Impact of Plant Spacing, Hand Weeding and Herbicides on Weed Invasion, Yield and Yield Components of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) in North Shewa, Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp) is a vital food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa, including Eswatini. The productivity of the crop is low (<600 kg/ha) in the country due to a lack of improved, locally adapted, and farmer-preferred varieties with biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. The objective of the study was to assess the agronomic performance of newly developed elite cowpea mutants to select best-yielding and adapted pure lines for production and genetic improvement in Eswatini. A total of 30 cowpea genotypes, including 24 newly developed advanced mutant lines, their 3 founder parents and 3 local checks, were profiled for major agronomic traits in two selected sites (Lowveld Experiment and Malkerns Research Stations) using a 6 × 5 alpha lattice design with three replications. A combined analysis of variance revealed that the genotype x location interaction effects were significant (p < 0.05) for germination percentage (DG %), days to flowering (DTF), days to maturity (DMT), number of pods per plant (NPP), pod length (PDL), number of seeds per pod (NSP), hundred seed weight (HSW), and grain yield (GYD). Elite mutant genotypes, including NKL9P7, BRR4P11, SHR9P5, and NKL9P7-2 exhibited higher grain yields at 3158.8 kg/ha, 2651.6 kg/ha, 2627.5 kg/ha, and 2255.8 kg/ha in that order. The highest-yielding mutant, NKL9P7, produced 70%, 61%, and 54% more grain yield than the check varieties Mtilane, Black Eye, and Accession 792, respectively. Furthermore, the selected genotypes displayed promising yield components such as better PDL (varying from 13.1 to 26.3 cm), NPP (15.9 to 26.8), and NSP (9.8 to 16.2). Grain yield had significant positive correlations (p < 0.05) with DG %, NSP, and NPP. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that 81.5% of the total genotypic variation was attributable to the assessed quantitative traits. Principal component (PC) 1 accounted for 48.6%, while PC 2 and PC 3 contributed 18.9% and 14% of the overall variation, respectively. Key traits correlated with PC1 were NPP with a loading score of 0.91, NSP (0.83), PDL (0.73), GYD (0.68), HSW (0.58), DMT (−0.60), and DTF (−0.43) in a desirable direction. In conclusion, genotypes NKL9P7, BRR4P11, SHR9P5, NKL9P7-2, Bira, SHR3P4, and SHR2P7 were identified as complementary parents with relatively best yields and local adaptation, making them ideal selections for direct production or breeding. The following traits, NPP, NSP, PDL, GYD, and HSW, offered unique opportunities for genotype selection in the cowpea breeding program in Eswatini.

Weed is the major production constraints for Faba bean production in Bale Highlands. Its management is quite important to increase the production and productivity of the crop. Due to such gaps, The experiment was conducted at two locations: Sinana (on-station and on farmers field) during 2015 and 2016 “ Bona ” main cropping seasons to evaluate the effect of hoeing plus hand weeding frequencies on the yield of faba bean. The treatments consisted of eleven weed management options: weedy check, Hand weeding at 25-30 days after emergence (DAE) and then at 40-45 DAE, Hoeing at 7 DAE + hand weeding at 25-30 and then 40-45 DAE, Hoeing at 7 DAE + hand weeding at 25-30 DAE, Hoeing at 7 DAE + hand weeding at 40-45 DAE, Hoeing at 14 DAE + hand weeding at 25-30 DAE and then at 40-45 DAE, Hoeing at 14 DAE + hand weeding at 25-30 DAE, Hoeing at 14 DAE + hand weeding at 40-45 DAE, Hoeing at 21 DAE + hand weeding at 40-45 DAE, Hoeing at 28 DAE + hand weeding at 40-45 DAE, Weed removal at 50% pod setting stage. It was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Results indicate that Faba bean plant was flowered and matured early when infested with weeds as compared to well weed controlled treatments at both sites. The growth and yield attributes of Faba bean were significantly reduced when the crop was left unweeded. The result also showed there was 41% and 35% yield reduction were occurred due to total weed infestation of Faba bean as compared to the recommended two times hand weeding at on-station and on-farm respectively. Hoeing at 7 DAE plus twice hand weeding gave a yield advantage of 51% and 17% as compared to weedy check and the recommended two times hand weeding at on-station. There was 51% and 41% yield penalty while farmers remove weed at 50% pod setting stage for the purpose of feeding their livestock as compared to hoeing at 7 DAE plus twice hand weeding and the recommended two times hand weeding at on-station. Similarly, there was a yield loss of 17% while weed removal at 50% pod setting stage as compared to the recommended two times hand weeding and hoeing at 28 DAE plus once hand weeding at 40-45 DAE at on-farm. Thus, it was concluded that the use of weed management options as of hoeing at 7 DAE plus hand weeding at 25-30 DAE was more economically profitable and has an acceptable marginal rate of return at both locations.

