Sowing Guide 2015
Chickpea variety sowing guide 2015
By Larn McMurray Research Scientist SARDI,
Stuart Sherriff, Research Officer SARDI &
Kristy Hobson PBA Chickpea Breeder NSW
DPI
T
here have been no new chickpea
varieties released for 2015,
however there are still a number
of advanced desi and kabuli lines
coming through the breeding program
that will be released in coming years.
The most recent varieties released were
PBA Monarch and PBA Maiden and
these were produced by Pulse Breeding
Australia and released for sowing in
2014. Both these varieties have good
seed quality characteristics, providing
growers with new options suited to
international markets and both have
been commercialised through Seednet.
PBA Monarch was tested as CICA0857
and is a high yielding medium sized
kabuli chickpea with adaptation to all
kabuli growing areas of Australia.
It is particularly well suited to the
shorter seasoned medium rainfall
environments of south eastern Australia.
PBA Monarch is rated as moderately
susceptible to aschochyta blight (AB),
similar to Almaz and Genesis™Kalkee.
PBA Monarch has seed size similar to
Almaz and smaller than Genesis™Kalkee.
In shorter growing seasons, PBA Monarch
may have larger and more consistent seed
size than other medium sized varieties
due to its earlier pod filling timing.
Growers need to be aware that all kabuli
chickpea varieties currently have some
limitations in agronomic adaptation and
marketability and will not be suited to all
areas or situations.
The other variety released by PBA for
2014 sowing was the large seeded, early to
mid flowering desi type PBA Maiden. PBA
Maiden was evaluated as CICA0717 and
is the largest desi chickpea of the current
southern varieties.
It has a seed size approximately 30%
larger than PBA Slasher. This variety is
targeted for whole seed markets where its
26 > SARDI Sowing Guide
2015
large, angular shaped and bright
Chickpea types
yellow-tan coloured seed coat
are well suited to the specific
Desi types
requirements of these markets.
Larger seeds are preferred for
Growers are advised to
desi types, regardless of whether
investigate delivery and
they are used for splitting or
marketing options for PBA
whole seed use. There has been
Maiden prior to growing this
an increasing use of large whole
Larn McMurray
variety, due to its unique and
seeded desi types in a range of
favourable seed characteristics.
food preparations in the subPBA Maiden has moderate resistance to
continent and a small premium has been
AB and a mid maturity timing.
available for types fitting this use. Newer
Its grain yields have been similar to PBA
desi varieties have improved seed size and
Slasher in South Australia but generally
colour over older varieties such as Tyson,
less than PBA Striker.
and are suited to whole and splitting
markets. They are therefore more likely
Selection Criteria
to achieve the higher prices of the
The list of suggested varieties for
benchmark northern region varieties (eg
2015 is shown in Table 1. A range
Jimbour).
of chickpea types are now available
offering growers the opportunity to
Small kabuli types
exploit particular management and or
Bulk markets for the small kabuli,
market opportunities. Information on
Genesis™ 090, have been developed
key selection criteria and yield for each
in recent years and they are generally
variety can be found in Tables 2, 3 and 4.
attracting a premium over the desi types.
When selecting a chickpea type and
However, growers need to be aware that
variety to grow, growers need to make
as these markets are still in their infancy,
their decision on the basis of AB
they may have to hold seed from time
resistance, yield, price and marketability.
to time as the marketing opportunities
Other agronomic traits such as maturity,
are not always available or they may be
cold tolerance, root lesion nematode
limited in terms of size and price. Seed
susceptibility and lodging resistance also
size is small, 6-8mm, so will not attract the
need to be considered.
higher prices of the larger seeded kabuli
types (e.g. Genesis™ Kalkee). Further
Table 1. Chickpea variety sowing guide 2015.
