CHERNOZERN is a variety of chickpea with a black skin, developed by the State Breeding Center of the Povolzhye «Pokrovskoe» and recommended for cultivation in the Middle Volga and Ural regions, including the Samara and Orenburg regions, as well as the Republic of Bashkortostan. The plant is characterized by low growth and a semi-erect bush with anthocyanin stem coloring. The leaflets are small, and the flowers have a purple-pink hue. The seeds are black in color, angular in shape with strong ribbing, the mass of 1000 seeds varies from 187 to 227 grams, which belongs to the medium-small category. The protein content in the seeds reaches 25.3%, making this variety nutritious and valuable for use in the food industry and agriculture.
The CHERNOZERN variety belongs to medium-early varieties with a vegetation period of 75 to 117 days. It demonstrates high resistance to lodging, shattering, and drought, which corresponds to the level of standard varieties Golden Jubilee and Privo 1. The yield of the variety is characterized by stability and exceeds average indicators: in the Middle Volga region it is 20.6 c/ha, which is 2.3 c/ha above the average standard; in the Ural region it is 18.1 c/ha, which corresponds to the average standard. In the Samara region, the yield reaches 24.8 c/ha, exceeding the Golden Jubilee standard by 3.7 c/ha, and in the Orenburg region the variety shows an increase over the Privo 1 standard of 3.3 c/ha with a yield of 17.4 c/ha. The maximum recorded yield was 36.5 c/ha in 2022 in the Republic of Bashkortostan.
During the years of testing, the CHERNOZERN variety was not affected by diseases and did not suffer from pests, which indicates its high resistance and reliability from an agronomic point of view. Thanks to its characteristics and adaptability to various climatic conditions, this variety is a promising choice for farmers seeking to obtain a quality and stable chickpea crop with high protein content and good agronomic indicators.
