Registration of ‘Royal’ Chickpea

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivar Royal (Reg. No. CV‐324; PI 673002), was released by the USDA‐ARS on the basis of its high yield and large seed size compared with the commercial chickpea cultivars Sierra and Nash. Royal was evaluated by the USDA‐ARS across 18 location‐years in Washington and Idaho receiving approximately 450 to 750 mm annual precipitation. Royal had an average yield of 1436 kg ha−1 across all trials, 5.4% less than Nash (1514 kg ha−1) and 7.3% greater than Sierra (1338 kg ha−1). Royal, similar to Sierra, has moderate resistance to Ascochyta blight. Royal was also tested by HighLine Grain Growers across 12 location‐years in Washington receiving approximately 300 to 350 mm annual precipitation. In these trials, Royal had an average yield of 1366 kg ha−1, 6.7% greater than Nash (1280 kg ha−1) and 23.7% greater than Sierra (1104 kg ha−1). In trials conducted by the USDA‐ARS 100 seed weight of Royal was 55.8 g, which was less than Nash and greater than Sierra. In trials conducted by HighLine Grain Growers, 100 seed weight of Royal was 52.0 g, which was not different than Nash and was greater than Sierra. Royal produced a greater percentage of “A” seeds (>8.7 mm) than Sierra in trials conducted by both the USDA‐ARS and HighLine Grain Growers. Royal is a promising alternative to Sierra as a high‐yielding large‐seeded chickpea cultivar, especially in regions receiving less than 450 mm annual precipitation.