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Focus
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| Leblebi: Tickling the Tongue |
R.S.
Malhotra and Hani Nakkoul
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Turkey is the world’s largest producer and exporter of leblebi. The processing industry is well developed, particularly in the provinces of Denzili, Kirtahya, Corum, and Gaziantep. There are various types of leblebi, and several brands of each type. Yellow leblebi from Corum is considered to be the best – it takes 6 weeks to prepare.
Roasting and resting
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| Farmers, extension staff and researchers from ICARDA, Australia and Turkey jointly evaluate new chickpea lines in Tavas, Turkey. |
The seeds are then spread out in trays and left for 15-20 days. These cycles of roasting and ‘resting’ facilitate chemical changes that improve flavor and crunchiness. Finally, one more roasting, during which the seeds may be flavored with red pepper, salt or cloves. You also have leblebi candy in a variety of colors: the seeds are coated with colored sugar after the final roasting.
Some Middle East countries also produce leblebi, but in small amounts. North African leblebi is different from the Turkish type, and is prepared by boiling chickpea in water with salt and pepper.
Breeding improved varieties
Chickpea is a crop that offers many benefits. Apart from its nutritional value (rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and calcium), the plant fixes nitrogen, through bacteria that attach themselves to nodules on the roots. As a result, it improves soil fertility – particularly important in cereal-based farming systems. However, the yield potential of most traditional landraces is limited, because they were selected for their ability to survive in hot, dry climates, rather than their productivity.
In the last 30 years there has been a huge increase in the use of irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, to create conditions that favor plant growth and large-scale (often mechanized) cultivation. But these efforts focused on staple food crops. Chickpea cultivation gradually moved into more marginal lands, and yields – unlike those of many other crops – did not increase.
Plant breeders at ICARDA aim to develop high-yielding varieties that match consumer preferences for seed color, type, size, and other traits. To do this, they use one of two broad approaches. One is to increase yield, i.e. upgrade the genetic potential by combining yield-related traits from different sources into a single genotype that is more resistant to diseases, insects, drought, and cold. The other approach is to develop genotypes with specific traits, for example extra-large seeds, or better suitability for a specific end-product such as hommos or leblebi.
Varieties made to order
An ICARDA survey in Turkey’s Denzili province in the late 1990s produced some interesting findings. Several high-yielding large-seeded kabuli chickpea varieties, perfectly suited to local climatic conditions, were available. But farmers in the leblebi-producing belt did not grow them, because they were not suitable for leblebi. The local varieties were suitable, but susceptible to both Ascochyta blight disease and low temperatures common in the region. Crop failures were therefore frequent, and chickpea area – and the leblebi industry in Denzili – had been shrinking.
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| The project began with a series of informal meetings in Denzili, where farmers discussed variety requirements with scientists and extension staff. |
Chickpea for leblebi processing must meet specific requirements. The ideal seeds are large kabuli types, 8-10 mm in diameter, weighing about half a gram, light colored, round, with a smooth surface. In addition, the crop must be harvested during a specific period (weather conditions are believed to influence the taste of the final product), and the seeds must have a thick seed coat that is easy to remove. To revive the local industry, the challenge was to develop varieties that met these requirements, were resistant to Ascochyta blight, and could tolerate low temperatures.
In 1999, ICARDA initiated a breeding program at Tavas in Denzili, in partnership with the Menemen Research Institute in Izmir, local farmers, leblebi processors, extension staff, and the local administration – with strong support from the Governor of Denzili and the Director of Extension.
ICARDA provided 49 potentially suitable lines, which were tested in Tavas for several seasons. Farmers and project staff jointly selected six lines from the 49, and tested them at multiple locations across the province, on both research stations and farmers’ fields. Both farmers and processors are happy with the results, and the involvement of local extension staff will ensure that growers will receive high-quality seeds as well as advice on crop management, to get the best out of the new varieties.
Scaling out
Mr Mehmet Biyik, Director of Extension, wrote to ICARDA: “We were honored to have worked with ICARDA in Tavas. We were very pleased with the research, which was done on our farms, with our farmers.”
The project has helped identify high-yielding, disease-resistant chickpea lines that meet industry requirements. Both processors and farmers will benefit – processors will have reliable supplies of high-quality chickpea, while farmers will obtain better prices for a better product. Researchers and policy makers have been tracking progress; and are now exploring ways to scale out these efforts to other leblebi-producing areas in Turkey.
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| R.S. Malhotra (r.malhotra@cgiar.org) is Consultant Chickpea Breeder; and Hani Nakkoul (h.nakkoul@cgiar.org) is a National Professional Officer at ICARDA. |
© 2008 International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
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