CHICKPEAS

Why should you pay attention to chickpeas?

For those who have never been engaged in this culture before, the technology of its cultivation may seem complicated. To get a good harvest of chickpeas, you need to do the following:

• choose a good predecessor;
• choose a high-yielding variety;
• to achieve good field germination of seeds;
• ensure that the plant is clean of weeds during the entire period of development;
• give fertilizers and trace elements for optimal plant development;
• in case of adverse weather conditions, protect against diseases;
• perform full protection against pests on the crop;
• remove it in a timely manner.

It is necessary to understand in what phases the culture will be vulnerable and when it will experience stress. In order to prevent a decrease in the yield, you need to act clearly, adhering to well-thought-out instructions: do not miss the timing of operations, do not forget about the key points listed above.

Chickpeas (also called Turkish or lamb peas) are similar to the head of a ram. Many have seen it, but not all have tried it. This is a very tasty product belonging to the legume family. Why is it so popular?

No one will argue that the main wealth of a person is his health. Chickpeas have a wide range of useful properties. Due to the high content of minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats, fiber and vitamins, it treats many ailments and diseases. Chickpeas improve vision, strengthen the cardiovascular system, improve digestion, normalize sugar levels, remove toxins from the intestines along with cholesterol and bile, and also removes toxins from the body. Chickpeas are a source of vegetable protein, it is consumed by people who do not eat animal protein. Regular consumption of chickpeas normalizes the work of the nervous system, strengthens the immune system, increases efficiency. A person gets a lot of energy and strength.

Residents of Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Israel, a number of European countries and the CIS use chickpeas daily as a snack. Stable demand and high export potential of this crop guarantee a good price.

Key points related to chickpea cultivation:

• Chickpeas are a fairly drought-resistant leguminous crop that can withstand short-term heat, drought and dry winds well. Due to the powerful root system and economical consumption of moisture, chickpeas are more adapted to such weather conditions and are suitable for growing in areas that often suffer from droughts in the summer.
• Chickpeas are relatively undemanding to soils. Soil preparation at our enterprise begins with deep processing with chisel from 30 cm and deeper after harvesting winter wheat. Then follow the peeling of stubble and the cultivation of carrion. The task of these soil treatments is to destroy weeds, level the soil and accumulate moisture to obtain friendly shoots and further plant development.
• The best precursors for chickpeas are black steam, grain ears. Bad precursors include sunflower and legumes. Repeated placement of chickpeas on chickpeas will lead to a significant increase in diseases and pests. The chickpeas themselves accompany the growth of the harvest of subsequent crops.
• Culture does not require any special equipment. For sowing chickpeas, you can use grain or rowed seeders. The correct choice of a seeder depends on the soil and climatic conditions of your region.

In more arid conditions, a wide-row method of sowing is used with a seeding rate of 350 thousand/ha, this type of sowing provides the crop with moisture better. It is also possible to control weeds with the help of row-to-row cultivation.

Under favorable conditions, chickpeas are sown in a continuous way from 600 thousand/ha to 1 million/ha. With this method of sowing, chickpeas compete better with weeds, and the yield increases significantly – more than 2 t/ha.

What kind of chickpeas to choose?

One of the key points in the technology of chickpea cultivation is the correct choice of the variety. The variety must have high drought resistance, resistance to diseases and pests. We recommend early sowing of the late-maturing group; late sowing-only sowing of early-maturing varieties.

In 2017, 48 experimental plots of different varieties were laid at our enterprise. Experiments have shown that different varieties reacted differently to the prevailing weather conditions: from instability to diseases to partial or complete death of the variety.

It is necessary to understand that there are varieties that have good drought resistance, capable of giving a stable harvest, and there are varieties of increased yield that manifest themselves in wet years. The yield potential also depends on these properties. Due to a properly selected variety, it is possible to increase the yield.

To get a good harvest, we recommend sowing several varieties, observing a certain balance between a stable harvest and a chance to get unique indicators. In my opinion, for the north of the Volgograd region, the optimal ratio is: two varieties, one of which (20% of the area) is moisture-loving with a large diameter of the bean, and the other (80% of the area) is the one that shows a stable yield from year to year. A variety with a high yield potential is sown on more fertile soils, and on inclined fields – a time-tested variety. This approach allows you to optimize risks and avoid a decrease in income even in a bad year.

