The 15N isotopic dilution technique was used to assess N2 fixation in desi chickpea (Cicer arientinum L.) cv. Myles at different growth stages as influenced by inoculation method. In this growth chamber study, no significant differences in nodule dry weight, amount of N2 fixed and plant dry matter were observed between seed inoculation with seed-applied peat inoculant and soil-applied granular inoculant placed 2.5 cm below the seed. However, seed inoculation with liquid inoculant was inferior to the seed-applied peat or the granular inoculant for all parameters measured at all sampling dates. The seed-applied peat and granular inoculant treatments fixed 4.8 and 4.1 mg N plant–1, respectively, by the late vegetative stage, and reached a maximum of 20.6 and 25.6 mg N plant–1, respectively, by the late pod-filling stage. These values accounted for 30.5% and 34.9% of the total plant N for the peat and granular inoculant, respectively, by late pod-filling. For the liquid inoculant treatment, the amount of N2 fixed increased from 2.3 mg N plant–1 by the late vegetative stage to a maximum of 9.6 mg N plant–1 which was 22.2% of total plant N by the mid pod-filling stage. The highest daily N2 fixation rate for the peat and granular inoculant was 0.9 mg N plant–1 and occurred between flowering and early pod-filling, whereas that for the liquid occurred between early and mid pod-filling stages (0.23 mg N plant–1). After the mid pod-filling stage, little or no N2 was fixed in all treatments. Plant dry matter increased from the late vegetative stage to physiological maturity but the greatest dry matter accumulation occurred between the late vegetative and early pod-filling stages in all treatments.