Agric. sci. dev., Vol(4), No (2), February, 2015. pp.

11-15

TI Journals

Agriculture Science Developments

www.tijournals.com

ISSN:
2306-7527
Copyright 2015. All rights reserved for TI Journals.

Evaluating Yield and Yield Components of Chickpea Genotypes in

Autumn Cultivation under Complementary Irrigation Regime and
Winter Sowing in Mashhad
Mohsen Zafaranieh *
Department of Agriculture, Velayat University, Iranshahr, Iran
*Corresponding Author: Mohsen.zafarani@yahoo.com

Keywords

Abstract

Complementary irrigation
Cold tolerance
Survival percentage
Autumn sowing

In order to evaluate yield and yield components properties of cold-tolerant chickpea under winter sowing
and complementary irrigation conditions, two experiments in the context of partial balanced block design
with 81 chickpea genotypes and three replications were carried out. Complementary irrigation was
performed during growing season including irrigation immediately after sowing, twenty days after the first
irrigation and at early phase of flowering. After winter cold, survival percentage of the chickpea genotypes
was calculated and total precipitation rate from sowing to harvesting was 267mm. Moreover, properties of
seed yield components (survival percentage, pod number per plant, the number of seeds per pod and weight
of 1000 seeds), seed yield, biological yield and harvest indices of the genotypes was measured and recorded.
Based on the results, the difference between the genotypes was significant for all the measured properties
(p<0.05). Under complementary irrigation, 40% of the genotypes showed winter survival rate higher than
76% and seed yield in 52% of the genotypes was higher than 100gr/m2. Under winter sowing condition,
seed yield in 32% of the samples was higher than 40gr/m2. Finally, under winter sowing and complementary
irrigation regime, the genotypes MCC333, MCC186, MCC803 and MCC743 possessing yield over 600kg/ha
were determined as the superior genotypes.

1.

Introduction

Chickpea has a special position in alternation of agricultural systems due to its nitrogen fixing capacity and soil fertilizing effects. The
cultivation area of the crop has, therefore, been increasing during recent years (Ahmad et al, 2011). Under Mediterranean climate, chickpea is
traditionally cultivated in spring; therefore the crop experiences abiotic stresses such as increased temperature and reduced soil moisture in
growth season especially at late stages of cultivation (Mousavi and Pezeshkpour, 2006). Primary investigations in Mediterranean regions
indicate that winter culture is superior over spring culture if cold-tolerant and chickpea Ascochyta blight-tolerant varieties are used. In this
regard, a large number of cold-tolerant varieties of chickpea have been identified and introduced for cultivation in Mediterranean regions
(Minisetry, 2010). In Mediterranean regions, winter sowing of chickpea elevates vegetative growth period and places crop reproductive growth
period in suitable moisture and temperature conditions. Moreover, plant height, water use efficiency and nitrogen fixation is enhanced and yield
gets more stable and mechanized harvest is possible (Najibnia, 2004).
Considering investigations conducted in high lands, when the seeds are sown immediately after cold weather and before winter, the seeds remain
as germinated or non-germinated in the soil (winter sowing) and germinate after completion of cold season and grow during spring; so they
make better use of environmental facilities and precipitation and present higher yield (Azm et al, 2002). Primary studies have shown that if the
cultured varieties are resistant to cold and ascochyta blight, winter sowing is better than spring culture; in this regard a large number of chickpea
germplasm and bred lines which are tolerant to cold have been identified for cultivation under Mediterranean climate (Mckenzy et al, 1995).
Although chickpea winter sowing in Mediterranean regions possesses much superiority over spring culture, this type of cultivation is not popular
in highlands such some regions of Iran due to lack of cold- and drought-tolerant varieties and also lack of sufficient investigation in this field
(Khak sefidi, 2010). Considering advantages of winter and autumn culture of chickpea, many investigations have been carried out on this type of
cultivation in eastern Iran (Bagheri et al, 1997). Primary investigations conducted in 1997 in Mashhad indicated that some varieties stored in
Mashhad chickpea collection are tolerant to cold. In a study conducted to evaluate cold tolerance in autumn culture of lentil during 2000-2001, a
negative correlation was observed between cold tolerance percentage and duration of growth period from culture to maturation (Mousavi and
Pezeshkpour, 2006).
According to scholars, agronomical factors including sowing date, plant density and environmental factors such as drainage and snow cover paly
critical role in survival of chickpea varieties cultivated in winter culture (Nezami and Bagheri, 2004). It has been reported for bean and broad
bean that drought and high temperature increase flower drop and reduce pod formation (Rezvani moghaddam, et al 2008). There is a negative
relationship between yield and temperature during pollination of chickpea. Critical period of crop yield against increased temperature is 20 days
before pollination and high temperature in this period reduces the yield. In this phase, yield components including flower buds are formed
(Saxena et al, 1993). Chickpea is usually cultured as rain-fed culture, so drought is a limiting factor of its yield. Yield reduction rate due to
drought depends on stress time, stress severity and tolerance rate of the cultivars (Zafaranieh et al, 2009).
Complementary irrigation before flowering and pod filling period, thought influencing 1000 seed weight, had no significant effect on the number
of seed per pod, pod number per plant, biological yield and harvest index; however increased the yield by 600kg/ha (Canoni, 2005). Since most
of the experiments conducted on autumn culture in Mashhad were accompanied by irrigation, the present investigation was carried out to
evaluate winter sowing and complementary irrigation in cold-tolerant genotypes of chickpea. Regarding abovementioned issues, the present
study was carried out to investigate phonological and morphological properties of 81 chickpea genotypes (including bred genotypes for cold
tolerance resulting from previous experiments in Mashhad and also 7 popular genotypes of chickpea in the country) under autumn culture and
complementary irrigation and winter sowing in Mashhad.

