Question

Read the statements about irrigation management in chickpea.
(A) Flowering and pod filling are the most critical stages for irrigation.
(B) Water requirement of chickpea ranges from 400-600 mm.
(C) Irrigating chickpea with saline water that has salinity of 10 mmhos/cm can reduce yield by about 55%.
(D) Chickpea is usually irrigated following check basin method.
(E) Under conditions of low evaporative demand as in North India, irrigation can cause lodging in chickpea.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A. (A), (B) and (E) only
• B. (A), (B) and (D) only
• C. (B), (C) and (E) only
• D. (C), (D) and (E) only

Hint:

Chickpea cannot stand waterlogging, so rule out the check basin claim first.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

This question checks how well we know irrigation practice in chickpea, a rabi pulse crop that is far more sensitive to excess water than cereals like wheat or rice.

1. (A) Flowering and pod filling are the most critical stages for irrigation: This is correct. Moisture stress during flowering causes flower drop, and stress during pod filling starves the developing seed, so both stages need assured moisture.
2. (B) Water requirement of chickpea ranges from 400-600 mm: This is correct. Chickpea is grown mostly on stored soil moisture with one or two supplementary irrigations, and its full season water need, counting rainfall plus any irrigation, is generally placed in the range of 400 to 600 mm.
3. (C) Irrigating chickpea with saline water of 10 mmhos/cm can reduce yield by about 55%: This is not correct as stated. Chickpea has a low salt tolerance threshold, around 1.8 to 2 dS/m, and yield loss climbs steeply beyond that point. At a salinity as high as 10 mmhos/cm the loss would be far more severe than 55%, closer to near total crop failure, so this specific figure understates the damage and is treated as false here.
4. (D) Chickpea is usually irrigated following check basin method: This is not correct. Chickpea cannot tolerate waterlogging even briefly, so it is normally irrigated by the furrow method, which lets water reach the root zone without ponding around the stem, rather than by flooding a check basin the way paddy or wheat sometimes is.
5. (E) Under conditions of low evaporative demand as in North India, irrigation can cause lodging in chickpea: This is correct. Cool, humid winter conditions already favor soft, leafy growth, and adding irrigation on top of that pushes excess vegetative growth, which makes the plant top heavy and prone to lodging.

Putting this together, the true statements are (A), (B) and (E), while (C) and (D) do not hold up.

Let's summarize:

• Flowering and pod filling are the moisture sensitive stages in chickpea.
• Its total seasonal water need falls in the 400-600 mm band.
• Extra irrigation under low evaporative demand, as in North India winters, causes lodging through excess vegetative growth.

So the correct combination is (A), (B) and (E) only, matching option 1.