Chickpea, Faba Bean, Lupin, Mungbean, and Pigeonpea: Potential New Crops for the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States

The New Crops Program of Virginia State University, established in 1991, has evaluated the production feasibility of a wide array of leguminous crops including chickpea, faba bean, mungbean, and pigeonpea under Virginia’s agro-climatic conditions (Bhardwaj et al. 1996). Such crops could provide alternatives to farmers in Virginia and adjoining Mid-Atlantic States. These farmers, in general, rely on a limited number of crops and are interested in diversification. The close proximity of these farmers to the Washington, DC metropolitan area where the international community is familiar with these crops can provide a market for these crops. The evaluations of chickpea, pigeonpea, and mungbean were conducted as replicated field experiments. The evaluations of faba bean and lupin germplasm were conducted by planting single row plots of each accession. All field experiments were conducted at the Randolph Farm of Virginia State University which is located approximately 37° 15' N and 077° 30.8' W.