Pigeon Pea

• It gives higher yield compared to BDN-2 variety
• It is resistant to sucking pest because it has reddish / pinkish flowers instead of yellow flowers and thereby do not attract the sucking pest.
• It is resistant to disease “Wilt”
• The variety is early maturing and bears more seeds and more pods per plant.
• This variety gives better results in both irrigated and non-irrigated land by keeping a distance of three-and-a-half to four leaves between two rows, the plant stands erect.

Mr. Dhulabhai Patel is a simple illiterate farmer, but with a keen sense of observation. He faced a piquant situation when some other farmer with whom he had shared the seed of his newly selected variety, tried to claim credit for the innovation. The variety has also been sent for further trials to the main pulses research station, Sardar Krishinagar of the Gujarat Agricultural University and also for inclusion in the gene bank at NBPGR, New Delhi.

Dhulabhai Punjabhai Patel had not given any name to this variety. Farmers in his village later gave the name GDP-1 where G stands for Gadha village and the other two letters on his name. Over 1,000 farmers have accepted the new variety.