Mohsen Zafaranieh *

12

Agriculture Science Developments Vol(4), No (2), February, 2015.

2.

Methodology

The experiment was conducted during 2009-2010 agronomic year in investigational farm of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 36 and 16 north
latitude, 59 and 38 east longitude, and altitude as 985m above sea surface.
Eighty one genotypes including those selected for cold tolerance in experiments of 2003-4 and 2004-5 agronomic season (Nezami, 2002) and
selected according to superior traits including high germination rate, survival rate above 67%, yield as 1ton per hectare at least in one year and
seed weight above 20gr (57 genotypes), genotypes bred for cold tolerance in experiments of 1997-98 and 1998-99 (17 genotypes) and countrywide popular genotypes including Kaka, Karaj, ILC482, ILC3279, Flip483 and Arman were investigated in the present study. Crops were
cultured in the context of incomplete lattice design with three replications and each replication included 9 blocks and 9 plots per block in
October 20.
Soil preparation operation was performed as follows: a plowing just one month before sowing, two steps of perpendicular plowing and soil
leveling before sowing, distributing 200kg/ha super ammonium phosphate fertilizer and creating rows with 50cm spacing. Each plot was
composed of three rows with 25cm spacing and 2m length. The seeds were cultured in both sides of the rows with 25cm spacing. Therefore, 25
seeds per plot (density as 17 stands per square meter) were cultivated. Two irrigation practices, one immediately after sowing and the other 15
days after the first one were carried out to ensure even and fast germination of the seeds. To perform complementary irrigation, one irrigation
was practiced in flowering time. Weed control was done in two steps, one step 20 days after the second irrigation and the other one after winter
cold (April 25). Seeds of each cultivar were obtained from the previous year experiment and so had high viability. Crop phonologic stages were
recorded regarding 50% germination, flowering, pod formation and maturation.
At the end of growth season, in order to measure biological yield and gran yield, all the plants were harvested and air-dried, their weights
(biological yield) were measured and seed yield was obtained after removing straw from the seeds.
Harvest index was calculated via dividing seed yield by biological yield and multiplying by 100. To measure morphological traits, four stands
per plot were randomly harvested at the time of harvesting, transferred to laboratory and pant height, number and length of subsidiary branches
and seed yield components including pod number, seed number per pod and weight of 100 seeds were recorded. Statistical calculations and plot
drawing were performed using Excel, SAS and Power Point software. Duncan multiple range test was used for mean comparison.

