Black Pigeon Pea – Cajanus cajan

We chose to plant this variety on our farm for soil building and environmental buffering around young trees after observing it for several years at the HEART Village, where it seemed to be long lived and tough.  The beans dry down well without much mold or pest issues.  We are still in the beginning stages of evaluating more types of pigeon pea, so we can’t comment much on varietal differences.  Pigeon pea is a nitrogen fixing plant that is very drought tolerant.  It is highly tolerant of pruning.  These traits make it a great choice as a pioneer species for new planting areas where fertility is low, soil is bare and there’s drying wind.  The beans are a very important food source around the world where they are eaten shelled as a green pea or as a dry bean.  Pigeon peas are usually day neutral, so production doesn’t begin until fall.  This variety has dry beans ready to harvest beginning in November.