The bean fly (Ophiomyia spp.) is the most destructive insect pest of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) causing significant yield losses. The objectives of this study were to determine the combining ability effects and deduce gene action controlling the inheritance of bean fly resistance and agronomic traits among common bean genotypes, and to select superior genotypes for breeding. Eight selected complementary parents were crossed using a half-diallel mating design to derive new families. Parents and 28 F2 families were evaluated in two locations using were evaluated in two locations using a 6 × 6 lattice square design with two replications. Bean fly resistance parameters such as bean fly damage severity (BDS), pupae count (PC) and plant mortality rate (PMR) and agronomic traits such as days to 50% flowering (DTF), days to maturity (DTM), number of pods per plant (NPP), number of seed per pod and grain yield (GYD) were collected. Results revealed significant genotype × location interaction effects on resistance parameters and agronomic traits allowing selection of unique families adapted to different production environments. There were negative correlations between grain yield (GYD) and bean fly damage severity (p < 0.01, r = − 0.60), pupa count (p < 0.01, r = − 0.34) and plant mortality rate (p < 0.01, r = − 0.53), implying that direct selection for bean fly resistant genotypes would improve GYD. Genotypes A429 and A55 exhibited negative general combining ability (GCA) effects for bean fly damage parameters and positive GCA effects for GYD. Good combiners for number of pods per plant (NPP) and GYD were the genotypes A55, MW365 and Sinoni, while MW466 exhibited desirable GCA effects for days to 50% flowering (DTF) and days to 90% maturity (DTM). These parental lines with desirable GCA effects for bean fly resistance and agronomic traits were selected for future breeding. Families such as Sinoni/A55, Kabanima/A55 and MW365/Kabanima showed desirable BDS, PC and PMR (SCA) effects for bean fly resistance and grain yield. Families such as Kabanima/A55, Sinoni/A55 and NUA45/MW365 exhibited desirable and significant SCA effects for traits such as NPP, number of seeds per pod (NSP) and GYD. Families with desirable SCA effects will be utilised in selecting desirable recombinant inbred lines and breeding populations for improving bean fly resistance and agronomic performance. The Baker’s ratios indicated that additive gene effects were more important for bean fly resistance and GYD. Recurrent selection would be the best strategy for improving bean fly resistance and grain yield using this germplasm.

A field experiment was conducted from 2017 to 2018 to evaluate effective and economical integrated management package for the control of Raphanus raphanistrum in faba bean in Waliso District of South West Shoa, Ethiopia. The experimental design used was spilt plot design with two levels of plowing frequency assigned as main plot and eight weed management practice as sub plot in three replications. Data recorded on crop and weed related parameters. Results obtained indicated that the interaction effect of plowing frequency and combination of herbicides with hand weeding frequency significantly affected plant height, number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, crop biomass and grain yield of faba bean. The highest mean grain yield (1541 kg/ha) was obtained from the interaction effect of plowing three times with application of pendimethalin at 3 lt ha -1 supplemented with once hand weeding at 30-35 days after sowing. This is followed by plowing three times and application of S-Metolachlor at 1 litter ha -1 supplemented with twice hand weeding at 30-35 and 50-55 days after sowing that gave a mean grain yields of 1463kg/ha. The interaction effect of plowing frequency and combination of herbicides with hand weeding frequency also significantly affected the weed population, weed plant height and biomass. The lowest R. raphanistrum population, height and biomass was obtained from the interaction of three times plowing and application of S-metolachlor at 1 litter ha -1 supplemented with twice hand weeding at 30-35 and 50-55 days after sowing. Economic analysis showed that trice plowing combined with application of Pendimethalin at 3 lt ha -1 supplemented by once hand weeding at 30-35 days after sowing gave the highest Net benefit (23174 birr) followed by three times plowing combined with application S-Metolachlor at 1 lt ha -1 supplemented by twice hand weeding. Therefore, three times plowing and application of S-Metolachlor herbicide supplemented by twice hand weeding at 30-35 and 50-55 DAS or three times plowing and application of Pendimethalin herbicide at 3 lt ha -1 supplemented with one time hand weeding at 30-35 DAS is recommended for economic control of R. raphanistrum in faba bean production. Keywords: Raphanus raphanistrum , s-metolachlor, pendimethalin DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-5-02 Publication date: March 31 st 2020

