Growth period: most modern varieties mature in 115–125 days; older varieties, 185
days or more.
Temperature: for germination, 15C is optimum, 5 C is minimum. For growth,
18–29 C is optimum though they can tolerate much higher temperatures. Frost
resistance varies according to the variety, ranging from very resistant to very
susceptible.
Rainfall: good resistance to drought, 600–750 mm per year normally being
adequate. Chickpeas do not grow well with more than about 1000mm rainfall per
year.
Altitude: up to 1200 m in Kenya and 2200 m in Ethiopia.
Rotation: often planted following a cereal crop such as wheat, barley, teff or rice.
Pests: insects are not normally a big problem, though the gram caterpillar or gram
pod borer Heliothis armigera {Helicoverpa spp.} can cause problems. There is some
control by using resistant varieties. Storage insect pests can also be a problem, often
from Bruchid (pulse) beetles, and others.
Diseases: these are also not usually too serious, but the following can appear:
leaves, stems, pods and seeds become covered with brown lesions. Control: resistant
varieties, disease-free seed, mixed cropping, burn all infected plants.
varieties. Rust Uromyces ciceris arietini. Leaf Spot (Alternaria sp.), Ascochyta pisi,
Grey Mould (Botrytis cinera), Powdery Mildew (Leviellula taurica), Pythium
debar-yanum, P. ultimum, Dry Root Rot (Rhizoctonia bataticola), R. solani, Foot
Rot (Sclerotium rolfsii), Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Wilt (Verticillium albo-atrum).
Cucumber Mosaic, Pea Enation Mosaic, Pea Leaf Roll and Pea Streak.
- Deficiency Diseases—if the soil is low in Phosphorus or Manganese the leaves
may turn yellow or brown, with stunted plants which may die.
YIELD
According to the FAO the global average yield in 2004 was 769 kg/ha, varying from
a high of 5.0 MT/ha in China to a low of 346 kg/ha average yield in Kenya.
UTILISATION
shorten the vegetative stage, but short days do not prevent flowering. Most varieties
are long-day types.
• • • • • • • •
°°
- Fusarium Wilt—especially in hot weather and acid soil. Control: resistant
- Viruses isolated from chickpea include Alfalfa Mosaic, Bean Yellow Mosaic,
- Ascochyta (Gram) Blight (Mycosphaerella (Ascochyta) rabiei)—seed-borne. The
°
157
In general, brown seeded chickpea varieties yield more than green seeded ones.
The dry grain is the main product, normally for human consumption (eg falafel).
in some countries such as Mexico chickpeas are mainly used as animal fodder.Flour ( meal
use.The grain may be eaten when green, eg. when no other green vegetable is available.Hummus is made from ground up and puréed chickpeas, olive oil and lemon juice.
Chickpeas produce good and tasty sprouts, with a high Vitamin C content.
The broken grain and residue from dhal production can be used as animal food.
In Asia the fresh young plant shoots and green pods are eaten as a vegetable.
The straw after harvest is valuable animal food, containing about 13% crude protein.“ ”) can be made from the grain, often mixed with cereal flour before