ICARDA, Turkish scientists develop drought-tolerant chick pea variety

A new chickpea variety, Gokce, developed by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), in collaboration with Turkish national scientists, has withstood severe drought in Turkey and produced an impressive yield in adverse weather conditions.

Gokce is not only drought tolerant but also has moderate tolerance to Ascochyta blight, a disease that devastates chickpea. In most areas where wheat, barley, and other crops have failed, Gokce's yield is high.

"Work on developing this variety began in 1984/85 as part of an international yield trial," says Dr R. S. Malhotra, senior chickpea breeder at ICARDA. "Gokce was released for field trials in Turkey in 1991." Subsequently, in 1992 and 1993, it was tested in regional yield trials at five contrasting locations. It was released for commercial production in 1997.

ICARDA, based in Aleppo, Syria, is a non-profit international agricultural research center in a worldwide consortium of 15 centers, supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Based on the success of the field trials, the Exporters' Union Seed and Research Company (ITAS), a non-profit organization set up by agricultural exporters of Turkey, introduced Gokce into the country in 1997. ITAS planted 1400 kg of foundation seed in 1998. The seed was then distributed to growers in 2000. Since then, 100-150 tons of certified seed has been provided to farmers for cultivation.

As Gokce cultivation expanded, the average yield of chickpea increased noticeably, from 861 kg per hectare in 2000 to 1071 kg per hectare in 2006. Chickpea is now grown in some 600,000 hectares in Turkey. This year Gokce has been planted in almost 85 % of the chickpea production area.

Turkey is one of the largest exporters of kabuli chickpea in the world and Turkish farmers have quickly adopted Gokce because of its large seed size and tolerance to drought and Ascochyta blight.

IRCADA