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conditions. However, chickpea is grown on residual moisture after rice without
any surface irrigation.
Table 1shows the chickpea regional area and production details for 1978-79.
It is the major cash crop of rainfed areas (85%).
Table I
Distribution of area and production under chickpea by region, 1978-79.
Total Percent distribution
Area Production
(000 ha) (000 tonnes) Area Production
Northern Region 125 23 10.2 4.3
(I) D.I. Khan Divn. 110 20 9.0 3.7
(2) Others 15 3 1.2 0.6
Central Region 934 399 76.4 74.3
(I) Sargodha Divn. 707 272 57.8 50.7
(2) Rawalpindi Divn. 61 28 5.0 5.2
(3) Others 166 99 13.6 18.4
Southern Region 164 115 13.4 21.5
(1) Sukkur Divn. 157 110 12.8 20.5
(2) Others 7 5 0.6 0.9
Total 1223 537
Area, production and yield data for Pakistan as a whole are presented in Table
2. The area sown remained static from 1975-78 because the semi-dwarf, highyielding
cultivars of wheat and rice captured more area, being more profitable
than chickpea. The increase in planted area during 1978-79 was due to an
increase in the price of chickpea. The decline in area during 1979-80 is due to
blight damage in the previous year. The area during 1980-81 is estimated to be
much less, because of severe blight damage in the 1979-80 crop season. Blight
drastically reduced production in the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons.
The national yield is very low. As the chickpea is grown under rainfed conditions,
the yearly fluctuations in planted areas, production and yield/ha are
largely dependent on weather conditions.
Major Limiting Factors to Increasing Production
Until recently chickpea improvement work received very little emphasis. Major
attention went to cereals such as wheat, to rice and to some other cash crops.