Staple food fortification is a rational and economic way to improve the health status of poor income consumers. Lutein is an important antioxidant, and its intake is associated with lower risk of macular degeneration (blindness). We studied the scope to improve lutein concentration in chickpea grains by routine farming practices including tillage, and phosphorus and potassium fertilization. In ...

A 2-year field study was conducted in northern Greece to investigate the effect of nitrogen fertilization and irrigation on productivity of three Greek chickpea varieties (“Amorgos” “Serifos”, “Andros”). Chickpea, grown under irrigation regime (30 + 30 mm of water) and fertilized with 50 kg·N·ha−1 before planting and with 40 kg·N·ha−1 at blossom growth stage, produced more total dry biomass and...

A pathogenesis-related protein induced by infection with Ascochyta rabiei was purified from intercellular washing fluid of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) leaves. Amino-terminal sequencing identified the protein, named PR-5a, as a thaumatin-like protein. The isoelectric point was determined with 6.5 and the molecular mass is 16 kDa. Therefore, chickpea PR-5a is the first dicot member of a TLP sub...

In the present study, the energetic and economic modeling of lentil and chickpea production in Esfahan province of Iran was conducted using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and linear regression. Data were taken by interviewing and visiting of 140 lentil farms and 110 chickpea farms during 2014-2015 production period. The results showed that the yield and total energy consumpti...

Understanding developmental processes, especially in non-model crop plants, is extremely important in order to unravel unique mechanisms regulating development. Chickpea (C. arietinum L.) seeds are especially valued for their high carbohydrate and protein content. Therefore, in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying seed development in chickpea, deep sequencing of transcriptomes from four...

The widely accepted models describing the emergence of domesticated grain crops from their wild type ancestors are mostly based upon selection (conscious or unconscious) of major features related either to seed dispersal (nonbrittle ear, indehiscent pod) or free germination (nondormant seeds, soft seed coat). Based on the breeding systems (self-pollination) and dominance relations between the a...

Chickpeas are rich sources of highly nutritious protein and dietary fibre; the health benefits of consuming legumes such as antioxidant activity (AoxA) could be effective for the expansion of their food uses. The technological properties and antioxidant potential of five pigmented chickpea cultivars were evaluated. Protein content of the grains varied from 24.9 to 27.4 g/100 g sample (dw). The ...

This study was carried out to determine the nutritional value of different chickpea varieties using in vitro gas production technique.As a result, significant variations in terms of chemical composition, gas production rate and metabolizable energy, net lactation energy and digestible organic matter were found among the 8 different chickpea varieties. The crude protein contents of chickpea vari...

The raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) are a group of soluble galactosyl derivatives which include raffinose and stachyose thought to play a number of roles in plant development. They are providing a source of rapidly metabolizable carbohydrate during germination. In contrast to their potential for promoting germination, RFOs represent anti-nutritional units for monogastric animals when c...

In order to understand the impact of breeding on genetic diversity and gain insights into temporal trends in diversity in chickpea, a set of 100 chickpea varieties released in 14 countries between 1948 and 2012 were re-sequenced. For analysis, the re-sequencing data for 29 varieties available from an earlier study was also included. Copy number variations and presence absence variations identif...