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Farmer-friendly technologies toimprove chickpea production in theHigh Barind TractD. Harris, C. Johansen, and A.M. MusaResearch in the High Barind Tract (HBT) of Bangladesh to alleviate the effectsof drought, pests, and micronutrient deficiencies on the production of chickpeais described. On-farm seed priming, whereby seeds are soaked in water for 8hours before being sown, was tested by farmers during four consecutive yearsfrom 1998-99 to 2001-02 and this increased grain yield consistently in all fouryears, with a mean increase of 37%. A lack of molybdenum (Mo) was shownto limit the nodulation, and hence the nitrogen nutrition and yield, of chickpea.Adding Mo and Rhizobium to soils increased nodulation and yield but was expensiveand somewhat impractical. Adding Mo and Rhizobium to seeds duringthe priming operation was shown to be a less costly and more viable alternativethat increased mean nodulation score in farmers’ trials by more than 70% andmean grain yield by 20%.The components of a simple integrated pest management package weretested, separately and together, in farmers’ fields. Bird perches, to facilitateaccess of insectivorous birds to the infested crop, reduced significantly theincidence of larvae of pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) and the number ofpods damaged by the pest. Use of Helicoverpa nuclear polyhedrosis virus wassimilarly effective, as was growing chickpea as an intercrop with linseed orbarley. However, reduced pest incidence was not consistently associated withincreased yield because of other constraints such as Botrytis gray mold andterminal drought. Nevertheless, the simple farmer-friendly interventions testedproved to be effective and would contribute to increasing the productivity andprofitability of chickpea production in the HBT.Growing chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) on residual soil moisture following the harvestof rainfed transplanted aman (T. aman) rice has become more popular recently withfarmers in the High Barind Tract (HBT) of Bangladesh (Islam et al 1994, Saha 2002,Socioconsult 2006). The market price of chickpea makes it an attractive crop to grow(Yusuf Ali et al 2007) but, although potential yield in the area is > 2 t ha –1 , actual yieldsare generally below 0.8 t ha –1 (Musa et al 2001). Major constraints to higher yields aredrought, particularly around the time of crop establishment when the surface layers ofthe soil dry out, but also at the end of the season if extended crop duration exhaustsFarmer-friendly technologies to improve chickpea production in the High Barind Tract 119