Water use efficiency of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars in Canterbury:: effect of irrigation and sowing date

The relationship between chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) yield and water use was investigated on a Wakanui silt loam soil in Canterbury, New Zealand. Eight irrigation treatments were applied to three Canadian Kabuli chickpea cultivars sown in November and December 1998. Irrigation of 197 mm from emergence to flowering gave a higher seed yield (4.9 t/ha) than no irrigation (2.8 t/ha). Chickpea water use was 426 mm in the fully irrigated treatment but only 175 mm in non-irrigated plants. In November but not December sown chickpeas, there was a significant positive relationship between water use, total dry matter (TDM) production and seed yield. TDM and seed yield showed a linear reduction to maximum potential soil moisture deficit (D-max). The critical maximum potential soil moisture deficit (cD(max)) for this type of soil was approximately 150 and 90 mm for the November and December sowings respectively.