I - --ii

The major factors responsible for the improved performance of the winter crop
include the prevalence of a more favorable thermal regime duing its vegatative
and, more importantly, reproductive phases (Tab. 3). Lower temperatures ac­
companied by the shorter day length protract the vegetative phase of the winterplanted
crop and permit the plants to develop a vegetative frame which ensures
not only a better interception of the photosynthetically active radiation (Tab. 4)
early in the season but also provides more nodes which could become reproductive
as soon as the inductive photoperiods become available. This also curtails he
competition between the vegetative and reproductive growth, a feature which is
common in spring-planted crop. The number of filled pods per unit area, therefore,
increases (Tab. 1)in the winter-planted crop enabling it to give higher yields
than the spring-planted crop. The significance of the relative duration of pre- and
postflowering growth in affecting the morphology and economic yield in chickpeas
has also been emphasized by Roberts el al. (1980).
The development of a good vegetative frame early in the season and the
completion of major buildup of the economic yield during the period more
favorable from the stand point of thermal and moisture regimes should make a
winter-planted crop more stable in yield than the conventional spring-planted
crop which develops in an environment of increasing moisture and thermal stress.
Also, since a considerable proportion of the total phytomass of a winter-plamed
crop is produced during the period when the evaporative demand of the atmosphere
is relatively low, such a crop can be extended to nonconventional areas
experiencing relatively lesser rainfall than the traditional chickpea-growing
areas. Thus, the winter planting of chickpeas can provide yet another cropping
alternative to the farmers of dry areas.
Table 4
Plant growth of winter (Nov 30, 1980) and spring (Feb 22, 1981) planted ILC 482 chickpea at Tel
Hadya, evaluated on Apr 9, 1981 when the winter crop started flowering. Photosynthetically active
radiation (PAR) interception by the same on May 19, 1981 when winter crop was at advanced
podding stage and spring crop at early podding.
Character Winter crop Spring crop
Dry weight per plant
Leaves (g) 1.561 ±0.212 0.210±0.038
Stem (g) 1.307±0.184 0.135±0.018
Roots (g) 0.586±0.118 0.075 ±0.011
Nodule (mg) 69.7 ±2.62 56.6± .1.91
Leaf area/plant (cm 2 ) 454.5 ±73.4 73.0± 14.7
Root volume/plant (cm 2 ) 7.45± 1.06 1.75±0.15
PAR interception (%) 77.9 ± 3.55 58.4± 3.38
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