Department of Crop Production, University of Agriculture, P.M.B.2373, Makurdi, Nigeria

A field experiment was carried out during the cropping seasons of 2012 and 2013 at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. The experiment sought to evaluate the growth and yield of six pigeonpea genotypes in the area. The genotypes used were: ICPL 88039, ICPL 187-1, ICPL 332, ICPL 84060, ICPL 87119 imported from India and ‘Igbongbo’ (the local check). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Vegetative growth and yield parameters showed variations among genotypes. ‘Igbongbo’ (local check) produced the highest number of days to first flowering, number of days to maturity, plant height, number of seeds per pod, pod length and 100-seed weight. ICPL 87119 gave the highest number of leaves per plant while ICPL 332 produced the highest pod bearing length. The highest number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant and grain yield was produced by ICPL 187-1. Farmers will likely consider ICPL 187-1for adoption since it gave the highest grain yield. For reasons other than grain yield, the ‘Igbongbo’ (local check) and or ICPL 87119 should be used but when farmers’ preference is early maturity, ICPL 88039 should be considered.

Key words: Pigeonpea, maturity, genotype, grain yield