The bean fly (Ophiomyia spp) is a key insect pest causing significant crop damage and yield loss in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L., 2n = 2x = 22). Development and deployment of agronomic superior and bean fly resistant common bean varieties aredependent on genetic variation and the identification of genes and genomic regions controlling economic traits. This study’s objective was to determine the population structure of a diverse panel of common bean genotypes and deduce associations between bean fly resistance and agronomic traits based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Ninety-nine common bean genotypes were phenotyped in two seasons at two locations and genotyped with 16 565 SNP markers. The genotypes exhibited significant variation for bean fly damage severity (BDS), plant mortality rate (PMR), and pupa count (PC). Likewise, the genotypes showed significant variation for agro-morphological traits such as days to flowering (DTF), days to maturity (DTM), number of pods per plant (NPP), number of seeds per pod (NSP), and grain yield (GYD). The genotypes were delineated into two populations, which were based on the Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools. The genotypes exhibited a minimum membership coefficient of 0.60 to their respective populations. Eighty-three significant (P<0.01) markers were identified with an average linkage disequilibrium of 0.20 at 12Mb across the 11 chromosomes. Three markers were identified, each having pleiotropic effects on two traits: M100049197 (BDS and NPP), M3379537 (DTF and PC), and M13122571 (NPP and GYD). The identified markers are useful for marker-assisted selection in the breeding program to develop common bean genotypes with resistance to bean fly damage.

Seed protein content (SPC) is an important grain quality trait, which impacts the nutritional importance of pigeonpea seed in the diet of over a billion people globally. The present study was carried out to determine variation in SPC and its relationships with some agronomic traits among 23 parental lines of different types of pigeonpea mapping populations. The parental lines were evaluated under field conditions during 2014-2015 growing season. A randomised complete block design in two replications was used. Data were recorded on SPC, days to first flower (DTF), plant height at maturity (PltH), number of pods per plant (NPP), number of seeds per pod (NSP), hundred-seed weight (SW) and seed yield per plant (SY). There were significant differences among genotypes for all traits. Broad-sense heritability was 0.693 for SPC but ranged from 0.519 (NPP) to 0.999 (DTF) while genetic advance was 2.4% for SPC but ranged from 1.2 % (NSP) to 141.2 % (SY), and genetic gain ranged from 11.0 % (SPC) to 230.0 % (SY). Simple correlation showed that SPC is only significantly but negatively correlated with SW (r = -0.30, P < 0.05), while path analyses revealed that SPC is negatively associated SW and NPP but positively with DTF, PltH, NSP and SY. It is concluded that genetic variation for SPC and agronomic traits exist among pigeonpea genotypes studied. The variation is accompanied by both favourable and unfavourable relationships of SPC with the agronomic traits.

Faba bean production is a common practice in Lemu Bilbilo areas. However, faba bean productivity is affected and limited by poor soil fertility and lack of alternative technologies such as application of optimum phosphorus fertilizer for different faba bean varieties. In view of this, a field experiment was conducted on farmer’s field during the 2017 main cropping season at Lemu Bilbilo with the objectives to determine the response of faba bean varieties to different rates of P fertilizer and its influence on yield and yield components of faba bean varieties. The treatments include three faba bean varieties (Tumsa, Gebelcho and Dosha) and five phosphorus levels (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 kg P ha-1) from Triple Super Phosphate. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete blocked design with 3 x 5 factorial arrangements with three replications. Significantly (P&lt;0 .05) higher plant height was recorded from Tumsa variety. Total productive tillers per plant, thousand seed weights, and harvest index and biomass yield of faba bean were significantly affected by main effect of varieties. Higher total productive tillers per plant (1.53) were obtained from application of 30 kg P ha-1. Higher plant height (153 cm), biomass yield (14158 kg ha-1) and grain yield (6323 kg ha-1) were obtained from application of 40 kg P ha-1. Application of 10, 20 and 30 kg P ha-1 gave marginal rate of return of 1404694 and 502% for faba bean production, which are well above the minimum acceptable rate of return. Therefore, application of 20 kg ha-1 of P with Tumsa, Gebelcho and Dosha faba bean varieties were proved to be productive and superior both in seed yield as well as economic advantage and recommended for faba bean production in Lemu Bilbilo area. Further study should be conducted in the future both over locations and years in order to give full recommendation for practical application.