3.

Results and discussion

Climatic properties
According to meteorological data, the crops did not experience below zero temperatures during the period between sowing to germination and
the lowest temperature in this period was 2C During vegetative growth period (germination to flowering), 64 nights with below zero
temperature occurred, the lowest of which was -10C that happened in 14th of Day and 8 and 9 of March. Late spring cold (-5C in 30th of April)
occurred in late vegetative growth and at the same time of flowering initiation. Sum of nights with freezing and the days with snow cover were
64 and 13 days, respectively. Total precipitation between sowing to harvesting was 267mm which occurred in 58 cases of precipitation eleven
cases with precipitation higher than 10mm were experienced which occurred during the period between Days to June.
The number of days between sowing to germination under complementary irrigation
Based on the results, the range of days between sowing to germination varied between 9 to 43 days; so that the difference between the genotypes
concerning this item was significant (p0.05). the highest number of days between sowing to germination belonged to genotypes MCC811 and
MCC771 with 43 days and also MCC746 and MCC800 with 39 days; and the lowest number was observed in genotypes MCC770 (9 days) and
MCC771 and MCC258 (10 days).
It is well documented that chickpea genotypes with small seeds have better germination rate in low precipitation years (Singh et al, 1989). In
high precipitation years, large seed genotypes have better germination due to their higher nutrient storage. It is believed that small seed cultivars
have higher water uptake capacity and better establishment under water deficiency condition due to their higher area to volume ratio. As a result,
plants with higher germination rate, more quickly enter vegetative stage which is suitable for cold tolerance.
Number of days to germination in winter sowing
Since in this experiment, the first effective rainfall and supplying soil moisture to germination coincided with winter season and temperature
reduction to below basal zero of chickpea (figure 1), so all the seeds remained non-germinated up to early March. In early March due to
temperature increase, seeds initiated germination using soil moisture.
According to the results, the number of days from sowing to germinating in winter sowing varied between 115 to 130 days among the genotypes.
The difference between genotypes in this regard was significant (p0.05). The highest number of days was observed in genotype MCC811
(130), and MCC361 and MCC719 and MCC732 (127); while the lowest number of days was obtained in MCC763 and MCC800 as 115 and 116,
respectively. It has been reported that smaller seeds with lower uptake area require lower moisture to germinate and are more suitable for
cultivation in rain-fed culture (Shamsi, 2009). In the present study, six out of eight genotypes showing the lowest number of days from sowing to
germination were small-seed genotypes (100seed weight lower than 24gr) and so had higher germination rate.
The number of days between germination to flowering (vegetative growth) in complementary irrigation
Based on the results obtained, the number of days between germination to flowering varied between 136 to 202 days; indicating significant
difference (p<0.05). The highest number of days was observed in genotypes MCC770 and MCC771 with 202 and 200 days, respectively; and
the lowest number of days was observed in genotypes MCC780 (136), MCC800 and MCC738 (138).
Investigations on chickpea have indicated that extension of germination period to flowering in winter culture makes vegetative growth coincide
with suitable moisture and temperature regimes, so vegetative growth is improved and a photosynthetic active irradiation absorption is higher
than that of spring culture which can result in yield increase (Depa et al, 2000). It has been reported that chickpea winter culture under
Mediterranean conditions the length of plant vegetative growth period and makes plant vegetative and reproductive phases coincide with better
moisture condition (Autol et al, 2001). Moreover, due to increase of vegetative growth and supplying reproductive sinks by vegetative organs,
seed yield is enhanced.
In a study conducted to evaluate possibility of chickpea winter-autumn cultivation in rain-fed conditions of north Khorasn, it was observed that
vegetative growth duration in 1995-96 year with sowing on 13th Azar and 13th Day was seven and eight days longer than the culture with
sowing on 15th April. Therefore, crops in autumn-winter cultivation were able to make better use of soil stored moisture and limited precipitation
of late April and first half of Ordibehesht for more suitable vegetative growth compared to spring cultivation (Nezami and Bagheri, 2004).

