Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:38:15.749Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Kabuli chickpea as a winter-sown crop in northern Syria: moisture relations and crop productivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. D. H. Keatinge  and
P. J. M. Cooper
J. D. H. Keatinge
Affiliation:
International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
P. J. M. Cooper
Affiliation:
International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

In the Mediterranean region, chickpeas are traditionally spring-sown since humid winter conditions encourage the development of Aschochyta blight which often causes complete crop failure. Lines resistant to this blight have been selected at the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) and thus winter planting has become feasible. The best selection, ILC 482, was sown in both winter and spring at three locations in northern Syria with contrasting precipitation patterns. Crop growth and soil moisture analyses were undertaken on all treatments, and relevant meteorological data were collected at each location. At all locations maximum greenarea and dry-matter production of the winter-sown crop was nearly double that of the spring sowing. Large differences were also observed between sites, with green-area and dry-matter production decreasing with precipitation. Depth of profile recharge, amount of extractable moisture and crop evapotranspiration also decreased with precipitation, but only small differences in these moisture variables were observed between winter and spring sowing. Duration of green-area production, as determined by the onset of rapid leaf senescence, was closely related to the fraction of extractable moisture in the soil profile, rapid senescence occurring in all treatments when extractable moisture fell below 40% of its maximum value. Differences in the maximum rates of green-area production are discussed both in relation to the depth of profile recharge, hence the depth of rooting and moisture extraction and to the ambient evaporative demand. The differences observed in green-area and dry-matter production was clearly reflected in final seed yield. The components of yield, number of pods, percentage of empty pods and seed size are related to the variations in moisture stress experienced by the crop.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 100 , Issue 3 , June 1983 , pp. 667 - 680
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arar, A., Sarraf, S. & Tamimi, S. A. (1982). Rainfed Agriculture in the Near East. F.A.O. report (in the Press).Google Scholar
Cooper, P. J. M., Allan, A. Y., Harmsen, K., Keatinge, J. D. H., Nygaard, D., Saxena, M. & Islam, R. (1981). Soil Water and Nutrient Research 1979–80. ICARDA Project Report 3, pp. 5–70.Google Scholar
Hawtin, G. C. & Singh, K. B. (1982). Prospects and potential of winter sowing of chickpeas in the mediterranean region. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Aschochyta Blight and Winter Solving of chickpeas. ICARDA, Aleppo, 4–7 05 1981 (in the Press).Google Scholar
Hsaio, T. C., O'Toole, J. C. & Tomar, V. S. (1980). Water stress as a constraint to crop production in the tropics. In Proceedings of the Conference on Priorities for Alleviating Soil-related Constraints to Food Production in the Tropics, pp. 338–369. Los Baños, Philippines.Google Scholar
Hughes, G. & Keatinge, J. D. H. (1982). Solar radiation interception, dry-matter production and yield in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh). Field Crops Research (in the Press).Google Scholar
Littleton, E. J., Dennett, M. D., Elston, J. & Monteith, J. L. (1979 a). The growth and development of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) under tropical field conditions. 1. Leaf area. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 93, 291–307.Google Scholar
Littleton, E. J., Dennett, M. D., Elston, J. & Monteith, J. L. (1979 b). The growth and development of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) under tropical field conditions. 2. Accumulation and partition of dry weight. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 93, 309–320.Google Scholar
Meyer, W. S. & Green, G. C. (1980). Water use by wheat and plant indicators of available soil water. Agronomy Journal 72, 253–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monteith, J. L. (1977). Climate and the efficiency of crop production in Britain. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 281, 277–294.Google Scholar
Ritchie, J. T. (1981). Water dynamics in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Plant and Soil 58, 81–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritchie, J. T., Burnett, E. & Henderson, R. C. (1972). Dryland evaporative flux in a subhumid climate. III. Soil water influence. Agronomy Journal 64, 168–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saxena, M. (1979). Some agronomic and physiological aspects of the important food legume crops in West Asia. In Food Legume Improvement and Development (ed. Hawtin, G. C. and Chancellor, G. J.), pp. 155–165. ICARDA/IRDC.Google Scholar