PIGEON PEA (R E D G R A M, Arhar, Tur)

Botanical name: Cajanus cajan L. (Millsp.)

Family: Leguminoseae

Origin: It seems that Africa is the probable place of origin and the plant might have been introduced into India by ancient traders trading on the routs between Zanzibar, India and Shrilanka. However, according to Vavilov, India is the place of origin of pigeon pea.

Synonyms: Red gram commonly known as arhar, pigeon pea or tur etc

Classification pigeon pea
Cultivated pigeon pea may be classified into two groups. Species differed according to height, colour, shape and size of pod and seed and time of maturity.

1) Cajanus cajan var. bicolor
Mostly late maturing varieties included in this group, plants are tall, bushy with yellow flowers, purple streaped, pods dark colored containing four to five seeds, extensively cultivated in northern India.

2) Cajanus cajan var. flavus
This group is early maturing, comparatively small plants, yellow flower, and pods containing only two to three seeds, grown in southern India.