Chickpeas are propagated from seeds.

"Seed is broadcast or (more often) drilled in rows 25-60 cm apart, spaced at 10 cm between seeds, at a depth of 2-12 cm with soil well pressed down.

Soil is worked into a rough tilth, clods broken and field-leveled.

Seed is sown in spring (late March-mid April in Turkey, United States; February-March-April around the Mediterranean) when the ground has warmed or when the rains recede (mid-September to November, rarely later in India and Pakistan; September-January or April, Ethiopia) depending on the region" .

Seeding rates vary from 25-40 kg/ha to 80-120 kg/ha, depending on the area and seed type .

Chickpea may be cultivated as a sole crop, or mixed with barley, lathyrus (grasspea), linseed, mustard, peas, corn, coffee, safflower, potato, sweet potato, sorghum, or wheat.

In rotation it often follows wheat, barley, rice, or tef .

"In India, chickpeas are also grown as a catch crop in sugarcane fields and often as a second crop after rice.

Although usually considered a dry-land crop, chickpeas develop well on rice lands.

In most areas, chickpeas are intercultivated once about 3-4 weeks after sowing; thereafter, the crop develops enough shade to smother weeds.

In other areas light weedings are recommended.

On poor soils, manure or compost is beneficial.

Seed inoculation improves yield only for crops grown for the first time or after rice, where Rhizobium populations are naturally low or absent.

Irrigation at 45 and 75 days after planting is useful .

Fertilizers or manure have often failed to increase yields substantially because of fixation of P by soils and the accumulation of nutrients in the upper layer of the soil which are often dry

HARVESTING

Chickpeas mature in 3-7 months and the leaves turn brown/yellow during maturity.

For dry seeds, the plants are harvested at maturity or slightly earlier by cutting them close to the ground or uprooting.

The plants are stacked in the field for a few days to dry and later the crop is threshed by trampling or beating with wooden flails.

The chaff is separated from the grain by winnowing. Tall cultivars are suitable for mechanized harvesting in which case combines can be used.

Chickpeas are usually stored in bags, but are more subject to insect damage than when stored in bulk. Proper cleaning, drying, and aeration are necessary to control seed beetles.

A thin coating with vegetable oil can reduce storage damage. Sometimes baskets, made from twisted rice straw, are used as storage containers.