Development of Agronomic Practices for Chickpea Production in Alberta
Chickpea production information has not been developed for Alberta. Information on cultivar performance, inoculation, seeding rates, seeding dates, and fertilizer recommendations will be developed.
IPNI-2000-CAN-AB20
15 Mar 2001
Justification
- Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a member of the Leguminosae family and is also known as garbanzo beans. Chickpea is a spring seeded, annual legume and is the second highest acreage pulse crop grown in the world. There are two commercial types of chickpea, Desi and Kabuli, which are divided according to seed size and geographic origin. The Kabuli types have a large seed and are of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern origin. The Desi types have a smaller seed and are of Indian origin. Desi chickpea accounts for about 85% of world production, while Kabuli chickpea accounts for 15% of production.
On the Canadian prairies, Chickpea is considered a relatively warm season, moderately drought tolerant, pulse crop. It is a branching, spreading annual legume which has a taproot that is 2 to 6 feet (60 to 180 cm) in length resulting in excellent drought tolerance. They can fix much of their own nitrogen requirements when inoculated. For these reasons, chickpeas have received increased interest by producers across the southern prairies. It has become a significant crop in Saskatchewan in recent years, increasing from 7,000 acres in 1996 to 350,000 in 1999. Some industry estimates suggest that chickpea could approach one million acres over the next five years on the Canadian prairies. The estimated acreage in Alberta in 1999 was 15,000 acres.
Chickpea is the Anew kid on the block@. There has been very little agronomic research in Alberta to develop agronomic recommendations to assist growers in achieving optimum yield. Only limited agronomic work has been conducted in Saskatchewan, by Dr. F. Walley.
Growing conditions and agronomic requirements of chickpeas are very different from pulse crops such as peas. Peas are a cool season pulse crop that will germinate and grow well under cooler soil and climatic conditions. However, Kabuli chickpea requires soil temperatures of 10oC for rapid germination and emergence. Generally, chickpea requires about 25% more growing degree days to reach maturity than peas. They are best suited to daytime temperatures of 20 to 30oC and nighttime temperatures of about 18 to 20 oC. Generally, Kabuli chickpea varieties are more sensitive to cold than Desi chickpea types.
Chickpea production information has not been developed for Alberta. Information on cultivar performance, inoculation, seeding rates, seeding dates, and fertilizer recommendations has not been available. With new marketing opportunities for chickpeas, coupled with lower cereal and canola prices, producers in southern Alberta in the brown and dark brown soil zones are very interested in this new special crop.