Chickpea cultivation faces a persistent challenge: the threat of diseases that can significantly impact yield and profitability. Several diseases pose significant threats to chickpea crops, each with distinct characteristics and management requirements. These include, Wilt, Dry root rot, Ascochyta blight, Botrytis grey mold, and Sclerotinia blight.

In the following guide diseases specific to chickpeas are discussed with the key points being:

• Understand your disease risk for each paddock – is it high or low? Can you control the disease in-crop?
• Eliminate volunteer chickpea plants over summer/autumn. Control of the ‘green
  bridge’ is very important especially to reduce aphid numbers that can transmit virus
  (Figure 1).
• Practice good on-farm hygiene to reduce disease sources and prevent spread
  between paddocks.
• Avoid planting chickpea into poorly drained paddocks and those prone to
  waterlogging.
• Avoid planting chickpea in the same paddock for at least 4 years or next to the
  previous year’s chickpea stubble.
• If you can see intact chickpea stubble assume disease pathogens are viable.
• Choose your variety with care – variety choice remains the main management tool for
  chickpea diseases and root lesion nematodes (RLN).
• Know the latest disease ratings of your varieties.
  See NVT Disease Ratings | NVT (grdc.com.au)
• Test seed for pathogen presence, germination and vigour.
• Test soil for pathogen levels. Predicta® B tests for a number of chickpea pathogens,
  as well as RLN’s. See PredictaB DNA Soilborne disease tests –northern region |
  SARDI.
• Treat all planting seed with a registered fungicide whether you have seen disease in
  your district or not.
• Know which fungicides are currently registered for use in chickpea, the safe use
  instructions, and availability. Ensure you have requirements covered.
• Ensure you have adequate resources to manage the logistics around fungicide
  applications (i.e. equipment, fungicides and labour) prior to rainfall.
• Monitor the crop for disease symptoms 7 to 14 days after each rainfall event.