Growth and development of chickpeas under the conditions of the northeastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine
Authors: Мельник А.В. , Романько Ю.О. , Бруньов М.І. , Сороколіт Є.М. , Кубрак Т.М. 
Published: June 2023

Recent years in Ukraine have been particularly arid and hot, thus there is a steady prospect for growing more drought- and heat-resistant crops. Chickpeas are one of the most adapted crops for arid natural and climatic zones. The results of research on the responseof modern varieties of chickpeas to growing conditions are presented. The research was conducted during 2019–2020 atTPC (training and practical center) of Sumy NAU.

According to the research results, under the conditions of the northeastern Forest Steppe of Ukraine, the variety of Skarbhad the shortest growing period (93 days), and the variety of Jordan – the longest (110 days). Varieties of Pamyat, Odysey, Admiral, Argument, Budzhak, Triumph, and Krasen had a growing season from 101 to 104 days. The varieties of Odysey and Triumph form significantly higher plants (52.4–53.3 cm). The variety ofSkarb had the lowest height (42.7 cm). The height of the attachment of the lower bean in all studied varieties met the requirements for this trait, which ranged from 17.5 to 22.5 cm. It is worth noting the highest number of branches of the first order in varieties of Krasen (4.5 pcs.), a bit result value was shown by the varieties of Admiral(3.7 pcs.), Pamyat (3.5 pcs.), and Triumph (3.1 pcs.). An important component of the formation of the vegetative sphere of plants, and then the productiveorgans of flowers and fruits, are the branches of the third order. Besides, the maximum number of branches of the third order (2.8 pieces) was obtainedin the varieties of Odysey and Budzhak.

The maximum number of leaves was counted in the variety of Krasen (93.8 pcs.) and the minimum – in varieties of Pamyat (58.4 pcs.) and Jordan (61.1 pcs.). The rest of the varieties had the number of leaves within the group average (68.8 pieces). A similar trend was observed in the leaf surface area. Thus, the leader was the variety of Krasen (37.8 thousand m2/ha) and the variety Pamyat was the outsider (27.8 thousand m2 / ha). In the vast majority of varieties, the indicator was within the group average value (33.6 thousand m2/ha), in particular,Skarb (34.6 thousand m2 / ha), Jordan (32.9 m2 / ha), Odysey thousand m2/ha), Argument (34.1 thousand m2/ha), Admiral (32.6 thousand m2/ha), Budzhak (33.1 thousand m2/ha), and Triumph (34.6 thousand m2 / ha). The results of the correlation analysis revealed a close direct (r = 0.88) relationship between the number of leaves and the leaf surface area. The maximum content of chlorophyll was found in the variety of Pamyat (60.5), slightly less – in the varieties of Jordan (58.1), Budzhak (57.2), and Admiral (57.1). The variety of Krasen was characterized by the minimum value of chlorophyll content (51.1). It should be noted that there is an inversely proportional relationship between the chlorophyll content and the number of leaves (-0.80) and the leaf surface area (-0.90).

The research results show that under the conditions of the northeastern Forest Steppe of Ukraine (Sumy region), the chickpea varieties of Argument, Budzhak, Odysey, Skarb, and Triumph form the optimal parameters of the assimilation surface of sowing. In the future, these varietal characteristics will ensure the highest grain yield during the growing season of 93–103 days.