Traditional and alternative uses of pigeonpea in ChinaZChaohongauthorLiZhenghongauthorK BSaxenaauthorZJianqiuauthorGYongauthorYShiyingauthorZXuxiaoauthorPigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) was introduced to China from the eastern parts of India about 1500 years ago (Zhoujie 1997). Traditionally, it has been used for lac production, fuel wood, soil conservation, fodder, food, and medicine. Its food uses are constrained by some prominent defects in the landraces. These include long-duration (more than 300 days), inherent low seed yield (750 kg ha-1), small seed size, and high amount of trypsin inhibitor. To overcome these constraints, new varieties of pigeonpea have been introduced recently into China from ICRISAT. These varieties are showing good adaptation and have many useful traits (Shiying et al. 1999). Therefore, new uses of this crop need to be identified. This paper reviews the traditional uses of pigeonpea in China and highlights the potential uses identified recently from the research work done in this area.Pigeonpea2001International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaArticle