Research that aims to explain disappointing chickpea yields in south west Queensland and north west New South Wales will focus on planting dates, row spacings, crop maturity and local temperature differences this winter season.

Goondiwindi consultant Michael Castor and Associates and scientists from CSIRO/APSRU are collaborating on the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) supported project "refinement of best management practices for chickpea and mungbean in north-western farming systems".

Results of the three year project ­ one of the first in the northern grains region to be led by private sector consultants ­ are to be communicated to industry through revised advice on Best Management Practice and through accredited courses for agronomists, agribusiness and farmers.

Project leader Paul Castor sums up the problem when he says chickpea growers in these western areas often struggle to convert impressive, growthy crops into grain in the bin.

"Excessive early leaf growth appears to be leaving insufficient soil moisture reserves for grain filling," Mr Castor said.

"Under moisture stress late in the season, chickpea crops fail to fill their top pods and grain size is reduced in lower pods.

"Low soil moisture levels at planting, poor in-crop rain and sub-soil constraints can all have impacts on moisture supply to the crop.

"We are keen to explore our ability to manage vegetative growth, to increase the supply of soil water for grain filling."

Mr Castor said the project team believed the biggest factor involved was temperature, as warm conditions around planting time could promote relatively vigorous early growth.

Then, later in the season, cold nights could cause pod and flower losses, further encouraging vegetative growth.

At colder locations last season, flower loss had delayed podding by several weeks, resulting in extremely vegetative crops and relatively poor grain yields. "

"This season we plan to take a closer look at the effect of temperature on flowering, podding and harvest index of chickpeas," Mr Castor said.

"We are also interested in the interaction of planting date and row spacing with this temperature effect.

"Delaying planting until late May and early June is likely to better manage temperature effects on chickpea development.

"Later planting than that, however, increases the risks of short plants, poor harvestability and yields reduced by rising spring temperatures.

"Last season¹s trials indicated that, as the team delayed planting, it needed to reduce row widths to 50cm or less. We will repeat these trials this season."

Mr Castor said the maturity and cold tolerance of chickpea varieties required further investigation in western areas.

Current commercial varieties had a relatively long period between planting and flowering, helping to minimise the effect of cold temperatures at flowering/podding.

But in western and northern areas high spring temperatures combined with a delayed pod set to result in a short podding period.

Earlier flowering varieties with improved cold tolerance would potentially increase this podding period and improve yields and harvest index.

The success of the Western Australian early flowering chickpea variety Moti in Central Queensland was a pointer to the potential of different varieties for specific environments.

In national breeding program trials at Billa Billa, more than a dozen lines ­ most of them early flowering ­ had out-yielded current commercial varieties.

These high yielding lines had problems in terms of grain quality, disease susceptibility and plant height, but perhaps their yield potential for western areas could be blended into the high quality, disease resistant material in the national chickpea breeding program.