01/18/06 The new chickpea "Dylan"

Farm and Ranch January 18, 2006 The Agricultural Research Service has developed in cooperation with state agricultural experiment stations a new, high yielding chickpea variety. Fred Muehlbauer, supervisory plant geneticist with the ARS in Pullman, Washington, talked about the new variety "Dylan" at a field day last summer. Muehlbauer: "But that particular line has been our highest leading line over the past three years. It is a large seeded type. Very similar to Sierra in size, shape although a little bit lighter in color." Dylan is resistant to Ascochyta blight. In field trials in eastern Washington and northern Idaho last year Dylan's yields were 15 percent higher than Dwelley and nine percent higher than Sierra at 16-hundred 22 pounds an acre. Dylan forms fern like leaves and Muehlbauer explained why breeders are moving in that direction. Muehlbauer: "Some of the early varieties we released like Sierra and Dwelley are a simple leaf type. We decided originally to develop those types because they have a tendency to be a little more determinate. They tend to mature more evenly compared to the fern leaf type. But then we also know that the fern leaf types have a little higher yield potential. So you will notice in our more recent breeding we are going more and more to the fern leaf type to take advantage of that additional yield potential." The Washington State Crop Improvement Association Foundation Seed Service says there has been surprisingly high demand for seed of the new chickpea and it has decided to produce seed for one more year before a general allocation. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.