Chickpeas
Figure 1: Field of Chickpeas, Kabuli type
Chickpeas are a pulse crop that is part of the legume family. The word “pulse” comes from the Latin word puls, meaning potage or thick soup. Pulses are the dry edible seeds of pod plants and are high in protein and fibre and low in fat.
The common cultivated chickpea is botanically classified as Cicer arietinum L. Within Cicer arietinum there are two major seed types that are grown in Alberta: Desi and Kabuli. Desi-type are small and produce coloured flowers, whereas Kabuli are large and produce white flowers. The majority of chickpeas grown in Alberta are the Kabuli type.
Find in-depth resources here to learn more about Chickpeas
Chickpeas are a relatively small pulse crop in Alberta compared to field peas, and are most commonly grown across the southeastern part of the province.
Figure 2: Field of Chickpeas, Photo Credit – Manitoba Cooperator
Figure 3: Close-up of Chickpea Plant with pod
Chickpea is a short annual herbaceous plant, 30 to 70 cm tall. Some taller genotypes may exceed up to one metre under favourable conditions.
The main stem gives rise to a variable number (up to seven) of primary branches near ground level.
Depending on the angle of branches to the vertical main stem, growth habit ranges from near prostrate to erect – the primary branches and main stem produce a potentially large number of alternate secondary branches, with higher order branching rarely produced.
Foliage is similar to vetches with small subdivided leaves from 4 to 7 cm long, with 10 to 15 leaflets. Vetches are a large, central and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally.
Chickpea has an extensive root system – the taproot often penetrates well below one metre.
The fruit is an inflated pod containing between two and four ovules.
Chickpea seed (depending on type) weighs from 200 to 500 gm per 1,000 seeds – Kabuli (garbanzo) seeds are
much larger than Desi seeds. Although seeds always possess the distinctive chickpea “beak” (radicle tip), they vary considerably in shape and colour:
Figure 4: Desi Seed, Kabuli Seed
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The life cycle of the chickpea plant has four principal stages:
Figure 5 Chickpeas – Ready to Eat, Photo Credit – Pulse Canada
Chickpea originated in southeast Turkey about 8,000 years ago with evidence indicating Cicer reticulatum L. as the wild ancestor. The cultivated chickpea is Cicer arietinum L. with two seed types Desi (small), and Kabuli (large) seed type. The Kabuli chickpea is thought to have evolved from a Desi type, probably by mutation.
From its origin in Turkey and Greece, the chickpea was soon spread by traders to Europe, North Africa, and India. Kabuli types reached India in the 18th Century. In the 16th Century, the Spanish and Portuguese had taken Kabulis with them to South and Central America. Chickpeas are believed to have been grown in the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It took until the 1920s before chickpeas were commercially introduced in Canada, and the 1930s in California.
Although the wild species are difficult to maintain and have not been studied thoroughly, some of the wild species demonstrate attributes that may be useful for genetic improvement of Cicer arietinum (improved resistance to fusarium wilt, ascochyta blight, and botrytis grey mould). Although crosses between the wild and cultivated species are not generally successful, Cicer reticulatum can be readily crossed with Cicer arietinum to form hybrids that exhibit only slightly reduced pollen fertility and seed set.
Special thanks to Saskatchewan Pulse Growers.
