Pigeon pea seed Cajanus cajan
LATIN NAME: CAJANUS CAJAN
COMMON NAME: Pigeon Pea
The pigeon pea stocks the upright, woody-based, short-lived perennial or annual with the trifoliate leaves of the three narrow leaflets and the loose clusters of the yellow and red pea-like flowers that open through the warm season, the short, straight, fuzzy pods following, each pod holding the round seeds in the shades of the cream, the brown and the purple, the plants stocking the harvest. It grows quickly and stands the heat and the dry spells well. It likes the sun, and the well-drained soil.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The drought tolerance of the pigeon pea gives it a long place in the research on the dryland grain legumes of the pea family, and the cajan species appears in the studies of the low-water cropping and the seed nutrition. The work looks at the nitrogen-feeding roots, the protein-rich split peas, and the seed biology. The food scientists value the pulse, and the growers of the warm-climate legumes keep the species in their catalogues.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
In the warm garden, the pigeon pea stocks the warm season with the protein-rich pods. The split peas serve the dals and the stews for the ages, the plants feed the soil and the animals, and the shrub makes the hedge and the windbreak. It grows well in the well-drained, sunny ground. Hardy, protein-rich and drought-proof.
To grow the Pigeon Pea from seed, sow the seeds directly into the warm, open drills of the bed, then cover them well, keep the rows gently watered, and the seedlings rise within a week or two.
Keep the rows gently watered, and thin the seedlings to the roomy spacing. The stocked pods come within the season. Let the young plants grow on in the sunny, open ground, and the stocked pods will fill through the season.
Amazing shrub up to 2 m. Seeds eaten fresh or ground to flour.It has name Dhal in India. The flowers make this a pretty addition to a landscape, even if you don't plan on using the peas for food. Pods are similar to English peas: green and pointed with a bit of reddish mottling. Several pods are produced in clusters on an upright stem.
The pigeon pea is a very popular vegetable throughout the Caribbean and Central America, and can be used as any other pea might be used: cooked alone, in salads or in combination with rice or other grains. Ripe seeds are a source of flour, used split (dhal) in soups or eaten with rice. Dhal contains as much as 22% protein.It is flavorful, and a single plant can produce more peas than a small family can eat.