CHICKPEA PERFORMANCE COMPARED TO PEA, BARLEY AND OAT IN CENTRAL EUROPE: GROWTH ANALYSIS AND YIELD

Abstract

An increase of grain legume production is essential for meeting feed protein need in Europe. Warming climates offer the opportunity for adapting crops with a more warm-season growth habit such as chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in cool, northern latitude areas. Therefore, yield and growth analysis of chickpea were assessed in a two-year field experiment in Central Europe (Raasdorf, Austria) and compared to pea, barley and oat, which are well adapted crops in that region. Chickpea had a lower above-ground biomass and grain yield compared to pea, barley and oat in 2006, whereas only pea was more productive than chickpea in the dry year of 2007. The relative good performance of chickpea regarding crop growth rate and relative growth rate compared to pea, barley and oat under severe drought in 2007 indicated that chickpea may be an interesting crop in the Central European production area in the face of possible climate change.