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Proceedings of the Workshop on Ascochyta Blight and Winter Sowing of Chickpeas (Sa.xena, Af.C
and Singh, K.B.. eds.). ICARDA, 4-7 May 1981. Aleppo. Syria
Strategy for Breeding Ascochyta Blight Resistant
Cultivars
K.B. SINGH, H.E. GRIDLEY and G.C. HAWTIN
Plant Breeder, ICRISAT: Plant Breeder, ICARDA:
Program Leader and Plant Breeder, ICARDA, respectively
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum. L.) is not known to occur in the wild, and the earliest
report of this species was in 5450 BC (Helback 1959). Candolle (1882) considered
its center of origin to be between Greece and the Himalayas and between
Krim and Ethiopia. Vavilov (1926) indicated Hindustan nnd the Mediterranean
as centers of origin, along with Ethiopia as a secondary center of diversity, van
der Maesen (1972) believed that the species originated in the southern Caucasus
and northern Persia, while Ladizinsky (1975) gave south-eastern Turkey as the
center of origin.
Cubero (1975) ideaitified two groups based on seed size, macrocarpa and
microcarpa,and these correspond, respectively, to the terms 'kabuli' and 'desi'
used by plant breeders, for the main groups of immediate interest for genetic
improvement within the species. The kabuli chickpeas generally have larger
seeds than the desi types and are characteristic of the Mediterranean area and
are also adapted to spring sowing in Afghanistan, Iran and countries westward.
The desi types are adapted tc winter sowing in the Indian subcontinent, Ethiopia
and Central America, though some cultivars are grown in spring in Afghanistan
aaid Iran. The international work on this crop is also split geographically with the
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in
Syria responsible for the kabuli types, and the International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India responsible for the desi
types.
Ascochyta blight (Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Lab.) is the most serious disease
affecting chickpeas, and there are several reports of epidemic outbreaks in
various parts of the world (Nene 1983). To avoid crop loss from ascochyta blight
in West Asia and North Africa, chickpeas are sown in spring. There is large
increase in productivity if the crop is winter-sown, but there is a danger of
complete crop loss from blight in the absence of adequate control of this disease
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