Introduction of New Chickpea Variety JG-14 in DSSAT for a Sustainable Agricultural Development

Abstract

India is the largest consumer of pulses, but globally it is the second largest producer after China. Our nation can mitigate the gap between demand and supply by introducing new varieties along with modern technologies. Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Jabalpur has released a short duration high yielding chickpea (Cicer arietinum) variety JG-14 in 2009. This variety is heat tolerant, moderately resistant to various pest and diseases. Any new variety may be cultivated in large scale after assessing its adaptability in varied situations and acceptability among the farmers. But it’s extensively time consuming and expensive process. That’s why various crop growth simulation models (CGSMs) like DSSAT are used to analyze the influence of all inputs without growing the crop on the specific land in real. The present study aims to calibrate genetic coefficient for new chickpea variety JG-14 in DSSAT. To fulfil this purpose, an experiment was conducted at District Seed Farm, Kalyani for three consecutive years, from 2018-19 to 2020-21. The derived genetic coefficient will be very handy for predicting performance of the crop under diverse environmental conditions and management practices. Promoting varieties like JG-14 trigger food cum nutritional security, self-resiliency, income enhancement, better policy making and step forward towards sustainable development goals.