13

Evaluating Yield and Yield Components of Chickpea Genotypes in Autumn Cultivation under Complementary Irrigation Regime and Winter Sowing in Mashhad
Agriculture Science Developments Vol(4), No (2), February, 2015.

The number of days from germination to flowering (vegetative growth period) in winter sowing
Based on the results and according to flowering initiation in mid-Ordibehesht, the number of days between germination to flowering among the
genotypes varied between 81 to 100 days, so that their difference regarding this item was significant (p<0.05). Flowering of the genotypes
occurred between 14 to 22 of Ordibehesht. The highest number of days was observed in genotypes MCC800 (100) and MCC763 and MCC510
(97); whereas the lowest number of days was achieved in genotypes MCC811 and MCC732 as 81 and 82 days, respectively.
The number of days from flowering to maturation (reproductive growth period) under complementary irrigation
The number of days between flowering to maturation varied in the range of 22 to 64 days, indicating significant difference (P<0.05). The largest
number of days was observed in genotypes MCC770 (64), MCC771, MCC488 and MCC740 (61 days for each genotype); while the lowest
number of days was achieved in MCC800, MCC738 and MCC811 (22 days) that had the shortest reproductive growth duration.
By investigating some bred lines of chickpea during recent ten years in winter and spring culture, the number of days to maturation in winter
culture has been reported to be 79 days longer compared to spring culture. The authors emphasized that longer vegetative growth in winter
culture is a major factor in enhancing seed yield (Zafaranieh, 2009). Moreover, in an experiment on chickpea autumn culture under rain-fed
condition of north Khorasan, reproductive growth period in both 13th Azar and 13th Day sowing s was 6 days longer than spring culture with
sowing on 15th April, so the crops cultivated in winter culture had better opportunity for reproductive growth. Considering the crops sown on
15th April, occurrence of drought condition and increased temperature at late stages of growth season, sometimes coinciding initiation of
flowering phase, caused vegetative growth period to be shorter than those sown on 13 th Azar and 13th Day (Bagheri et al, 2002).
The number of days from pod formation to maturation in winter sowing
Based on the results, the number of days from pod formation to maturation varied between 18 to 26 days among the genotypes, which shows
significant difference (p<0.05). The lowest number of days was observed in MCC488 (18) and MCC496 (19); while the highest number of days
was observed in MCC58 and MCC740 (26) and MCC736 and MCC719 (25). The correlation between number of days from flowering to pod
formation with days from pod formation to maturation was positive and significant (r=0.68**). The correlation between days from flowering to
pod formation with days between pod formation to maturation was positive and significant (r=0.23**). In the present study, a positive and
significant correlation was observed between days from pod formation to maturation and days from germination to flowering (r=0.45**) and
days from flowering to pod formation (r=0.30**). In general, plants with germination in shorter time had better vegetative growth (table 1).
Morphological properties
Plant height in complementary irrigation
The range of plant height among the chickpea genotypes varied between 20 to 57cm, indicating significant difference (p<0.05). Genotypes
MCC758 and MCC202 with 57cm and the genotypes MCC779 with 55cm had the largest height; while MCC327 with 20cm and MCC719 and
MCC743 with 33cm had the lowest height. The correlation between plant height and vegetative growth duration was positive and significant
(r=0.85**). Plants with longer vegetative growth duration were able to increase their vegetative structure and produce longer branches by better
use of environmental conditions (table2).
Average height of chickpea plant in winter culture has been reported as 47cm and that of spring culture as 36cm; therefore completely
mechanized harvesting by combine harvester is possible in winter culture; whereas due to shortness of plant in spring culture and necessity for
hand harvesting, labor cost is enhanced (Najibnia, 2004). According to authors, plants in autumn and winter culture are able to make better
exploitation of precipitation, and in this situation, a larger part of water stored in the soil can be used for supplying plant water demands. On the
other hand, spring culture plants usually use the moisture stored in soil and naturally by reduction in precipitation, plant height is severely
influenced (Shamsi, 2009). In an experiment conducted to evaluate autumn culture of chickpea in Mashhad, it was observed that plant height in
64% of 152 studied samples varied between 31cm to 45cm (Rezvani Moghaddam et al, 2008).
Table1. Correlation coefficients between phonological traits, morphological traits, yield components and yield
of cold-tolerant chickpea genotypes under winter sowing (rain-fed) in Mashhad (2009-10 agronomic year)