Faba bean (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Vicia faba&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; L.) is a multi-purpose crop owing to its immense economic and ecological benefits. Genetic variability assessment for agronomic traits is a crucial step in improving the yield and yield components of the crop. Phosphorus deficiency seriously affects the yield of faba bean. The present study was conducted to evaluate the genotypic variability of faba bean for agronomic traits. Twenty and 12 genotypes, in the field and greenhouse respectively, were planted under two P fertilizer regimes (0 and 46kg/ha). Analysis of variance indicated highly significant (P&amp;lt;0.01) genotypic variation for most of the agronomic traits under both field and greenhouse; while grain yield (GY), days to fifty percent flowering (DFF), number of pods per plant (NPP) and days to 90% maturity (DNM) had significant genotype by location interaction. The agronomic performance of P-unfertilized (P-) treatments was significantly reduced; with the effect ranging from -4.6% for DNM to 20.3% for NPP in the field; and from -3.6% for DFF to 21.6% for shoot dry weight per plant (SDWP) in the greenhouse. Correlation analysis indicated that most traits were strongly correlated to one another; with consistently significant correlation among GY, DFF, and NPP. Biomass production per day (BPD), GY, SDWP, DNM, and NPP were the highest contributors to the genetic variation. Mean comparisons and biplot analysis results revealed that genotypes Moti, Gebelcho, Dosha, Tumsa, and Didea had superior agronomic performance under all conditions. The study revealed the availability of genotypic variation among the faba bean genotypes for agronomic traits.

The field experiment was conducted in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia, to evaluate different weed management practices on weed dynamics, yield and economic return in common bean in 2014. The experiment comprised of fifteen treatments which included two herbicides (s-metolachlor and pendimethalin) applied as pre-emergence alone and in different combinations, hand weeding and hoeing, weedy check all with and without mulching and weed free check laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The application of pendimethalin 1.0 kg ha -1 + mulching at 2 weeks after crop emergence (WAE) resulted in significant decrease in total weed density over weedy. Weed dry weight varied in response to weed significantly management practices at 2 WAE. However, at 12 WAE this has no significant difference with pendimethalin 1.0 kg ha -1 + hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE, s-metolachlor 0.75 kg ha -1 + pendimethalin 0.75 kg ha -1 + mulching and hand weeding and hoeing at 2 and 5 WAE. At 12 WAE, the highest weed control efficiency (99.8%) was obtained with hand weeding and hoeing at 2 and 5 WAE which is statistically at parity with pendimethalin 1.00 kg/ha+ hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE (99.4%. Weed infestation throughout the growing period suppressed the plant height by about 29.6 to 95.3% compared to other treatments. The highest number of pods per plant was recorded under complete weed free and it was statistically in parity with pendimethalin at 1.0 kg ha -1 + hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE. Weedy check resulted in significant decrease in number of pods per plant which varied between 28.6 and 54.4% over other treatments. The highest number of seeds/pod was also obtained with complete weed free plots but in addition to pendimethalin at 1.0 kg ha -1 + hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE, Weight of hundred seeds was maximum with complete weed free which was statistically in parity with the application of pendimethalin at 1.0 kg ha-1 + hand weeding and hoeing at 5 WAE and two hand weeding and hoeing 2 and 5 weeks after crop emergence (WAE) treatments. Highest grain yield (1982 kg ha -1 ) and net returns (ETB 17362 ha -1 ) was obtained with the application of pendimethalin 1.0 kg ha -1 + hand weeding and hoeing 5 weeks after crop emergence. Generally, it could be concluded that pendimethalin 1.0 kg ha-1 combined with one hand weeding and hoeing at 5 WAE was the most appropriate method for effective weed management and profitable production of common bean. Keywords: Herbicides combination, mulch, pendimethalin, pre-emergence, s-metolachlor, yield, economic feasibility DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/12-6-01 Publication date: March 31 st 2022