The best result in LLC «MAX» is obtained when growing the Privo 1 variety, and this is no coincidence. This variety is a champion in its ripeness group, the earliest in Russia. And at the same time, he is also the leader in yield and drought resistance. When sown in early June, the graft will fully ripen, unlike late-ripening varieties. We manage to remove it in August due to dry weather, after which we calmly, without haste, prepare the soil for winter wheat. Privo 1 is the most stable variety in our farm: on average for 4 years, its yield was 18 c/ha.

In 2017, the Volzhanin variety also showed excellent development in our farm. He is more moisture-loving, and the excess amount of moisture in the spring of this year did not affect his development in any way, he did not show any signs of illness. The caliber of seeds of this variety is larger, which means that the selling price will be higher.

Also, the variety Volzhanin 50 was sown at our tests. At the demonstration site, he was in no way inferior to the leaders. This is understandable: each new variety should exceed the existing ones in many parameters!

Please note that the quality of seeds is an extremely important indicator. Many farms are used to sowing the seeds of mass reproduction – but you will not get anything good from this practice! The influence of chickpea seed reproduction on their yield was studied: it was found that each subsequent reproduction, starting with the elite, reduces the crop yield by 2 c/ha.

Elite chickpea seeds have beans of uniform size, they have the same growth force, good field germination, equalization of crops in height, resistance to diseases. Not only germination, but also productivity depends on high-quality seeds. Obvious losses are caused by those farms that sow low-quality seeds of mass reproductions, that is, they steal money from themselves. You need to buy seeds only from official seed farms!

When is the best time to sow seeds?

Chickpeas can withstand short-term frosts up to -4... - 6 ° C. This crop is quite cold-resistant, the minimum seed germination temperature is +6 ° C.

Due to the fact that chickpeas are cold-resistant, many people forget that this is a heat-loving crop, and without realizing this, many farmers begin to sow chickpeas early, in cold and unheated soil. But under such conditions, it takes a long time to germinate and develops slowly.

If, however, someone will sow very early, then we recommend sowing seeds for a maximum of 5 cm. Those who sowed it this year at an early date deeper than 5 cm, faced another problem: with the rotting of seeds, the field germination rate decreased to 50%. Chickpea seedlings began to get sick due to the cool weather, and while chickpeas were slowly developing, the soil effect of the herbicide ended, and the culture began to overgrow with weeds. All this led to a large clogging, a decrease in the yield and a partial death of the crop due to diseases.

Chickpeas are demanding to the presence of air in the root layer. It needs oxygen for root respiration, as well as for the vital activity of nodule nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Thanks to the biological nitrogen fixation, chickpeas are able to accumulate biological nitrogen up to 150 kg / ha, which makes it an excellent precursor for many crops.

Many people ask if we work as inoculants. What are inoculants for? Chickpeas are a legume crop, which means that during its development, a symbiosis of the plant with soil bacteria occurs, and biological nitrogen is formed on the roots. Therefore, if you sow chickpeas and do not use inoculants, quite often we can see that nodules form on the plant and nitrogen fixation occurs. But it is not going as intensively as we would like it to be. Experiments show that when using soil microflora, nitrogen accumulation, even under favorable weather conditions, is 30 kg d. v. If you use inoculates for chickpeas, then in this case, depending on weather conditions, you will get 60 kg/ha, and sometimes this indicator can reach up to 150 kg/ha. It turns out a decent saving on fertilizers and a good reserve for the harvest of the next crop!

Why do I need to use inoculants on chickpeas? There are few bacteria in the soil, and therefore, by treating the seeds with an inoculant, you ensure from the very beginning that their number at which nodules appear. Nodule bacteria are very gentle: they are oppressed by strong acidity, from an alkaline reaction, they react strongly to high and low temperatures, ultraviolet sunlight.

Today, companies around the world are working to select bacteria for resistance to negative factors that provoke their death. Bacteria are also being selected according to the effectiveness of penetration into the plant. After all, in order to get into the plant, the bacteria need to be in direct contact with the germinating seed, since they are sedentary. Inoculants contain a number of bacteria that is 10 times higher than the minimum standards for the formation of nodules.

In «MAX LLC», we etch the seeds with a mordant a month before sowing, and we process them with an inoculant (chickpea rhizotorphin) directly on the day of sowing.

What role does seed dressing play?

What do we want to get from the seed protectant? Of course, a healthy plant. Seeds can be infected with different types of fungus, they can lose germination or give sick plants, so it is recommended to pickle them before sowing. But-necessarily with a preliminary analysis of the seeds for infection.

At «MAKS» LLC, we use a tank mixture of half the norm of Maxim and TMTD protectants together with the Raikat Start microelement (1 l/t), which increases the germination and germination energy of seeds. If there is wireworm in the soil, we add the Tabu insecticide.

