  The cross section of \chi_{cJ} hadroproduction is calculated in the
k_t-factorization approach. We find a significant contribution of the \chi_{c1}
state due to non-applicability of the Landau-Yang theorem because of off-shell
gluons. The results are in agreement with data and, in contrast to the
collinear factorization, show a dominance of the color singlet part and a
strong suppression of the color octet contribution. Our results could therefore
lead to a solution of the longstanding controversy between the color singlet
model and the color octet mechanism.
