Chickpea, Cicer arietinum L. belongs to the family Fabaceae, within the tribe Cicerae. It is a self-pollinated, diploid, annual grain legume crop. The global production of chickpea is nearly 11 million tonnes and India is the major producer accounting for 64% of the total chickpea production (FAOSTAT, 2012). It is a major source of high quality protein in human diet and also provides high quality crop residues for animal feed.