Seed type
Desi
Small Kabuli
Medium Large Kabuli
Below 400
PBA Striker
PBA Slasher
PBA Maiden*
Neelam
Ambar
Genesis™ 079
Genesis™ 090
PBA Monarch
*Highest quality seed type
Rainfall zones (mm)
400–450
450–500
PBA Striker
PBA Slasher
PBA Maiden*
Neelam
Ambar
Genesis™ 090
Genesis™ 079
PBA Monarch
Genesis™ Kalkee
Genesis™ 114
Almaz
PBA Slasher
PBA Maiden*
PBA Striker
Neelam
Ambar
Genesis™ 090
Genesis™ 079
PBA Monarch
Genesis™ Kalkee
Genesis™ 114
Almaz
Above 500
PBA Slasher
PBA Maiden*
Neelam
Ambar
Genesis™ 090
Genesis™ Kalkee
PBA Monarch
Genesis™ 114
Almaz
Sowing Guide 2015
Table 2. Agronomic features of chickpea varieties.
Variety
Seed
Kabuli
Seed
size
main
colour
g/100 seed size
seeds
(mm)
Desi type
Ambar**
16
Market type
suitability
Early
vigour
light brown split & whole
GenesisTM 509
Howzat
Neelam**
PBA HatTrick
15-17
19-21
17
19-21
dark brown
split
moderate
light brown split & whole poor/mod
brown
split & whole
light brown split & whole moderate
PBA Maiden
21-24
yellow-tan
PBA Slasher
PBA Striker
Sonali
Kabuli type
Almaz
GenesisTM 079
GenesisTM 090
GenesisTM 114
GenesisTM Kalkee
17-19
20-22
16-20
light brown
light brown
dark brown
36-42
24-28
26-35
36-42
40-46
8-9
6-7
7-8
8-9
8-9
Flowering
Maturity
early
early
mid
mid
mid
midlate
premium whole moderate earlymid
split & whole poor/mod mid
split & whole
good
early
split
good
early
cream
cream
cream
cream
cream
shortmedium
early-mid medium
mid
medium
mid
medium-tall
mid-late
tall
R
S
MR
R
S
R
MR
MS
MS
S
S
S
S
S
MR
MS
MR
MR
mid
short-medium
MR
S
S
MS
mid
early
early
short-medium
short-medium
medium
R
MR
S
S
S
S
S
MS
MS
MS
T
MS
S
MI
MR
mid mid-late medium-tall
MS
S
S
MR
MR
early
early
short
R
MS
S
MR
MS
mid
mid
medium
R
S
S
MR
MR
mid mid-late
tall
MS
S
S
R
midlate
tall
MS
S
S
R
late
PBA Monarch
37-43
8-9
cream
8-9mm
poor/mod early
early
medium
MS
S
S
MS
R = resistant, MR = moderately resistant, MS = moderately susceptible, S = susceptible, VS = very susceptible, T = tolerant, MI = moderately intolerant, I = intolerant, NA = not
available due to no data.
** These varieties have had limited evaluation in SA.Provisional information produced by COGGO parties
premiums may be obtained by grading
and selling the seed on size. Genesis™
079 produces predominantly 6-7mm seed
for the bulk small kabuli markets and
generally attracts a price at the bottom
end of the Genesis™090 range.
Medium-large kabuli types
PBA Monarch, Almaz, Genesis™
114 and Genesis™ Kalkee produce
predominantly 8 to 10mm seed for
traditional larger seeded kabuli markets
where larger seed size is imperative to
attract premium prices.
Notes on selected desi chickpea
varieties
PBA MaidenA (CICA0717) is a large
seeded high quality desi chickpea for the
medium to low rainfall environments of
southern Australia. It is broadly adapted
to these regions and has shown similar
yields to PBA Slasher. PBA Maiden is
moderately resistant to foliar infection
by ascochyta blight (AB), equal to PBA
Striker. PBA Maiden has a semi-spreading
plant type and height similar to PBA
Slasher. It has a seed size greater than
current southern desi varieties (28 %
larger than PBA Slasher) with a yellowtan seed coat. Growers are advised
to investigate delivery and marketing
options for PBA Maiden prior to
growing this variety, due to its unique
and favourable seed characteristics.
