Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), is a multi-functional crop with important role in the diet as affordable protein
source and in sustaining soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. However, its productivity in Ethiopia of 1.9 t ha-1 is lower than
its potential of 5 t ha-1 under well managed conditions, partly due to soil fertility limitations. Field experiments were conducted
to evaluate effectiveness of elite rhizobia strains on productivity of chickpea. Four rhizobial inoculant treatments and one
control with three chickpea varieties were used. Inoculated plants had significantly (p<0.05) better performance with most of
the symbiotic traits, grain yield and yield related traits than non-inoculated treatments. Shoot nitrogen yield was increased in
the range of 13.0 – 31.34% by inoculation with strain ICRE-025 over the two test sites. The highest level of N fixation was
achieved in genotype ICC-4918 by inoculation with EAL-029 and ICRE-025. Investigations at both test sites demonstrated that
inoculation of chickpea varieties with native rhizobial strains were effective and useful for optimized chickpea production