How should I sow chickpeas?
The terms of sowing in our company begin in the spring, when the soil is sufficiently warmed up. Everything is simple and clear here: the faster the soil warms up, the faster seedlings appear. The main conditions for friendly shoots are uniform sealing of seeds to a given depth and a wet seedbed during sowing. When the soil dries up, the depth of seed embedding can reach 10 cm.

The terms of sowing in our company begin in the spring, when the soil is sufficiently warmed up. Everything is simple and clear here: the faster the soil warms up, the faster seedlings appear. The main conditions for friendly shoots are uniform sealing of seeds to a given depth and a wet seedbed during sowing. When the soil dries up, the depth of seed embedding can reach 10 cm.

Chickpeas are a plastic crop, it shows a good yield in different regions with a seeding rate of 350 thousand / ha of sown seeds and up to 1 million/ha.

When choosing the optimal seeding rate, it is necessary to make an adjustment for field germination, mechanical damage, damage caused by pests and plant diseases. For each variety and its cultivation zone, there are their own recommendations for the sown density, which is adjusted to specific soil and climatic conditions.

The seeding rate is 600 thousand./ha The seeding rate is 1 mln./ha

Our farm uses thickened chickpea crops up to 1 million in physical weight. As you can see in the photo, experienced plots with a seeding rate of 1 million / ha of sown seeds look much better than with a norm of 600 thousand/ha. The reason for this was the large amount of precipitation in 2017. A large amount of moisture on the plot with 600 thousand / ha was critical, and some of the plants just got wet.

The increased seeding rate in our farm in the case of high temperatures and short-term drought also gives an advantage, since the sun's rays do not pass to the soil surface, on which much less moisture evaporates. Also, thickened crops compete more easily with weeds. But it should be borne in mind that for dense crops it is necessary to provide a balanced nutrition with fertilizers for less moisture consumption by the plant.

How to fertilize chickpeas?
The initial growth of chickpeas is very slow, and if there is a large amount of crop residues on the field, then the plants will be pale due to lack of nitrogen. We introduce 100 kg / ha of nitrogen for pre-sowing cultivation, only for the start of crop development. At high nitrogen rates, nitrogen fixation of nodule bacteria may stop.

Phosphorus contributes to the better development of the root system (chickpeas branch more strongly, and the root penetrates deeper into the soil), and as a result, the plant develops better. Phosphorus also contributes to more economical water consumption, increasing drought resistance.

The rate of application of ammophos is 50 kg/ha The rate of application of ammophos is 100 kg/ha

With an increased rate of application of ammophos (100 kg/ha), the root system of chickpeas developed better than with a norm of 50 kg/ha. This affected the survival rate of the crop due to adverse weather conditions in 2017.

The conclusion is simple: if the culture is provided with full nutrition, then a healthy plant is able to tolerate more extreme weather conditions.

How to protect chickpeas from weeds?
The main condition for growing chickpeas is that the fields should be clean of weeds, especially from perennial root-springing ones. After all, if there is a large weed vegetation, the yield of chickpeas will significantly decrease and will complicate the harvesting of the crop.

Chickpeas compete very poorly with weeds at all stages of their development, especially with broad-leaved and perennial root-springing weeds. In our farm, the fight against weed vegetation is carried out with the help of soil, post-emergence herbicides and herbicides of the glyphosate group.

In 2017, many farmers faced a large clogging of fields with weeds on chickpeas, or rather with a low efficiency of soil herbicides – why did this happen? If there are osot, bindweed, milkweed and other perennial root-sprouting weeds on the field where chickpeas will be sown, then it is necessary to start fighting them from autumn, using herbicides of the glyphosate group. Soil herbicides control only annual weeds: mar, schiritsa, ragweed, chicken millet – and do not affect perennial root-springing weeds in any way.

If there is a large amount of plant residues on the field, then it is necessary to adjust the dose of the drug: part of the drug will be absorbed by plant residues and the effectiveness of the herbicide will decrease.

When applying a soil herbicide, we use a working solution rate of 200 l / ha at an optimal application temperature of 10-25 ° C, this gives an even distribution of the drug over the entire soil surface. We seal up the soil herbicide by 3 cm with a stripper harrow after sowing. It is the soil moisture that ensures the contact of the herbicide on weeds at the time of their germination.