Larger uniform seed size is more likely
8-9mm
6-7mm
6-8mm
8-9mm
8-10mm
Plant height Ascochyta Botrytis Flower- Lodging Pratylenchus
blight
grey
ing cold resistneglectus
foliage
mould tolerance ance
maturity Resist- Tolerance ance
poor
moderate
good
good
good
in medium rainfall regions. PBA Maiden
is well suited to the whole seed desi
markets. Seed is licensed to Seednet.
PBA Striker A is a high yielding desi
chickpea with moderate resistance to
AB. It is an early flowering and maturing
variety with very good early vigour. It
will provide a high yielding alternative
to all chickpea varieties in the medium
to low rainfall environments of western
and southern Australia. PBA Striker
has a similar plant type to PBA Slasher
but with larger seed size than all other
southern and Western Australian desi
varieties. Seed of PBA Striker is also
light in colour and has good milling
characteristics. AB resistance of PBA
Striker is less than PBA Slasher and
Genesis™090 but improved over Almaz.
It is likely to require both vegetative and
reproductive foliar fungicide sprays. Due
to its lower AB rating than PBA Slasher
and its early maturity, PBA Striker is not
recommended for high rainfall and long
growing season districts. Seed is licensed
to Seednet.
Ambar A is an early flowering and
maturing desi type chickpea released
from Western Australia in 2012 and is
rated as resistant to AB. Ambar is high
yielding in southern Australia with
similar yields to PBA Slasher but has had
limited evaluation. It produces a short
to medium canopy and it’s seed size is
smaller than PBA Slasher and PBA Striker
but light in colour. Seed is licensed to
Heritage Seeds.
Neelam A is a mid flowering and
maturing desi type chickpea released
from Western Australia in 2012. It is rated
as resistant to AB. Neelam has been the
highest yielding desi chickpea in South
Australia’s Mid North and EP and the
Vic Mallee and Wimmera (2007-2013).
Although it produces high yields it
produces seed smaller than PBA Slasher
and PBA Striker. Neelam has a medium
tall plant height, taller than Amber and
PBA Slasher. Seed is licensed to Heritage
Seeds.
PBA SlasherA has foliar AB resistance
and high yields in all chickpea growing
areas of SA. It has a semi-spreading plant
type with mid flowering and mid maturity
similar to Howzat. PBA Slasher is suitable
for both the split and whole seed markets
as it has improved seed size and colour
over varieties like Genesis™ 509 which
are only likely to be suited for split seed
markets. Fungicide management trials
have indicated that foliar sprays are only
required during podding to successfully
grow this variety. Seed is licensed to Seed
Net.
PBA HatTrickA , PBA PistolA & PBA
Boundary A . These varieties have been
released for northern NSW/southern Qld
(PBA HatTrick & PBA Boundary) and
Central Queensland (PBA Pistol) where
2015
SARDI Sowing Guide < 27
Sowing Guide 2015
Table 3. Predicted long term yields of selected desi chickpea varieties grouped by region in SA. Yields expressed as a percentage of region mean (SARDI, PBA & NVT data,
2007-2013).
Yorke Pen
Mid North
Lower EP
South East
Vic Mallee
Vic Wimmera
PBA Slasher yield (t/ha)
2.75
2.57
1.51
1.83
1.46
1.73
Ambar
111
111
115
100
106
103
Genesis™ 079#
110
109
108
105
105
100
Genesis™ 090#
101
102
103
106
101
104
Genesis™ 509
98
96
95*
87*
97
94
Howzat
103
100
97
88
Neelam
113
114
119
107
111
111
PBA Boundary
99
99
101
100
PBA HatTrick
96
95
92*
95*
97
96
PBA Maiden
109
109
107
108
105
101
PBA Slasher
109
110
110
108
107
105
PBA Striker
114
112
112
107
109
103
Sonali
97*
93
96
87
# Small kabuli types
* evaluated in less than 5 trials in region, treat data with caution
Table 4. Predicted long term yields of selected kabuli chickpea varieties grouped by region in SA. Yields expressed as a percentage of region mean (SARDI, PBA & NVT data,
2007–2013).
