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Table I
Area, production, and yield of chickpea in Tunisia.
Area Production Yield
Year (ha) (t) (kg/ha)
1974 19,940 17,620 880
1975 20,565 18,387 900
1976 19,799 19,148 970
1977 21,700 10,900 502
1978 15,905 18,749 724
1979 32,550 21,830 671
1980 34,330 27,670 806
The effectiveness of these systems has been demonstrated in many areas where
weed control hL's been established.
The Technical Division of the Office of Cereals has conducted some field trials
on cultural practices of food legumes. The seeding rate varies from 80-100 kg/
ha. Planting extends from early March to mid-April. Only phosphate fertilizer is
applied. Depending on the region, harvest is from the end of June to the end of
July.
The major diseases observed have been chocolate spot (Botrytis sp.), blight
(Ascochyta sp.), wilt (Fusariumsp.) and rust (Uromyces sp.). Ascochyta blight
losses may reduce yields by 40%. The most important insect pest is the leaf
weevil.
Most farmers hand weed chickpea fields, but some use a combination of
treflan (preemergence) and gesatop (postemergence) herbicides to get satisfactory
weed control.
Chickpea Winter Trials
Since 1977 a program of introduction and adaptation of new cultivars has been
operating in collaboration with ICARDA. The goal is to select cultivars with
high yield and stable resistance to major diseases.
In the winter of 1980-81, the Chickpea International Yield Trial-Winter
(CIYT-W) was sown in the north at Mateur, Krib and Zaghouan. One of the
three trials of winter chickpea was lost, probably due to cold damage.