Kashi Annapurna (Winged Bean)

Technology Background: 

Underutilized vegetable crops often receive limited research attention despite their potential to address nutritional, ecological and livelihood challenges. These crops are typically resilient, nutrient-rich and well-suited to marginal environments, making them ideal for sustainable farming systems. Winged bean ((Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L.)), though widely consumed in some regions, remains largely underexploited in Indian agriculture. Its fast growth, high green pod yield and rich protein, vitamin and mineral content make it a promising -wonder legume. However, lack of improved varieties, standard cultivation practices and awareness limits its adoption. Recognizing this gap, ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi initiated systematic research on winged bean. The aim was to explore its genetic diversity, develop improved cultivars and promote it as a profitable and nutritious crop for diverse agro-climatic zones. 

Technology Details:

The variety ’Kashi Annapurna’ of winged bean developed by ICAR-IIVR offers a robust solution for addressing nutritional security, sustainable livelihood, and climate resilience under varied agro-ecological conditions. It is recommended for cultivation under rainfed, irrigated, low and high fertility soils, making it highly adaptable to diverse farming systems, especially in resource-constrained environments. 

Key features and Agronomic performance 

• Suitable for pot, wetland, upland conditions. 

• Optimal seed rate: 25-30 kg/ha ensures efficient land use and economic input cost. 
• Early harvesting starts at 60-65 days post-sowing with successive harvesting at 10-15 day intervals, ensuring consistent income and food availability. 
• Nutritional and Socio-economic relevance
• Rich in Vitamin A, iron, and antioxidants, it contributes significantly to dietary 
• diversification and nutrition-sensitive agriculture. 
  • The variety offers a low-input, high-output solution, particularly beneficial for marginal and smallholder farmers.
  • Its performance under stress conditions makes it a resilient crop for changing climate scenarios.
  • ’Kashi Annapurna’ represents a promising alternative vegetable crop-winged bean variety that addresses nutrition security, environmental sustainability and rural livelihood. Its adaptability across farming systems and climates makes it a potential model crop for climate-smart agriculture and an effective intervention toward mainstreaming underutilized vegetables into national food and nutrition programmes.