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Proceedings of the Workshop on Ascochyta Blight and Winter Sowing of Chickpeas (Saxena, M.C.
and Singh. K.B.. eds.). ICARDA, 4-7 May 1981. Aleppo. Syria
Chickpea Production in Jordan
N. HADDAD
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Jordan has a classically Mediterranean climate, characterized by a warm dry
summer and mild winter. The rainy period is confined to the eight cooler months
of the year, October to May. Autumn rainfall is less than in the spring and far
less than winter.
Agricultural Zones
The East Bank of Jordan can be divided into five zones (Fig. 1):
1.Arid zone (Badia).Average annual rainfall is less than 200 mm; this area is for
the development of grazing and meat production through raising sheep and
goats.
2. Marginal zone. Average annual rainfall ranges between 200 and 350 mm.
Areas receiving 200-250 mm are considered as barley production areas. Areas
receiving 250-350 mm are utilized mainly for wheat and legume crops.
3.Semi-aridzone. Average annual rainfall ranges from 350 to 500 mm. This area
is used for wheat, legumes and summer crop production.
4. Semi-humid zone. It receives 500-800 mm and isutilized for the production of
field crops and summer vegetables on the one hand, and also for fruit trees
production, depending on land slope.
5. The Ghor zone (Jordan Valley). It lies between 200-350 meters below sea
level and experiences hot summers and warm winters. It occupies about 100,000
hectares. Irrigation water is available, and three to four crops can be produced
annually in many rotations. Vegetables are the dominant crops produced.
Production Practices
Chickpea is usually cultivated in the rainfed areas and is mainly planted in
March. It is considered as a spring or summer crop. It is used as part of a 3-year
rotation with cereals and summer vegetables.
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