Marching towards self-sufficiency in chickpea

Summary

Chickpea is a major pulse crop of India, accounting for more than 40% of the total pulses area and production. From a mere 3.86 million tons (mt) during 2000–01, chickpea production rose steadily to an all-time high of 11.23 mt during 2017–18. Central and southern states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have benefited most from the chickpea revolution in the country, with remarkable increase in both cultivation area and production. This has been achieved through the development of suitable technologies like high-yielding varieties along with matching production and protection technologies and quality seed producing units. To attain self-sufficiency by 2050, total pulse production in the country needs to reach 39 mt. This includes chickpea requirement of about 16–17.5 mt by 2050 from an area of about 10.5 m ha with average productivity of 15–17 q/ha. The potential yield observed in AICRP (Chickpea) trials has increased from 10 to 17.50 q/ha during the past 20 years (CAGR = 1.51%). At this rate, the increased chickpea requirement can be easily achieved by 2050, provided there is proper policy backstopping. Here we review chickpea research in India during the last five decades and future research priorities to tackle newer challenges.