Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of the shoot regeneration response in tissue culture of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Millsp.) varieties adapted to eastern and southern Africa

Santie de Villiers¹*, Quinata Emongor², Rosemary Njeri², Eastonce Gwata¹, David Hoisington³, Irene Njagi², Said Silim¹ and Kiran Sharma³

¹ICRISAT, Nairobi, PO Box 39063-00623, Nairobi, Kenya.

²KARI-Biotechnology Centre PO Box 57811, Nairobi, Kenya.

³ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: s.devilliers@cgiar.org. Tel: +254 733 220874. Fax: +254 20 4223001.

Accepted 3 January, 2008

Seven varieties of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Millsp.) of varying growth durations and adapted to a wide range of environments across eastern and southern Africa were evaluated for their shoot regeneration response in tissue culture. On a standardized shoot regeneration medium, the short duration varieties (ICPV 88091 and ICPV 86012) generally responded faster and better than the medium duration (ICEAP 00554 and ICEAP 00557) and long duration (ICEAP 00020, ICEAP 00040 and ICEAP 00053) varieties. However, all the tested varieties produced healthy rooted plants in vitro that could be transferred to the greenhouse where they exhibited normal growth, flowering and viable seed set. This study established the basis for genetic engineering of African pigeonpea varieties.

Key words: Shoot regeneration, pigeonpea, Cajanus cajan, African varieties.