RA 00015.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

C h i c k p e a
The objectives of the chickpea improvement
program are: (i) to develop high-yielding
disease- and pest-resistant cultivars with good
grain quality, (ii) to furnish advanced breeding
lines and segregating populations to national
and local breeding programs, and (iii) to support
regional and national programs through
exchange of information, germplasm, and training
of personnel.
Chickpea is a relatively short-season crop,
maturing in approximately 4 months at
ICRISAT Center and in a slightly longer time at
Hissar in northern India. Thus there is ample
time for growing two generations per year, but
the climate at ICRISAT Center and Hissar does
not permit growing a second generation. For 2
years we grew the second generation in Lebanon,
but unsettled conditions there and problems in
processing so many samples through quarantine
forced us to discontinue. We also utilized the
Lahaul Valley in northern India for off-season
advance, but the growth conditions were less
than optimum and there was also a problem of
acquiring land; we abandoned that location after
the 1976 crop. We are presently growing offseason
test plantings at three sites in Kashmir,
hoping to find a location to supplement the work
at ICRISAT Center and at Hissar. Research in
breeding, physiology, and germplasm evaluation
has been carried out at both of the above
locations; research in pathology, entomology,
and microbiology has been concentrated at
ICRISAT Center.
11
10
Chickpea
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
Figure 35. Chickpea germplasm accessions at
ICRISAT Center.
Table 34. Chickpea germplasm accessions obtained
in 1976-1977.
Source
Entries
Agricultural Research Station, Badnapur,
Aurangabad, India 29
Survey collection from Afghanistan 30
Agricultural Research Station, Wagga,
Australia 19
Agricultural Research Station,
Arnej, Ahmedabad, India 12
Survey collection from Gujarat and
Maharashtra, India 133
Survey collection from Eastern
U.P., India 49
All-India Pulse Workshop 24
Total 296
G e r m p l a s m Resources
We now have 11140 accessions of Cicer arietinum
L. Figure 2 shows the geographic origin
of the accessions. During the year, collection
trips were made in Afghanistan and in India - i n
the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and the
eastern area of Uttar Pradesh. A number of
accessions were contributed by colleagues. A
summary of new accessions is listed in Table 34.
Evaluation and Maintenance
Germplasm accessions planted during the year
were evaluated primarily for disease resistance,
although this was not our original purpose. The
field planted at ICRISAT Center turned out to
be a hot spot for Fusarium wilt, and approximately
half of 3784 lines planted were diseased.
Observations on 24 morphological and
yield characters could be recorded properly for
only 850 accessions. At Hissar, only 67 of 2 363
97