SE
EF
FR
PH
BPP
BLP
SP
PP
SNP
100S
SY
BY
HI

SE
1
0.68**
0.81
0.08
0.41
0.08**
0.17**
0.71
0.34**
0.41
0.17**
0.47
-0.01

EF

FR

PH

BPP

BLP

SP

PP

SNP

100S

SY

BY

HI

1
0.30**
0.02
0.17*
0.28
0.45**
0.12**
0.43**
0.26
0.23**
0.68
0.27**

1
0.41**
0.26**
0.27
0.42**
0.02
0.43**
0.32
0.14
0.17
0.06

1
0.56
0.39
0.21
0.34
0.18
0.30
0.21**
0.24
0.05

1
0.17**
0.36
0.40**
0.25**
0.32
0.24
0.32**
0.04

1
0.17**
0.45**
0.11
0.10**
0.10
0.36**
0.07

1
0.11
0.14
0.21
0.16
0.47
0.17*

1
0.83**
-0.09*
0.25
0.39**
0.65 *

1
0.17
0.54**
0.46**
0.02

1
0.27
0.27
0.08

1
0.27
0.39

1
0.19

SE: day from sowing to germination

EF: days from germination to flowering
FR: days from flowering to maturation
PH: plant height
BPP: branch number per plant

BLP: branch length per plant

SP: survival percentage
PP: filled pod per plant
SPP: seed per plant
100S: 100 seed weight

SWP: seed weight per plant

SY: seed yield
BY: biological yield
HI: harvest index

Plant height in winter sowing

Plant height at the end of growth season varied between 22cm to 42cm, indicating significant difference among the genotypes (p<0.05).
Genotype MCC753 with 22cm and MCC781, MCC721, MCC788 and MCC493 with 23cm had the lowest height; and MCC85 with 42cm and
MCC476 with 41cm had the largest height. There was positive and significant correlation between plant height and reproductive growth duration
(flowering to maturation) (r=0.41**) (table1).

Mohsen Zafaranieh *

14

Agriculture Science Developments Vol(4), No (2), February, 2015.

Branch number per plant under complementary irrigation

Branch number varied between 6 to 31 branches among the studied genotypes (p<0.05).
The highest number of branch per plant was observed in MCC186 (31), MCC808 and MCC742 (28), while the lowest number of branches was
obtained in MCC510, MCC782 and MCC67 with 6 branches. The correlation between branch number per plant and vegetative growth duration
(r=0.31**) and reproductive growth duration (r=0.29**) was positive and significant (table 1).
There have been many reports suggesting that branch number per plant is significantly higher in autumn culture compared to spring culture due
to improved growth as a result of relative improvement of environmental conditions regarding temperature and moisture during vegetative
growth period (Autol et al, 2001). Many investigations have shown that there is positive correlation between branch number per plant and seed
yield because increase in branch number per plant is followed by increased pod number and consequently by increased seed yield (Khaksefidi,
2010).
Table2. Correlation coefficients between phonological traits, morphological traits, yield components and yield
of cold-tolerant chickpea genotypes under complementary irrigation in Mashhad (2009-10 agronomic year)
SE
EF
FR
PH
BPP
BLP
SP
PP
SNP
100S
SY
BY
HI

