The scientists may have just zeroed in on the origin of domesticated pigeon pea or arhar or tur dal. A multi-institute research, which has re-sequenced the genome of this crop, have traced the likely origin to Madhya Pradesh.

A global team of 19 scientists from nine institutes have also discovered new traits such as resistance to various diseases that affect the crop. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Genetics on Monday. “This breakthrough will help develop superior varieties of this pulse crop and help farmers increase production,” International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) said here in a statement.

“The study used re-sequencing data to identify genomic regions impacted by domestication and breeding that have contributed to narrowing the genetic base, while also identifying the genetic origin of the crop at a DNA level for the first time,” Rajeev K Varshney, Research Program Director, ICRISAT, said. An ICRISAT-led global team had decoded its DNA sequence in 2011.

Though a major source of protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins, pigeon pea yields have remained stagnant over the last six decades, with limited genetic diversity and genome information, required to develop better varieties.

The School of Agriculture and Environment and Institute of Agriculture (the University of Western Australia), Shenzhen Millennium Genomics (China), Institute of Biotechnology at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (Hyderabad), Agricultural Research Station (University of Agricultural Sciences, Karnataka), Visva-Bharati (Shantiniketan) and ICRISAT (Hyderabad) took part in the research. “This breakthrough will help us better understand the grain’s quality traits and unlock the huge potential of this crop and allow farmers access to high-value markets,” ICRISAT Director-General David Bergvinson said.

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