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India, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Iraq. Unfortunately, production lags far
behind the demand.
Production Constraints
The major constraints to production are: (i) inherently low yield potential of
landraces and local cultivars, (ii) lack of stability in production, mainly due to
susceptibility to diseases, insect pests and environmental stress, (iii) lack of
information on appropriate agronomy and/or lack of inputs, (iv) lack of mechanization
of production practices and (v) inadequate research support.
In the major parts of West As*.i and North Africa, the crop is sown in ihe end
of the rainy winter on conserved moisture and thus made to complete its reproduct.ive
growth during the period of increasing heat and soil moisture stress. The
practice of spring sowing seems to stem from the need to avoid the damage from
ascochyta blight and perhaps cold, both of which pose a serious threat to chickpea
crops when sown in winter. Ascochyta blight was first reported from the
region in 1921 (Gonzalez 1921), but it must have existed for a longer period
before being reported. Since chemical control does not seem to be conomical,
development of Ascochyta-tolerant lines with adequate resistance to cold is a
prerequisite to realize high yield potential of winter-sown crops. ICARDA has
made significant progress towards this objective.
ICARDA's Role in Increasing Chickpea Production
ICARDA has assembled over 3500 kabuli germplasm accessions from all over
the world. Evaluation of these for 27 characters revealed wide genetic diversity
for morphological and economic traits and stress conditions. The information and
material is available to scientists working in national programs for their use in
breeding programs.
For the past 4 years, ICARDA has concentrated on the development of genetic
stocks and cultivars for use by national programs. Breeding lines which will meet
the requirements of national programs for spring and/or winter sowing, and for
mechanical harvesting have been developed. In addition, material has been
generated with seed size ranging from small to large to fulfill consumer preference
in different countries.
Efforts have been made to develop, and help national programs in developing,
improved production technology, covering herbicidal control of weeds, fertilizer
and Rhizobium inoculation needs, optimum sowing date and plant geometry,
crop rotation, integrated control of diseases and pests, etc.
One of the major aims of the program is to assist the national programs in