SE
1
0.43**
0.21**
0.23**
0.006
0.31
0.011
0.13*
0.01
*
0.14
0.28**
-0.20**
-0.15

EF

FR

PH

BPP

BLP

SP

PP

SNP

100S

SY

BY

HI

1
0.047
0.85**
**
0.31
0.68**
0.51**
0.51**
0.33**
0.41**
0.64**
0.53**
0.22**

1
0.061
0.29**
0.65**
0.24**
0.36**
0.43**
0.37**
0.27**
0.17**
046**

1
14**
0.14*
0.02
0.05
0.03
0.24**
0.14**
0.11
0.19

1
0.15*
0.15*
0.30**
0.40**
046**
046*
0.27
0.32**

1
0.35**
0.52**
0.11
0.36**
0.36**
0.54**
0.07

1
0.14*
0.14
0.31**
0.36**
0.72**
0.27**

1
0.83**
0.17**
0.33**
0.49**
0.06

1
0.05 0.33**
0.03
0.02

1
0.20**
0.29**
0.48**

1
0.49**
0.39**

1
0.19**

SE: day from sowing to germination

EF: days from germination to flowering
FR: days from flowering to maturation
PH: plant height
BPP: branch number per plant

BLP: branch length per plant

SP: survival percentage
PP: filled pod per plant
SPP: seed per plant
100S: 100 seed weight

SWP: seed weight per plant

SY: seed yield
BY: biological yield
HI: harvest index

Branch number per plant in winter sowing

Branch number per plant in winter sowing varied between 4 to 13, showing significant difference (P<0.05). in this regard, MCC283 and
MCC783 and MCC477 with 4 branches and MCC361 and MCC814 with 5 branches had the lowest number of branches; while MCC800 with 13
branches and MCC746 with 11 branches had the highest number of branches per plant.
In this experiment, branch number per plant had significant correlation with duration of the period between germination to flowering (r=0.17*)
and length of the period between flowering to maturation (r=0.26*) (table 1). Based on these results, plant with longer vegetative and
reproductive growth period were able to enhance their vegetative structure and produce more branches due to better use of environmental
conditions.
Sum of branch length per plant under complementary irrigation
Based on the results obtained in this study, the range of sum of branch length per plant varied between 493cm and 1420cm among the studied
genotypes, indicating that difference concerning this trait was significant (p<0.05). The highest branch length was observed in genotypes
MCC800, MCC770 and MCC768 as 1420, 1392 and 1378cm, respectively; while the lowest length was observed in MCC782, MCC283 and
MCC811 as 493, 540 and 580cm, respectively.
In this investigation, the correlation between branch length per plant and vegetative growth duration (r=0.68**), reproductive growth duration
(r=0.65**), plant height (r=0.14*) and branch number per plant (r=0.15*) was positive and significant (table 2). Therefore, it can be concluded
that sum of branch length is increased in plants with higher vegetative growth that is due to increased plant height and increased branch number
per plant.
Sum of branch length per plant under winter sowing
Branch length varied between 40cm to 244cm, indicating significant difference among the genotypes (P<0.05). MCC783 (40cm) and MCC766
(54cm) had the lowest branch length and MCC800 (264cm) and MCC799 (203cm) had the highest branch length per plant. the correlation
between sum of branch length per plant with cultivation duration to germination (r=0.08**) and branch number per plant (r=0.17*) was positive
and significant (table 1).

4.

Conclusion

Genotypes that germinated in shorter time were able to enter vegetative growth more quickly and exploit more favorable environmental
conditions in spring. Since the crops were evaluated fundamentally under natural precipitation, they were included in 20 superior genotypes
regarding traits such as plant height, branch length per plant, survival percentage, pod number per plant and weight of 100 seeds. This was also
the case for 20 superior genotypes regarding seed yield. Under winter sowing, seed yield in 32% of the samples was higher than 40gr/m2 .
Finally, under winter sowing and complementary irrigation, the genotypes MCC333, MCCC186, MCC803 and MCC743 possessing yield higher
than 600kg/h were identified as the superior genotypes.

