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about 130 to over 200 days, whereas chickpeas in the same area usually mature in
less than 120 days.
Research on Winter Chickpeas at ICARDA
In the 1974/75 season, the Arid Lands Agricultural Development Program (the
forerunner of ICARDA) took up investigations on whether or not chickpeas
could survive the winter in the Mediterranean region, and how that affected the
plant growth, development and yield. One hundred and ninety-two genotypes
were planted in the autumn at an altitude of about 1000 'm at the Kfardan
research station in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.
All entries survived the winter, in spite of the subzero temperatures on several
occasions. This suggested that, contrary to the opinion .4 many farmers in the
area, chickpeas have adequate cold tolerance to survive. the winter, at least at
low-medium elevations. Subsequent studies at ICARDA have confirmed this,
and it appears possible to develop cultivars with tolerance to even colder winter.
In the 1979/80 season over 3000 germplasm accessions were evaluated near
Ankara and Erzurum on the high Anatolian Plateau of Turkey, Several lines
survived the winter at both locations. An unusually late frost occurred at ICAR­
DA's farm at Tel Hadya near Aleppo on I April 1981. This coincided with the
early flowering stage of the winter crop. Though many of the lines were severely
damaged, some genotypes were identified that were comparatively resistant to
cold.
The possibility that winter chickpeas would make better use of the available
moisture and could be harvested earlier was pointed out by Hawtin (1975).
However, the first field evidence of substantial yield increases from this practice
was obtained in 1977. A yield trial was planted both in the autumn of 1976 and in
the spring of 1977 by ICARDA at the University of Aleppo research fa.'m at
Muslimieh. In the autumr. sown trial, all entries except an exotic desi type
survived the winter. Then with the onset of spring, ascochyta blight began to
appear and subsequently destroyed almost all entries. However, one entry (NEC
2305) showed a moderate level of resistance to the disease and produced a yield
of over 3000 kg/ha. Although the spring-sown trial escaped the disease, yields
were substantially lower; NEC 2305 produced only 950 kg/ha. It was apparent
that ascochyta blight, rather than freezing temperatures, is the main reason why
farmers plant the crop in spring.
In view of the considerablc: yield advantage which had been obtained, it was
decided to mount a major research effort to study the various aspects of winter
sowing and in particular methods of controlling ascochyta blight. During the
1977/78 season the research received a considerable boost following an agreement
between the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid