Salt tolerance of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) varieties during germination

Pigeon pea considered as most important pulse crop is grown in an area of 3.8 m ha in India and 5.30 lakh ha in U.P. It contributes to 16.37 % of total area and 18.62 % of total production in India. The average productivity of this crop in India and U.P. is 6.21 and 10.20 q / ha respectively. Several investigators (Abel and Mackenzie, 1964; Ayers, 1948; Bernstein and Ayers, 1951; Bernstain et al., 1952; Brown and Hayward, 1956 and Ghorashy et al., 1972) had reported on difference in salt tolerance of varieties of several crops. However, pigeon pea was not included in these studies. Bernstein and Hayward (1958) and U.S.S.L. staff (1954) suggested that germination percentage would give a good indication of salt tolerance. Thus present investigation was undertaken to assess the possible difference in salt tolerance among four varieties of pigeon pea