author(s)
Chhaya Pasi, Moni Thomas and Shampa Jain

abstract
Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is widely grown in Madhya Pradesh with acreage of 3.63 m ha. C. cajan is generally grown in undulating land with little care. C. cajan is one among the 114 host plants of the insect (Kerria lacca). However, C. cajan is not exploited commercially for lac production in India. Presently, lac production in MP is carried on Butea monosperma, Ziziphus mauritiana and Schleichera oleosa, where farm women find it difficult to climb and perform operational procedures of lac production. In such a condition C. cajan is a good option for lac production, if grown in backyard with limited irrigation and resources. Lac consists of resin, wax and dye, thus has a wide range of applications in food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, perfumes, varnishes, paints, polishes, adhesives, jewellery and textile dye, since ancient times. It is an important intervention/ cultivation to increase the household income of small and marginal farmers with efficient utilization of available resources. Lac insect belongs to order Hemiptera, and family Tachardiidae (Kerriidae) its host range more than 150 host plants. The experiment was carried out during 2016-2017 on Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) at Madhya Pradesh on aspects of survival rate, lac production and also production of Pigeon pea yield by using micronutrients and plant growth regulators. Results revealed that there was an increase in the mean Dry pod weight/plant highest (4.396gm) in T8 (Micronutrients + Auskelp + Arbuscular Mycorrhiza + Aspergillus niger) followed by 4.135gm in T1 (Micronutrients + Auskelp) over control (1.139gm). Similarly, the mean dry seed weight/plant was also highest (2.87gm) T8 followed by 2.80gm T6 (Micronutrients + Plant Growth Regulators + Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) and 2.58gm T7 (Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) over control (0.51gm).