New chickpea varieties to benefit State and national growers

10/09/04
Two new chickpea varieties developed in Western Australia will help rebuild the State's chickpea industry.
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance launched the two new desi varieties at an industry forum in Dongara today.
Sonali and Rupali were developed for growing in the State's northern and central Wheatbelt but also have potential for the low rainfall areas of South Australia, Victoria and southern NSW.
"The new varieties will help stimulate the renewed expansion of chickpea production and offer growers an excellent opportunity for future growth," Mr Chance said.

"Chickpea production was previously a highly profitable industry before ascochyta blight appeared in 1999. Following the outbreak most growers stopped production, citing reduced profitability and increased risk of financial loss through crop failure as the main reasons.
"Growers have shown strong interest in resuming production, with about 80 per cent expected to adopt these new varieties within three years of release.
"We expect existing chickpea growers will quickly adopt the new varieties but overall uptake may be slow as former growers become convinced about the profitability of the new varieties.
"Both lines will add to the viability and growth of the industry in WA which will provide flow-on benefits to the community and the export industry."
The WA Department of Agriculture and the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) developed the varieties with support from the Grains Research Development Corporation (GRDC).
They are export quality and have several advantages over the current Sona variety, including higher yield and greater resistance to ascochyta blight than all current varieties in WA. They require less fungicide to manage disease, have early flowering and reach maturity earlier, as well as being more tolerant to cold weather.
Sonali has a substantially higher yield potential with a bigger seed size than Rupali, but its seed coat colour is a darker brown. Rupali is lower yielding, but has an attractive bright light brown seed coat that has a considerable marketing advantage.
"Chickpea varieties traditionally have Hindi/Urdu names designed to appeal to specific markets on the subcontinent," Mr Chance said.
"Sonali means 'fair maiden', while Rupali means 'beautiful maiden'. Both are popular Hindi names for girls and are easy to pronounce and remember."
The CLIMA Industry Advisory Group hosted the Dongara forum to update growers on chickpea variety development and other industry issues.
Minister's office: 9213 6700