JAKI-9218 (desi)
A widely grown wilt-resistant desi with bold, attractive grain and steady performance across the central plateau.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Gram (Chana)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- About 120 days
- Seed rate
- 15–18 kg per acre for a desi gram, 27 kg/acre for late-November sowing, 36 kg/acre in the first fortnight of December
- Expected yield
- High
- Suitable soil
- Clay / black soil
- Disease resistance
- Resistant to wilt, root rot and collar rot
- Release
- Bred and released by PDKV, Akola (Maharashtra). The release year is given as 2006, 2007 or 2008 in different sources
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
JAKI-9218 is a desi chickpea bred and released by Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola, in Maharashtra. Sources corroborate the release consistently to PDKV Akola but disagree on the exact year — figures of 2006, 2007 and 2008 all appear across different secondary accounts, so the year is stated here as "mid-to-late 2000s" rather than a single confident date. It has gone on to be widely grown well beyond Maharashtra, and is also used as a parent line and as a commercial check variety in ICRISAT and university chickpea-breeding trials, a sign of its lasting field relevance.
Should you pick this variety?
Pick JAKI-9218 if your chana land in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan or Chhattisgarh has a history of wilt, root rot or collar rot — it resists all three, which is the main reason it spread far beyond the Akola region where PDKV released it in the mid-to-late 2000s. The grain is bold and attractive, yield runs 18–22 q/ha, and the ICAR AICRP chickpea table puts maturity at about 120 days under normal-sown irrigated conditions in the Central Zone. If disease is not your problem, Vijay suits rainfed, drought-prone plots and JG-14 is the earlier choice for a tight double-crop calendar.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing time25 October to 10 November (PAU)
- Seed rate15–18 kg per acre for a desi gram, 27 kg/acre for late-November sowing, 36 kg/acre in the first fortnight of December
- Spacing30 cm rows, 10–12.5 cm sowing depth
- Sowing methodOn medium to heavy soil, especially after rice, sow on raised beds 67.5 cm apart with two rows per bed 20 cm apart — the same seed and fertiliser as flat sowing, but the crop escapes waterlogging
- IrrigationHeavy pre-sowing irrigation, then one between mid-December and end-January. On raised beds after rice, water only if the crop is stressed at pod initiation (PAU)
- Fertilizer6 kg N and 8 kg P2O5 per acre, all drilled at sowing (PAU)
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- About 120 days is the ICAR AICRP figure for normal sowing. A late sowing or a warm finish will pull it in by a week or more.
- The sourced yield (18–20 or 20–22 q/ha) is respectable but not exceptional, so read "High" as a fair relative rating for a wilt-resistant desi chickpea.
- No pedigree is published for JAKI-9218 itself. Breeding papers only record its later use as a parent in other crosses (e.g. JAKI-9218 × JG 62, JAKI-9218 × ICC 12479).
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
- Madhya Pradesh
- Gujarat
- Rajasthan
- Chhattisgarh
Three soil diseases in one package — and what still needs doing
JAKI-9218 is resistant to wilt, root rot and collar rot, which between them account for most of the chana that dies standing on the central plateau. Knowing them apart helps you judge what is happening in your field. Wilt yellows and droops a plant from the top while the roots look intact. Root rot leaves a rotted, stringy root when you pull it. Collar rot kills young plants at the soil line, often where crop residue is lying wet.
Resistance is not a reason to drop the basics. Keep a rotation with a cereal rather than chana after chana, bury or remove loose residue before sowing so collar rot has nothing to start on, avoid sowing into a waterlogged or freshly over-irrigated field, and keep drainage open on heavy clay. If plants still die in patches, lift a few and look at the roots before buying any spray — the three problems do not get the same answer.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Gram (Chana) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GNG-1581 (desi) | Light north-west soils where wilt and blight both show up | About 151 days | High | Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir |
| GNG-1958 (desi) | Normal-sown irrigated chana across the North Western Plain Zone | 135–145 days | 26.8 q/ha | Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh |
| JAKI-9218 (desi)this page | Central-plateau chana on land with a wilt and root-rot history | About 120 days | High | Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh |
| JG 11 | Early bold-seeded chana for the southern zone and tight rabi windows | 95–100 days | 18–20 q/ha | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra |
| JG-14 (desi) | Early desi chana for double-cropping and escaping late-season heat | 100–105 days | High | Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat |
| JGK-1 (kabuli) | Central-zone kabuli chana on good soil with careful management | 105–120 days | Medium–High | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh |
| Kak-2 (kabuli) | Extra-large kabuli grain for the premium and export market | 90–100 days | Medium–High | Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat |
| Pusa 256 | Bold brown desi grain, with room for a late sowing | 110–115 days | 18–20 q/ha | Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh |
| Pusa 372 | Wide-area desi chana that also works for a late sowing | 130–140 days | 20–22 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan |
| Vijay (desi) | Rainfed chana on the plateau, where moisture runs out at pod-fill | 105–110 days | 20–25 q/ha | Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Gram (Chana) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Gram (Chana) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Gram (Chana) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Gram (Chana) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Gram (Chana) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Gram (Chana) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Gram (Chana) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Which institute bred and released JAKI-9218?
Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola, in Maharashtra — consistent across every source found, though the exact release year varies (2006–2008) depending on the source.
Is JAKI-9218 grown only in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra?
No — it is also grown in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, alongside Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
What yield does JAKI-9218 give?
Sourced figures run 18–22 q/ha depending on the study — solid for a wilt-resistant desi, though not an exceptionally large absolute number.
Is JAKI-9218 resistant to more than wilt and root rot?
Sources also credit it with collar-rot resistance, in addition to wilt and root-rot resistance.
What is JAKI-9218's parentage or breeding cross?
It is not published. Breeding papers record JAKI-9218 being used as a parent in later crosses (e.g. with JG 62 and ICC 12479), but not what it was itself bred from.
Can JAKI-9218 be grown on land where chana wilted last year?
That is what it was bred for. It resists wilt, root rot and collar rot, so it is the safer choice on a field with that history. Resistance is not a licence to skip the basics, so still treat the seed and keep a rotation with a non-host crop.
JAKI-9218 or JG 11 for a central-India field?
JAKI-9218 resists wilt, root rot and collar rot and gives 18–22 q/ha in about 120 days. JG 11 is earlier at 95–100 days with bold seed of 22 g per 100 seeds, but its wilt resistance has weakened against newer races since 1999. On land with a disease history, JAKI-9218; where you mainly need an early harvest, JG 11.
Why is there no one exact release year for JAKI-9218?
Every source agrees PDKV Akola released it, but the year appears as 2006, 2007 and 2008 in different accounts, so it is given as the mid-to-late 2000s instead of one year. It changes nothing for the field: the variety's traits and state list are the same either way.
What fertiliser does JAKI-9218 need?
PAU gives 6 kg N and 8 kg P2O5 per acre, all drilled at sowing. The nitrogen is only a starter. Chana makes its own once the root nodules form, and piling on urea gives you a leafy plant that flowers late and sets fewer pods.
When should I sow JAKI-9218?
25 October to 10 November. At about 120 days that puts the harvest from late February into March, before the heat that shrivels chana grain. On land with a wilt and root-rot history, sowing on time also means the crop is past its tender stage before the soil warms again.
Sourced from: Package of Practices for Rabi Crops, Punjab Agricultural University: gram sowing window, seed rate, raised bed sowing after rice, fertiliser and irrigation. editorial policy.