I - --ii

Table 2
Area, production and yicld of chickpea in Pakistan.
Years Area Production Yield
(000 ha) (000 tonnes) (kg/ha)
1964-66 1175
615 523
1974-75 996
550 533
1975-76 1068 601 563
1976-77 1094
649 593
1977-78 1099 614 558
1978-79 1221 538 439
1979-80 1129 313 278
Source: Crop Statistics of Pakistan, Feb 1981.
The production barriers are the absence of high.yielding disease and insectresistant
cultivars; losses caused by diseases and pests in the field and in storage;
yield instability caused partly by genetic and partly by environmental factors;
inadequate information on crop management and a dearth of trained manpower.
Current Cultural Practices
Chickpea is grown on a variety of soils, but saline and alkaline soils are avoided.
Sandy loam and the sandy soil of the Punjab and the North West Frontier
Province (NWFP) are planted to chickpea. In the Province of Sind, chickpea is
grown on rice soils with a greater moisture retention capacity; no surface irrigation
is needed. The crop is planted on seed beds that are free of large clods and
trash. The land is prepared by giving one deep plowing followed by two or three
regular plowings. Planting is done after every plowing for conserving moisture
and killing germinating weeds. The tillage operations are mostly performed with
bullock-drawn implements, as mechanized farming is limited and is mostly confined
to high-value crops and cereals.
Nearly 80-90% of the farmers keep their own seed and the remainder purchase
it from either the local market or from fellow farmers. The seed procuring
agency procures and distributes very little quantity of chickpea seed. The seed
rates and sowing times differ from variety to variety and area to area (Table 3).
The crop is usually sown with single colter drills in lines, 30 cm between rows
and 10 cm-between hills. In flooded tracts where the preparatory tillage is to be
carried out hurriedly, it may be sown by broadcast. Row planting is recommended
to facilitate weed control and harvesting.
The use of chemical fertilizer is not popular on chickpea and other grain
231