key features

  • Breeder: ICRISAT (selection from Indian landrace material at Gulbarga)
  • Notified: 1986 (as Maruti, ICP-8863)
  • Duration: 170-180 days (medium)
  • Yield: 1500-1900 kg/ha rainfed
  • Grain: medium, brown seed; 100-seed weight ~9 g
  • Resistance: high field resistance to fusarium wilt (Fusarium udum); susceptible to sterility mosaic disease
  • Plant type: semi-spreading, indeterminate

Cultivation zones

Maruti is recommended across the Central and South Zones of AICRP-Pigeonpea and remains a default choice in the wilt-prone black-cotton tracts of north Karnataka (Gulbarga, Bidar, Vijayapura), Marathwada and Vidarbha (Maharashtra), and parts of Telangana and northern Andhra Pradesh. June-July sowing at 90 x 30 cm with 18-20 kg seed/ha is the standard package; it intercrops well with sorghum and pearl millet.

Pests and diseases

Maruti's main strength is wilt resistance — in wilt-sick plots where ordinary cultivars suffer 40-60% mortality, Maruti routinely holds losses below 10%. It is, however, susceptible to sterility mosaic disease (SMD), so SMD-prone zones should pair it with PRG 176 or Asha (ICPL 87119). The variety remains susceptible to the pod borer complex (Helicoverpa armigera, Maruca vitrata) and to pod fly (Melanagromyza obtusa).

Usage and adoption

Maruti was the first widely-grown wilt-resistant pigeonpea in peninsular India and became the benchmark wilt-resistant check in AICRP trials. Even after release of newer combined-resistant cultivars (Asha, BSMR-853, BDN-711), Maruti is still cultivated where wilt is the dominant disease and SMD pressure is moderate. ICRISAT and Karnataka SAU continue to maintain breeder seed of this classic variety.

See also: ICPL 87119 (Asha) Redgram, LRG 41 Redgram, PRG 176 Redgram, Redgram Wilt (Fusarium udum).

Sources

  1. Maruti (ICP-8863) - ICRISAT Pigeonpea Improvement. ICRISAT.
  2. AICRP-Pigeonpea released varieties - ICAR-IIPR. ICAR-IIPR Kanpur.