Ecological variety testing of chickpea in a changing climate of West Kazakhstan

The article presents the results of ecological variety testing of chickpea in the arid conditions of West Kazakhstan. The West Kazakhstan region sharply differs in soil and climatic conditions from the other regions of Kazakhstan. Naturally, in such difficult environmental conditions, the varieties, which will be able to fully solve the problem of overcoming the negative complex influence of limiting environmental factors that are strictly specific to the study region, become crucial. Among leguminous crops, chickpea occupies a leading position as a source of vegetable protein. It has a very high feeding value. Moreover, its value lies in its ability to improve soil fertility by enriching it with nitrogen. Chickpea is an excellent predecessor to spring durum wheat. The main goal of this scientific work is to systematically study the chickpea breeding material, identifying sources of valuable traits and properties through ecological selection, and to create new competitive and patentable varieties adapted to the agroecological conditions of our region. The article presents a summary of the results of ecological variety testing of chickpea breeding carried out by various research institutes including the Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Plant Breeding, the Krasnokutsk Breeding and Experimental Station, the Volgograd State Agricultural Academy, the Krasnovodopadskaya Agricultural Experimental Station, and the Scientific and Production Center of Grain Economy named after A. I. Baraev.