USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council - Chickpea

Objective: 1. Incorporate resistance to ascochyta blight into a Spanish White type background and increase promising selections for release to the growers. 2. Incorporate resistance to new ascochyta blight pathotypes and the pod infection phase of the disease into a Caf? type background to replace the recently released varieties Sanford, Dwelley and Evans; while improving seed size and earliness. 3. Determine adaptation of ascochyta blight resistant selections of Spanish White and Caf? types to diverse areas of the Palouse region. 4. Ensure that quality of new varieties is maintained by using the quality evaluation procedures we have developed.

Anticipated Benefits and Information Transfer: The industry will benefit from the development of an exceptionally large Spanish White type variety with good resistance to ascochyta blight. This will reduce the risks from ascochyta blight for growers that produce Spanish White types and will improve yields and seed quality. Resistance to the pod infection phase of ascochyta blight in Caf? varieties, which make earlier harvests possible, are needed to reduce the risk associated with producing chickpeas in the Palouse region. Results of this project will be made available to the industry through variety releases, which will be documented by official release notices and registration articles in Crop Science.