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Chickpeas, (Cicer arietinum)

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• General Information
• Nutritional Information
• Chickpea Seed Scheme
• Crop Management Information
• Chickpea Traders
• Chickpea Agronomists

General Information

Chickpeas were first grown in Australia as a commercial crop in Goondiwindi thirty years ago.

Chickpeas are an important crop in northern farming systems and it has been the dedicated efforts of farmers, researchers and agronomists who have ensured its continued success. It was through their development and adoption of an effective management package that the threat of ascochyta was minimised.

There are two groups of Chickpeas - Desi and Kabuli, mainly distinguished by seed size, shape and colour. They also have different growth requirements, markets and end-users.

• Desi types have small angular seeds weighing about 120 mg, are wrinkled at the beak and range in colour from brown, light brown, fawn, yellow, orange, black or green. They are normally dehulled and split to obtain dhal and are favoured in India.

• Kabuli have large, rounder seeds, weighing about 400mg. They are white to cream coloured and are almost exclusively used whole. They are preferred through the Mediterranean region.

The plant is erect and freestanding, ranging in height from 15 to 60cm although well-grown plants may reach 80cm. They have a fibrous taproot system, a number of woody stems forming from the base, upper secondary branches and fine, frond-like leaves. Each leaflet has a thick covering of glandular hairs that secrete a strong acid (malic) particularly during pod-set, and this provides some protection from insets. The plant can derive more than 70% of its nitrogen from symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Yields are best in areas with reliable seasonal rainfall and mild spring conditions during seed filling. They are well suited to well-drained, non-acidic soils of a medium to heavy texture.

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Nutritional Information

Chickpeas are a very good source of carbohydrates and proteins which altogether constitute about 80% of the total dry seed weight. Starch, which is the principal carbohydrate component, varies in content from 41-50% and is lower in Desi varieties than in Kabuli varieties. Total seed carbohydrates vary from 52-71%. The crude protein content of chickpea varieties ranges from 16-24%. Crude fibre, an important constituent of chickpeas is mostly located within the seed coat.

Based on amino acid composition, the proteins of chickpea seed were found, on average, to be of higher nutritive value than those of other grain legumes. Chickpeas meet adult human requirements for all essential amino acids except methionine and cysteine, and have a low level of tryptophan. Chickpeas have a high protein digestibility and are richer in phosphorus and calcium than other pulses.

* These values should be taken as guidelines only as values can vary considerably with variety, conditions of growth and age of Chickpea.

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Chickpea Seed Scheme

Pulse Australia conducts the "Industry Recommended Chickpea Seed (Ascochyta) Scheme" as part of a management strategy aimed at reducing the impact and spread of ascochyta.  In addition, it enables farmers who need to purchase seed a way of identifying a source of seed that has undergone an accepted procedure aimed at reducing the level of ascochyta in seed.

Seed accepted into the seed scheme has undergone four processes:

• The seed is serviced by an agronomist and a report given stating that he has not detected ascochyta in the crop.
• A thorough field inspection is undertaken by an independent inspector to ascertain that ascochyta is not detected. Note that as ascochyta is yet to be detected in Central Queensland (CQ), crop inspection is not required in this region provided the crop was sown with seed of CQ origin.
• A seed test for germination and purity is carried out to ascertain the line’s suitability for seed and a visual inspection is made to ensure that the ascochyta disease is not detected.
• The seed is treated with P-Pickel T at an approved plant.

Recommended seed is then tagged with a distinctive Pulse Australia orange label.  For seed that originated from Cental Queensland, the tag number is prefaced CQ.

Seed Scheme - Approved Seed Suppliers Listing 2002

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Crop Management Information

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Date	Name	Author	PDF	Other
10 Oct 2008	Chickpea Ascochyta blight Alert - Northern NSW - Spring 2008	Gordon Cummng	269Kb
27 Aug 2008	Symptoms and Identification of Ascochyta blight in chickpea	Gordon Cummng	2,179Kb
16 Aug 2008	Revised Chickpea variety disease resistance and controls	Wayne Hawthorne	357Kb
20 Jun 2008	"Top 10" For Pulses, pre-sowing 2008	Wayne Hawthorne	270Kb
27 May 2008	Key Pulse Marketing Issues	Wayne Hawthorne	305Kb
27 May 2008	Chickpea Checklist - For Southern Growers	Wayne Hawthorne	285Kb
27 May 2008	Nafice VMP	Wayne Hawthorne	220Kb
27 May 2008	Almaz VMP	Wayne Hawthorne	253Kb
14 Apr 2008	Pulse Seed Treatments & Foliar Fungicides 2008 (Southern)	Wayne Hawthorne	157Kb
14 Mar 2008	Genesis 509 VMP	Wayne Hawthorne	250Kb
14 Mar 2008	Genesis 425 VMP	Wayne Hawthorne	198Kb
14 Mar 2008	Genesis 510 VMP	Wayne Hawthorne	146Kb
8 Feb 2008	Chickpea Disease Management Strategy - Northern Region 2008	Gordon Cumming & Others	1,496Kb
21 Oct 2007	Chickpea Harvest & Storage	Gordon Cumming & Others	171Kb
28 Aug 2007	Helicoverpa Management in Chickpea	Gordon Cumming & Others	307Kb
18 May 2007	Chickpeas for SA & Vic, with direct links to additional information	Wayne Hawthorne & Others	735Kb
16 May 2007	CQ Ascochyta Management Protocol	Gordon Cumming	345Kb
16 May 2007	TSV Chickpea Stategies CQ Brochure	Gordon Cumming	307Kb
1 Mar 2007	FLIPPER VMP	Gordon Cumming & Others	147Kb
1 Mar 2007	YORKER VMP	Gordon. Cumming & Others	166Kb
15 Feb 2007	MOTI VMP	Gordon Cumming & Others	151Kb
28 Nov 2005	GENESIS 090 VMP	Wayne Hawthorne & Others	1,564Kb
27 Oct 2005	KYABRA VMP	Crop Support Team	187Kb
15 Feb 2005	Chickpea Disease Management Strategy - Southern Region 2006	Wayne Hawthorne	188Kb
15 Feb 2005	GENISIS 508 Pulse VMP	Wayne Hawthorne	484Kb
18 Nov 2003	Hi-Grain Windrowing	Wayne Hawthorne	35Kb

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Chickpea Traders

Note: To sort this table by a particular column click on the header at the top of the column. Click on a trader's email to email the trader. Click on the web site URL to open web site of the trader.

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Chickpea Agronomists

Note: To sort this table by a particular column click on the header at the top of the column. Click on an agronomist's email to email the agronomist. Click on the web site URL to open web site of the agronomist's organization.

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