Testing Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) of "Sakar" Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Variety Candidates for Commercialization

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Babak Darvishi

Hossein Kamari

Saman Sheidaei

Mohammadreza Jazaiery Noushabadi

Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Karaj, Iran

10.22067/ijpr.2026.97383.1127

Abstract

Introduction
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is considered as a valuable legume crop that, in addition to having high nutritional value, is well adapted to rainfed farming conditions. Also, it is one of the most important crops in the semi-arid regions of the world, and is widely cultivated in Iran. In 2023, chickpea cultivation area in Iran is about 423,700 hectares and its production is estimated at more than 175,000 tons with an average yield of 413 kilograms per hectare. Developing new cultivars with superior agronomic performance and desirable consumer traits is essential for increasing yield, improving mechanization efficiency, and enhancing market competitiveness. The Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) test is a critical step in the registration and commercialization process, as it verifies that new cultivars outperform existing commercial varieties in terms of agronomic performance and quality. The newly developed chickpea cultivar Sakar was selected for evaluation based on its promising morphological and physiological characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate the agronomic performance and consumption-related characteristics of the "Sakar" cultivar in comparison with five commercial cultivars in diverse climatic conditions of Iran.

Materials and Methods
This study was conducted during two cropping seasons in three locations: Urmia, Naqadeh, and Karaj. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications was used to evaluate the candidate cultivar ‘Sakar’ alongside five control cultivars. Data collection was based on the national VCU testing protocol and phenological traits, yield components and seed quality were evaluated. Post-harvest traits such as water absorption index, seed swelling index and cooking time were measured using standard laboratory methods. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess differences among cultivars and mean comparisons were conducted using Duncan’s multiple range test at the 5% significance level. All statistical analyses were carried out using SAS software.

Results and Discussion
The candidate cultivar ‘Sakar’ was later flowering than the other cultivars with 154.4 days to flowering. Sakars flowering time was significantly delayed compared to the average of the other cultivars (152.7 days). ‘Sakar’cultivar with a maturity period of 190.7 days was classified in the late-maturing cultivar group along with ‘Nosrat’ (190.2 days) and ‘Ata’ (189.8 days). The first pod height in ‘Sakar’ (20.5 cm) was significantly higher than the mean of the other cultivars (17.8 cm), which is considered as an advantage for ‘Sakar’ mechanical harvesting. ‘Sakar’ also showed high branching (7.05 branches per plant), similar to ‘Ata’ (7.0) and ‘Nosrat’ (6.77). Although the number of pods per plant in ‘Sakar’ (39.4 pods) was significantly lower than the average of the improved cultivars (49.15 pods), it had the highest number of seeds per pod (1.15) and the highest 100‑seed weight of 37 g which was ranked in the highest statistical group with 100-seed weight in Saeed (37.9 grams) and Anna (37 grams) cultivars. ‘Sakar’ also produced the highest fresh seed weight (81.3 g) and showed a higher water absorption index (1.19%) compared to the general mean (1.12%). Its dry seed volume (83 mL) was the highest among the cultivars. Based on the seed swelling index (2.23) and cooking time (38.3 minutes), ‘Sakar’ was categorized as an intermediate cultivar. Overall, due to its higher first pod height and relatively large seed size, ‘Sakar’ can serve as an efficient and promising germplasm for breeding and production programs in regions with environmental conditions similar to the study areas.

Conclusions
The candidate cultivar ‘Sakar’ showed impressive agronomic performance in the evaluations; higher first pod height, adequate branching and relatively large seed size were its outstanding features. In addition, the sakar cultivar showed favorable quality traits such as higher grain fresh weight, higher water absorption index and higher grian dry volume. Although this cultivar was ranked at an average level in terms of grain swelling index and cooking time, the combination of all Sakar characteristics indicates that Sakar can be used as an efficient and promising germplasm for breeding and production programs in areas with environmental conditions similar to the experimental sites.

Acknowledgement
This article is extracted from the research project of the Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute under the approved number 04-08-08-050-011221 dated 2025/10/18 which is hereby thanked and appreciated.

Keywords

Agronomic traits

Large-seeded chickpea

Rainfed cultivation

Variety introduction

Subjects

• Breeding

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Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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