Expanding chickpeas in the west
b'Chickpea production in Western Australia took a king hit in the early 2000s when a fungal outbreak hammered grower confidence and reduced crop coverage from 60,000 to 5,000 hectares.\\nThese days, it\\u2019s around 10,000 hectares. But with GRDC investment, Chickpea Breeding Australia (CBA) is working to firmly re-establish chickpea production into a premium and profitable product in WA through the release of new varieties.\\nAs CBA program lead Dr Kirsty Hobson explains, the team is working to improve yields, cold tolerance, disease resistance and adaptation to low pH soils.\\nCBA is a five-year, $30-million breeding initiative that is working to expand the geographic reach of chickpeas from their traditional northern NSW and QLD region stronghold into central and southern NSW and WA.\\nContact\\xa0\\nDr Kristy Hobson\\xa0\\nCBA program leader and NSW DPI chickpea breeder\\xa0\\nkristy.hobson@dpi.nsw.gov.au\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\nMore information\\n\\nExpanding chickpeas in the west video\\n\\nPartnerships galvanised by Chickpea Breeding Australia to deliver for WA\\n\\n\\nGRDC Project Code: DPI2003-009OPX\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'