An overview of male-sterility systems in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]

For commercial development of hybrids the four pre-requisites are; availability of perfect male-sterility system, efficient mass pollen transfer mechanism, hybrid vigor, and the large scale seed production of hybrids for commercialization. The type of male-sterility governs the acceptance of hybrids by farmers. Genetic male-sterility (GMS) system was not accepted by farmers due to the economics of large scale seed production. The major drawback was rouging of fertile counterpart from the female plot, which was time consuming and labor intensive. Cytoplasmic-genic male-sterility (CMS) system usually was a better option for large scale seed production. Hybrid vigor has been utilized in some cereal and vegetable crops. Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) displays considerable natural out-crossing and now CMS lines are available with different cytoplasmic backgrounds. This mini-review reports the research on development of CMS lines and CMS-based hybrids in pigeonpea.