Inheritance of seed protein in two interspecific pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) crosses

Pigeonpea is one of the primary sources of protein for most rural communities of south Asia and Africa. The enhancement of protein from the present level of 20–22% will help masses in their nutritional well-beings. Breeders have identified high-protein (28–30%) germplasm amongst the wild relatives of pigeonpea; and these can serve as donors in breeding high-yielding high-protein cultivars. To achieve this, information on the inheritance of seed protein will be useful in organizing interspecific matings, generation advancement, and selection schemes. In the present study, two interspecific crosses, involving two pigeonpea cultivars ('Pant A2' and 'ICP 6997') and a wild species (Cajanus albicans (W. & A.)), were made to study the inheritance of seed protein in F₁, F₂, and BC₁F₁ generations. The high-protein trait was found to be controlled by two independent dominant genes with complementary effects. These genes are tagged with symbols “HPt₁” and “HPt₂”. The authors believe that now opportunities exist for enhancing the protein levels in pigeonpea through breeding approaches.