15

Evaluating Yield and Yield Components of Chickpea Genotypes in Autumn Cultivation under Complementary Irrigation Regime and Winter Sowing in Mashhad
Agriculture Science Developments Vol(4), No (2), February, 2015.

References
Ahmed, F., Islam, M. N., Jahan, M. A., Rahman, M. T and Ali, M. Z. 2011. Phenology, growth and yield of chickpea as influenced by weather variables under
different sowing dates. Journal of Experimental Biosciences, 2(2): 83-88.
Azam, M., Abid, H., Wajid, S. A and Maqsood, M. 2002. Effect of sowing date, irrigation and plant densities on radiation interception and its utilization efficiency
in Lentils. International Journal of Agriculture & Biology, 4(2): 217-219.
Bagheri, A., Nezami, A., Gnjaeli, A., and Parsa, M. 1997. Agronomy and Breading. Jahad Daneshgahi Mashhad. Publisher, p.522.
Dapaah, H. K., Mckenzie, B. A., and Hill, G. D. 2000. Influence of sowing date and irrigation on the growth and yield of pinto beans (phaseolus vulgaris) in a
subhmid temperate environment. Journal of Agricultural Science 134: 33-43.
Kanooni.H. 2005. Evalution of fall sowing of cold tolerant chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) germplasms in field. Journal of Plant and Seed, 20: 89-99. (In Persian
with English abstract).
Khaksafidi, A., Noura, N., Biroudian, N., and Najafi Nejad, A. 2010. Rainfall temporal distribution patterns in Sistan & Balouchestan province. Journal of Water
and Soil Conservation, 17: 44-61. (In Persian with English abstract).
McKenzie, B. A., Hill, G. D., Gunaratnam, R and Jones, A. V. 1995. Evaluation of the ICARDA cold tolerance chickpea nursery. Proceeding Agronomy Society
of N. Z 25: 47-50.
Ministry
of
Jihad-e-Agriculture.
2010.
Office
of
Agricultural
Statistics
and
Information.
Available
at
Web
(site
http://dbagri.maj.ir/zrt/yearrep.asp?p=118&o=9900).
Mousavi, S. K and P. Pezeshkpour. 2006. Evaluation of Kabuli chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars response to sowing date. Journal of Iranian Field Crop
Research, 4: 141-154. (In Persian with English abstract).
Najib nia. S. 2004. Evalution of fall sowing of cold tolerant chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) germplasms in Mashhad condition. M.SC. Thesis. University of
Ferdowsi Mashahad
Nezami, A. 2002. Evaluation of cold tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) for fall planting in the highlands of Iran. PhD. Thesis. Ferdowsi University of
Mashhad.
Nezami, A. and Bagheri, A. 2004. Responsiveness of cold tolerant chickpea characteristics in fall and spring planting: 2 - yield and yield components. Journal of
Iranian Field Crop Research 3: 156-170. (In Persian with English abstract).
Otoole, N. Stoddard, F. L. and Obrien L. 2001. Screening of chickpea for adaption to autumn sowing. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 186: 193-207.
Rezvani Moghaddam, P and Sadeghi Samarjan, R. 2008. Effect of sowing dates and different irrigation regimes on morphological characteristics and seed yield of
chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Journal of Iranian Field Crop Research, 6:315-325. (In Persian with English abstract).
Saxena, M. C. 1993. The challenge of developing biotic and abiotic strees resistance in cool-season food legumes. P. 3-14. Singh, K. B. and M. C. Saxena (eds.).
Breeding for Stress Tolerance in Cool-Season Food Legumes. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, Uk.
Shamsi, K. 2009. Effect of sowing date and row spacing on yield and yield components of chickpea under rain fed condition in Iran. Journal of Applied
Biosciences, 17: 941-947.
Singh, K. B., R. S. Malhotra, and M. C. Saxena. 1989. Chickpea evaluation for cold tolerance under field conditions. Crop Science, 29: 282-285.