Seedling emergence, pod development, and seed yields of chickpea and dry pea in a semiarid environment

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), an annual legume, has recently been introduced to western Canada, and is being rapidly adopted in the semiarid prairies, but little information exists on the crop establishment and agronomic management. A field study was conducted from 1998 to 2000 in southwestern Saskatchewan to determine effect of planting dates on seedling emergence, pod development, and seed yields for two market classes of chickpea (i.e., small- and large-seeded) compared to dry pea (Pisum sativum L.). The early-planted chickpea required 8 more days to emerge than late-planted chickpea. Averaged over the two planting dates, small-seeded chickpea required 103 heat units (base 5°C) to emerge compared to 110 for large-seeded chickpea and 97 for dry pea. Compared to the respective late-planting, the reproductive period (flowering to maturity) was 4 d longer for the early-planted chickpea, allowing the plants to use 49 (or 9%) more accumulated heat units. Consequently, the early-planted chickpea produced 17% more fertile pods per plant than the late-planted chickpea. Seed yields averaged 2.17 t ha-1 for small-seeded chickpea, 1.88 t ha-1 for large-seeded chickpea, and 3.54 t ha-1 for dry pea. With early planting, chickpea increased seed yields by 7.5% in 1998, 14% in 1999, and 18.5% in 2000, and dry pea increased seed yield by 37% in 1998, 9% in 1999, and 14% in 2000. The small-seeded chickpea had 53% more fertile pods per plant, and produced 15% higher seed yield than large-seeded chickpea. Seed yields of both chickpea and dry pea in a semiarid environment can be enhanced by management practices that promote early seedling emergence, prolonged reproductive period, and increased pod fertility. Key words: Seeding date, fertile pods, seed size, Cicer arietinum, Pisum sativum