Cultivation of Bengal gram or Chickpea (Cicer arietinum)
Importance –
- In India it is recognized as king of pulse
- Main products-dal, besan (flour), parched grain, foliage vegetable
- Rich source of Ca, Fe and niacin
- Used as blood purifier(Chickpea Cultivation)
- Germinated seeds are recommended to cure scurvy disease
- Protein content – 21%
Origin–
- First domesticated in Middle East
- Origin place- Afghanistan (Persia)/South West Asia
Species grown in India-
C. arietinum
- Desi or brown gram
- 2n-14 or 16
- Most widely cultivated in India.
- Branching type = small size brown seed cosmopolitan
- Test weight- 140-200 g(Chickpea Cultivation)
C. kabulium
- Kabuli/white gram
- 2n-16
- Bold attractive white seeds taller plants
- Test weight-340-375g
- low productivity
Botany-
- Family-Fabaceae/leguminaceae
- Leaf– sour taste of leaves is due to presence of Malic acid
- Lour taste of pods is due to Oxalic acid
- 4-10 kg of Malic and Oxalic acid can be obtained from one ha crop
- Fruit type – pod(Chickpea Cultivation)
- Root-Tap root system
Important varieties-
- Avarodhi -Wilt resistant
- Gaurav – Ascochyta blight resistant
- Pusa -256 – best for rainfed
- C-235 – best for dryland
- Aparna – green grain gram
- C-104 – Kabuli gram
Soil –
- All type except saline and sodic
- Alluvial soil of IGP is very good(Chickpea Cultivation)
Climate –
- Cool climate, rabi (winter) season,
- Optimum temperature-15-25 °C
- C3 plant
- long day plant
- Highly susceptible to frost at flowering stage
Cropping system-
- Rotated with maize, pearl millet
- Intercropped with linseed, wheat(Chickpea Cultivation)
Field preparation –
- Cloddy and rough seed bed is required (adequate aeration needed)
- Highly sensitive to soil aeration
- Germination -Hypogeal
- Mainly cultivated rainfed
- Rainfed crop sowing time-2 nd fortnight of October in North India
- Irrigated crop sowing time – last week of October
- Spacing – 30-45 x 10 cm
- Seed depth – 7-10 cm
- Seed rate – 60-100 kg
- Planting on raised beds of 2 rows is effective
- Hand weeding 30-40 DAS or Pendamethalin
- Irrigation – most critical stages – Pre-flowering and pod development
- Fertilizer rate – 20:60:10 NPK Kg/ha(Chickpea Cultivation)
- Bio-fertilizer – Rhizobium and PSB culture seed treatment is effective
- Crop duration – 150-160 days (North India), 120-125 dasy (Central and South India)
- Average yield – 20-25 q/ha (irrigated crop)
Nipping (Topping)-
- Plucking of apical buds on 30 DAS
- To encourage lateral branching
- Practiced in gram, cotton.(Chickpea Cultivation)
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