This study reports the interaction of rhizobium strains and varieties on yield and yield components of faba bean and the economic feasibility of the inoculant use in faba bean production. The two years field experiments used a split-plot design that involved six elite rhizobium strains as the main plot and three faba bean varieties as sub-plot treatments. Non-inoculated plants with N fertilizer and without fertilizer were included as +N (46 kg ha−1) and −N controls, respectively. Phosphorus (P) was applied as triple super-phosphate at the time of sowing. Data on yield and yield components were collected and statistically analyzed. Partial budget, dominance, and marginal rate of return analysis were conducted to identify profitable rhizobial strain-variety combinations for each study location. Rhizobium strains NSFBR-15, TAL_1035 and NSFBR-12 increased grain and haulm yield of faba bean more than N fertilizer across the study locations. Location, rhizobium strain, and variety interaction influenced yield and yield components of faba bean. Economic analysis document that rhizobium inoculation for symbiotic N fixation is more profitable for supplying N to faba bean than N fertilizer application. Rhizobium strains NSFBR-15, TAL_1035, and NSFBR-12 with all faba bean varieties resulted in the highest revenue with a higher marginal rate of return at all study locations.

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an economically important crop in Ethiopia. The productivity of Faba bean in Ethiopia has declined due to poor management practices of Bio fertilizer rates usage. This study evaluated the effect of Rhizobium inoculation rates on Yield and Yield Components of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) during the 2018 main cropping season. Results indicated that Rhizobium inoculation significantly increased the number of nodules, effective nodules, plant height, and pods per plant. The highest grain yield (2811 kg ha⁻¹) and harvest index (40%) were achieved at 500 g ha⁻¹, while the maximum biomass yield (7089 kg ha⁻¹) occurred at 750 g ha⁻¹. Nodulation and growth improvements were attributed to enhanced nitrogen fixation and nutrient uptake. The study concludes that applying 500–750 g ha⁻¹ of Rhizobium bio-fertilizer can substantially improve Faba bean productivity in nutrient-deficient soils.

To assess the integrated effect of planting pattern and low dose herbicide mixtures on weeds and growth, yield attributes and yields of cowpea, and to determine the economic feasibility of different weed management practices in cowpea, a field experiment was conducted at Sirinka Agricultural Research Center experimental sites at Jari and Sirinka in Northern Ethiopia during the 2014 main cropping season. There were 16 treatments comprising the combinations of two planting patterns (60 cm × 10 cm, 45 cm × 15 cm) and eight weed management practices (s-metolachlor 2.0 kg ha-1, s-metolachlor at 1.0 kg ha-1+hand weeding and hoeing 35 weeks after crop emergence (WAE), pendimethalin at 1.0 kg ha-1+hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE, s-metolachlor at 1.0 kg ha-1+pendimethalin at 1.0 kg ha-1, s-metolachlor at 1.0 kg ha-1+pendimethalin at 0.75 kg ha-1, s-metolachlor at 0.75 kg ha-1+pendimethalin at 1.0 kg ha-1, hand weeding and hoeing 3 WAE and weedy check. The treatments were laid out in factorial combination in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The highest number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, and hundred seed weight were obtained from the combination of s-metolachlor at 1.0 kg ha-1+hand weeding 5 WAE along with 60 cm × 10 cm at Sirinka. Higher (3092 kg ha-1) grain yield was recorded at Sirinka than at Jari (2714 kg ha-1). The highest (53460 ETB ha-1) gross benefit was obtained from s-metolachlor at 1.0 kg ha-1+hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE, followed by pendimethalin at 1.0 kg ha-1+hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE (46737 ETB ha-1). Therefore, managing the weeds with the application of 1.0 kg ha-1 of s- metolachlor+hand weeding and hoeing 5 WAE along with 60 cm × 10 cm proved to be the most feasible practice. Alternate herbicides for the control of X. strumarium infested fields in the study area needs to be explored.

