Optimization of Seed Rate for Chickpea Variety FLIP-94 under the Climatic Conditions of Kabul

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a vital pulse crop in semi-arid regions, yet its productivity is often constrained by poor agronomic practices, particularly seed rate management (Bhatt et al., 2022; Rahimi et al., 2024). A field experiment was conducted in Kabul, Afghanistan, to evaluate the effect of five seed rates (65, 75, 85, 95, and 105 kg/ha) on growth and yield performance under semi-arid conditions. The trial was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Results demonstrated significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among treatments for plant height, leaf area, pods per plant, seeds per pod, 100 seed weight, and yield, while the number of branches per plant showed no significant variation. The optimum seed rate was identified as 85 kg/ha, which produced taller plants (33.2 cm), higher pod numbers (25–32 pods/plant), heavier seeds (31 g per 100 seeds), and improved yield (0.465 kg/m²). Excessive seed rates (105 kg/ha) reduced yield due to overcrowding, intra specific competition, and depletion of limited soil moisture, resulting in smaller seeds (25 g per 100 seeds) and fewer pods (20.7 pods/plant). These findings highlight the critical role of optimized seed rate management in enhancing chickpea productivity under Kabul’s challenging climatic conditions, where short growing seasons, spring frost, and terminal drought are major constraints (Jettner et al., 2019; Siddique et al., 2022). The study provides evidence based recommendations for local farmers to replace traditional broadcast sowing with optimized seed rates, thereby improving food security and income generation in Afghanistan (FAO, 2026; Merga & Haji, 2019).