Yorke Pen
Mid North
Lower EP
South East
Vic Mallee
Vic Wimmera
Genesis™ 090 yield (t/ha)
2.53
2.40
1.41
1.79
1.38
1.70
Almaz
93
93
88*
102
92
91
Genesis™ 079
110
109
108
105
105
100
Genesis™ 090
101
102
103
106
101
104
Genesis™ 114
89
89
87*
94
93
95
Genesis™ Kalkee
88
89
88*
95
93
98
PBA Monarch
103
102
99*
104
102
99
* evaluated in less than 5 trials in region, treat data with caution
they offer specific production advantages
over current variety options. All three
have limited suitability to SA and Victoria
due to susceptibility to AB (PBA Pistol)
and late maturity and low relative yields
(PBA HatTrick and PBA Boundary).
Notes on selected kabuli chickpea
varieties
PBA Monarch A is a high yielding
medium sized kabuli chickpea, well
adapted to the short season medium
rainfall environments of South Australia.
This is due to improved adaptation
through earlier flowering and maturity
compared to Genesis™090, Almaz
and Genesis™Kalkee. It is adapted to
the traditional kabuli growing regions
and has shown a consistent yield
advantage in Australia (2-14 %) over
all current medium and large seeded
kabuli varieties. It has similar yields and
larger seed size than Genesis™090 but
a lower AB disease rating. Ascochyta
blight management for PBA Monarch
will require at least three fungicide
applications throughout the vegetative
and podding phases in disease prone
regions of southern Australia. Seed will
be licensed to Seednet.
Almaz A is a medium to large seeded
28 > SARDI Sowing Guide
2015
kabuli type commercialised by Seednet.
Seed size is generally larger than Kaniva,
with superior foliar AB resistance but
inferior to that of Genesis™090. It
has been 4-14% lower yielding than
Genesis™090 in southern Australia
and will generally require two to four
foliar fungicide sprays, including a first
application six to eight weeks after
sowing.
Genesis™079 is a high yielding small
seeded kabuli type with resistance to
AB. It has a short plant type and is an
early flowering and maturing variety that
produces small seed (6-7 mm), smaller
than Genesis™090. Genesis™079 has
produced high and consistent yields
in medium and low rainfall districts of
SA. Seed of Genesis™079 is available
through Australian Agricultural Crop
Technologies.
Genesis™114 is a medium to large
seeded (8-9 mm) kabuli type chickpea
with yields higher than Almaz but less
than the smaller seeded Genesis™090.
Genesis™114 has moderate resistance
to foliar AB meaning it will require
strategic fungicide management to
protect yield and ensure high quality seed
production. Its flowering time is similar
to Almaz but later than Genesis™090.
It has a medium to tall erect plant type.
Harvestibility of Genesis™114 is excellent
with greater height to lowest pod than
Genesis™090 and Almaz. Genesis™114 is
licensed to Australian Agricultural Crop
Technologies.
Genesis™090 was the first kabuli type
released in Australia with foliar resistance
to AB. It is a small to medium seeded
kabuli (7-8 mm) with medium height,
erect branches and yields similar to
PBA Slasher. Genesis™090 is mid
flowering and maturing variety suited
to all chickpea growing regions. Seed is
available through Australian Agricultural
Crop Technologies.
Genesis™Kalkee is a medium to large
seeded kabuli type similar to Genesis 114
but with later flowering and larger seed
size. Genesis™Kalkee has the largest seed
size of all commercial kabuli types and
is therefore more able to meet the size
requirements of premium high valued
markets. However, yield and disease
resistance are inferior to the small
kabuli types but generally equivalent to
Almaz in SA. This means it is likely to
require strategic fungicide applications
during the season. It is commercialised
by Australian Agricultural Crop
Technologies.