Soil herbicides with different active substances have different decay periods in time. The higher the solubility of the soil herbicide, the better it will manifest itself in arid conditions. Conversely, the lower the solubility, the more effective it is in wet years. There are also herbicides with a very long period of protection: herbicides of this group have a significant impact on subsequent crops, especially such as sunflower.

Good effectiveness from soil herbicides can be achieved by tank mixtures for a longer period of protection, regardless of weather conditions. Tank mixtures, of course, give higher efficiency in protecting chickpeas, but at the same time the cost of processing increases by 1 ha.

If more than 20 mm of precipitation falls in a short period, the soil herbicide can be washed from the soil surface. With a large amount of water, the herbicide passes into the lower layers of the soil, where it loses its effectiveness.

This year, MAKS LLC used various soil herbicides on chickpeas in one field and in one period. As can be seen in the photos, under the same weather conditions, the results of the experiments were different: from the low efficiency of some soil herbicides to the perfect purity on chickpeas, up to the control of sunflower carrion.

With the right technology and the right choice of soil herbicide, it is possible to ensure the purity of the field for the entire growing season, which will positively affect the crop yield.

Before processing After processing

If we talk about common herbicides on chickpeas for dicotyledonous weeds, this year we worked with a selective systemic herbicide of a wide spectrum of action to control dicotyledonous weeds Zenkor Ultra (metribuzin 600 g/l) with a norm of 0.2 l / ha for carrion buckwheat in chickpeas at an average daily air temperature of 17 ° C. You can see the effectiveness of this drug for yourself, although it was not possible to obtain complete destruction of weed vegetation at such a rate of the drug.

After treatment with Zenkor, yellowing, stunting, and various chloroses were observed on chickpea plants. But over time, depending on the weather conditions, all the negative effects of the herbicide disappeared. When working with this herbicide, you need to know that high temperatures, drought, excess moisture and any other stressful effects can greatly depress the culture up to partial or complete death, especially in the case of an overdose of the drug.

Anti-slag herbicides can be used on chickpeas. Unlike herbicides against dicotyledons, they do not oppress chickpeas as much. Using a herbicide, we have achieved the complete death of cereal weeds. Cold weather, high humidity, and a large amount of precipitation had a negative impact on the development of chickpeas after treatment with an anti-gold herbicide.

Conclusion: if chickpeas are experiencing stress from weather anomalies, then the use of any herbicides should be postponed to a more favorable moment.

What diseases does chickpeas suffer from?

Over the past two years, farmers have been experiencing a terrible headache due to the development of diseases on chickpeas. Ascochitosis and fusariosis are the most common.

Fusarium wilt, the pathogens are fungi. They are found in the soil and on various plant residues. Mushrooms cause huge damage to chickpea crops. There is a withering of the aboveground part due to blockage of the vascular system and intoxication. On chickpeas, fusariosis manifests itself through a strong lag in growth, followed by withering of the plant, rotting of the roots and stem at the root neck is observed. Methods of control: sow seeds that are not infected with diseases, be sure to pickle them.

Chickpea ascochitosis is the most harmful disease. Ascochitosis can destroy almost the entire crop, especially in years favorable for moisture, due to the lack of resistant varieties. Ascochitosis is spread both with infected seeds and with plant residues that remain on the field. With chickpea disease, leaves, stems, beans and seeds are damaged. Ascochitosis on chickpeas manifests itself in the form of dark brown spots with edging.

Compliance with crop rotation allows you to significantly reduce the spread of diseases on chickpeas. We recommend placing chickpeas on the same field no more than once every 3-4 years, and do not sow after legumes, vegetable crops and perennial grasses.

In MAX LLC, no more than 20% of the area is occupied under chickpeas. Fungicidal treatments are the most effective method of combating diseases. The earlier the disease is detected, the more effective the fight against it will be. The difficulty is that the early symptoms of some fungal diseases are quite difficult to see, and the disease can spread inside the plant within 10 days by the time the first signs appear. It will be difficult to fight already.

If cold and rainy weather is observed at the initial stages of chickpea development, then we recommend using fungicidal treatments on chickpea to protect against diseases prophylactically, without waiting for signs of ascochitosis. The first treatment should be carried out when the plant has not reached 10 cm or in the phase of 5 nodes. Application experiments have shown that the longest period of protection from diseases after fungicidal treatment is a maximum of 18 days, and if the weather does not improve after this period, it is necessary to re-treat.

In LLC «MAX» in 2017, a 3-fold fungicidal treatment of chickpeas was used. The use of fungicides was carried out with various active substances, this contributed to more effective plant protection and reduced the risk of fungal resistance to drugs.

