🌱 Heat-Resistant Tur Dal Variety Developed 🧪 Developed by: ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics) 📍 Location: Patancheru, Telangana --- 🔥 Key Features of New Variety – ICPV 25444 ✅ Tolerates high temperature up to 45°C 🌡️ ✅ Survives 40 days of flowering under heat ✅ Output: Up to 2 tonnes/hectare (compared to 1.1-1.2 tonnes/hectare currently) 🌾 ✅ Time-to-harvest reduced from 6–7 months to just 4 months ⏳ ✅ Uniform plant height – suitable for machine harvesting 🧑‍🌾🚜 ✅ Requires very little water 💧 ✅ Grows well in rice fallows during rabi season (post-kharif) 🌾 --- 🚀 Speed Breeding Innovation 🔬 Scientists used speed breeding 🔁 Enabled 4 crop generations/year 📉 Reduced breeding time from 15 years to 5 years --- 🌍 Global Relevance ✅ Useful in Africa and other regions where pigeon pea is scarce ✅ Suitable for Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana and other heat-affected zones in India --- 📊 India's Pigeon Pea Production Stats 🇮🇳 Current output: 3.5 million tonnes 📉 Deficit: 1.5 million tonnes 💸 Import cost: $800 million annually