The cowpea is the most important legume in the Colombian Caribbean, due to its positive impact on the food and nutritional security of low-income rural families. It is cultivated by small producers, but its yields per hectare do not exceed 600 kg, due to the use of obsolete cultivars. The objective of the research was to estimate the correlations between seven quantitative characters and the path analysis between grain yield and six quantitative characters, with the results of the evaluation of 10 genotypes of semi-prostrate growth habit, high grain yield, grown in eight environments of the humid and dry tropics of the Colombian Caribbean region, under the randomized complete blocks design, with four repetitions. Significant differences between environments, genotypes and genotype x environment interaction were detected. Genotypic correlations were of greater magnitude than phenotypic, highlighting the correlation between grain width (GW) and grain yield (GY), rP = 0.69 *, rG = 0.78 *, also between the weight of 100 seeds (100SW) and GW, rP = 0.97 **, rG = 0.99 **. The characters GW and number of pods per plant (NPP) had positive direct effects on the GY, with an indirect negative effect of NPP by way of GW, while the height of the first pod (HFP), the number of seeds per pod (NSP) and the 100SW directly and negatively influenced the GY of the 10 semi-prostrate cowpea cultivars.

ABSTRACTCultivar development of cowpea with increased grain yield depends on evaluation and selection of genetically unique and complementary breeding lines. The objective of this study was to evaluate cowpea collections using agronomic traits to select promising parents to develop breeding population. Twenty-two cowpea genotypes were field evaluated using a randomised complete block design with three replications in two locations in South Africa. Analysis of variance revealed significant genotypic (G) and locations (L) differences for all agronomic traits evaluated. Significant differences were also observed for most of the traits due to G X L, G X Year (Y), L X Y and G X L X Y interactions effects. The genotypes tested at two locations showed considerable genetic variation for the following agronomic traits that varied for number of leaves (NL) (20.08–179.78), leaf length (LL) (12.36–67.72 cm), leaf width (LW) (4.78–22.02 cm), number of branches (NB) (6.81–13.85), number of pods per plant (NPPP) (14.33–54.04), number of seeds per pod (NSPP) (11.7286.28), pod diameter (PD) (5.75–22.73 mm), plant height (PH) (6.57–233.71 cm), pod length (PL) (3.94–100.92 mm), hundred seed weight (HSWt) (8.11–49.52 g) and grain yield (GY) (0.10-1.48 t ha−1). Grain yield was significant and positively correlated with all of the traits except leaf length. The principal component analysis (PCA) identified four principal components (PCs) contributing to 73.62% of the total explained variation amongst the tested genotypes. The selected cowpea genotypes for most of agronomic characteristics are useful and candidate genetic resources for the development of breeding population in cowpea breeding and enhanced production and productivity for food and nutrition in the country.

Due to the slowness growth and weakness of the first developments of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), it could not combated with weeds and easily caught up by Ascochyta blight (Ascochyta rabiei (Pass) Labr.) disease. Additionally, due to biotic and abiotic stress factors, esp. at the late sowing, important seed yield losses could be happened. To be able to avoid from them is only possible to accelerate of its first development as possible as. So, one of the best solutions to is to use chemical compounds such as Humic Acid (HA) known soil regulator under the semi-arid conditions. With this aim this research was performed in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications under semi-arid field conditions during (2008/2009) and (2009/2010) in Turkiye. Two cultivars (V1 = Gokce and V2 = Ispanyol) and four seed imbibition methods (A0 = 0, A1 = Tap Water, A2 = 1/2 Tap Water + 1/2 Humic acid (HA), A3 = Full HA, as w/w) and seven yield components Plant Height (PH), Number of Branches per Plant (NBP), Number of Pods per Plant (NPP), First Pod Height (NFP), Number of Seeds per Pod (NSP), Seed Weight per Plant (SWP) and 100-Seed weight (HSW) were investigated. The PH and FPH were affected the A0, the NBP, NPP and NSP were affected the A2 and the SWP and HSW were given the varied but not clear responses according to varieties for all the parameters in A1. The A0 and A1 were encouraged the germination and top soil of the plant but, the A2 to A3 were encouraged root system's development. It was concluded that the A2 is a promising method which makes the maximum and positive effect to the first development of the chickpea agronomy under the semi-arid conditions.