In many farms, the same fungicide is used, which causes the resistance of ascochitosis fungi to this drug.

What pests attack chickpeas?

Of the pests on chickpea crops, chickpea mining fly, meadow moth, aphids, various types of scoops, fruit beetles, etc. are most often found.

Chickpea miner is a small fly with a wide belly, short legs and transparent wings. She has a proboscis, with which she makes punctures in the tissues of the plant, in order to lay eggs in the place of puncture. A fly lays eggs in a leaf. The larvae lay a narrow passage inside the leaves, which gradually expands to cover the entire leaf. From these injuries, the upper skin of the leaf swells and breaks. Since in the old days the word "mine" meant a mine, the larvae living inside the plants were called miners. The larva lives in the leaf for 5-7 days. After completing its development, it falls to the ground and pupates. The leaves damaged by larvae turn yellow, dry up and fall off, which leads to a shortage of chickpeas.

To combat mining flies, we use an insecticidal treatment with Tabu with a dose of 120 g / ha. This drug copes perfectly with adult flies and larvae. Also, a good effect against chickpea miner and wireworm is shown by the insecticidal treatment of seeds before sowing. We do not see any difficulties in the fight against this pest.

Cotton dustpan. Since it is a multi-eating pest, its harmfulness has increased significantly in recent years. The owl undergoes a complete transformation into 4 phases of development: egg, larva( caterpillar), pupa, imago (butterfly).

Chickpeas are the most important food resource for a butterfly. The usual flight of butterflies on chickpeas begins at the end of June. Pest settlement occurs 7-10 days before the onset of the flowering phase. The butterfly lays eggs on the plant, where the caterpillars hatch from the eggs within 3-14 days. At first, the caterpillars feed on young leaves, and then, as the beans are formed, they populate the entire plant. In damaged beans, the fruit is partially or completely eaten, which reduces the yield of chickpeas. During the growth process, the color of the caterpillars changes and varies from light green and yellow to red-brown. The head is yellow, with spots, the thoracic shield with a marble pattern. The entire development cycle of the cotton scoop takes an average of 25-40 days. After pupation, the next generation of butterflies appear and the cycle repeats.

The cotton scoop is able to destroy almost the entire chickpea crop, so it is necessary to take measures to combat it. It is very important to carry out treatment in the initial period of development of caterpillars, when they are not yet resistant to this drug. With a single application, the effectiveness of the drug will be higher than repeated treatments. If you are 3 days late with the treatment, you will dramatically reduce the effectiveness of the insecticide, since older caterpillars are much more resistant to insecticides. The effectiveness of the drug for older caterpillars will be 30-60%. The resistance of caterpillars to insecticides is due to their biological characteristics. Timely treatment will give you the opportunity to get a high effectiveness of the drug. But the best way is to alternate insecticides, and also use tank mixtures to prevent the emergence of pest resistance to chemicals.

Excellent effectiveness against cotton scoops and meadow moths in our farm was shown by a tank mixture of Taira + Sharpey. But if you are late with the treatment, you should think about the most powerful drugs: Belt (Flubendiamide), Proclaim (emamectin benzoate). We understand that when choosing insecticides, the cost of the drug plays an important role. But taking into account today's prices for chickpeas, the cost of expensive, highly effective drugs will be justified.

Why take on all this?

Getting a stable good harvest is the main goal of every agricultural company. The level of agriculture in some farms is far behind, sometimes conducted in a primitive way. We see that the development of our enterprise is possible only with the active introduction of the latest achievements of science and technology, intensive cultivation technologies, crop programming, integrated application of agrotechnical and chemical methods of combating weeds, pests and plant diseases. Therefore, we constantly conduct experimental work at the enterprise.

Experiments are our eyes in agronomy. We select from the results obtained everything that turns out to be the most effective for this culture. The result of the experiments gives us the opportunity to exclude stupid mistakes often made when growing a crop.

Many farmers are used to complaining about the lack of money and an unhappy life. To earn money, you need to make an effort. A person will not get rich on culture if he is afraid of difficulties, unnecessary efforts, mistakes, risks. Remember: sometimes not everything works out at once and, envying someone else's success, a person gets stuck in a position that prevents him from moving towards the intended goal.

Success will not fall on the head of someone who spends time in vain, continuing to sow flax, barley, safflower, coriander and other low-profitable crops. There is no need to wait for high prices for these crops, but you need not postpone the sowing of chickpeas, for which there is a great demand today. After all, with its help, you can earn good money already this year.

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