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