I - --ii

Discussion
G.C. Hawtin
You raised a note of caution on the production of winter chickpeas following
wheat (ref. Fig. 1), yet this is the normal practice in lentils. Do you have any
evidence of differences between lentils and chickpeas in their rooting patterns
following fallow or a cereal?
P. Cooper
No, the point of interest is that observations so far show that a legume crop
(lentil, faba bean, chickpea) rooting depth coincides with the depth of penetration
of the current seasons wetting front. The depth of penetration of the
wetting front is very much related to the pattern of moisture use by the crop in
the preceding season. The implications of this observation on moisture-use
patterns, growth, nutrient uptake, yield etc. arc not clear.
P. Cooper
What is the value of chickpea fodder compared with lentil? Because winter
chickpea will produce much greater weight of fodder as well as yield.
D. Nygaard
Value is about 20 piasters for chickpea compared with 60 piasters for lentils.
M.C. Saxena
Moisture extraction pattern for Tel Hadya shows that the extraction is not
occurring below 75 cm in spite of the fact that moisture content there is higher
than the values to which the moisture content could be reduced in layer above
75 cm. Does that show that a factor other than moisture content is restricting
the growth of root in Tel Hadya? Same seems to be the case in Brida as well.
P. Cooper
Not necessarily. As roots become sparser in distribution at depth, their ability
to "extract" moisture decreases due to the length of "diffusion pathway" from
soil and root surface. Thus even, with roots going down to 150 cm, you will
always observe greater water left at depth at crop maturity.
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