Differential Response of Elite Chickpea Genotypes under Moisture Stress Conditions

Abstract

Drought is a severe constraint for chickpea productivity across the globe. In Pakistan, it is primarily cultivated in drought-prone regions and marginal lands where moisture stress is a major limiting factor for chickpea production. In order to identify drought resilient chickpea genotypes, a field experiment consisting of 16 elite genotypes was carried out in two environments i.e. under moisture stress and non-stress environment following randomized complete block design at Gram Breeding Research Station, Kallurkot, Punjab, Pakistan during rabi season of 2018-19. Under moisture stress conditions, highly significant positive correlation was exhibited by drought tolerance efficiency (DTE) with final grain yield followed by seed weight (SW) and pods plant-1(NPP), while significant negative correlation was expressed by drought susceptibility index (DSI) to grain yield. Study of drought indices revealed that the highest DTE was presented by Punjab-2008 (84.13) followed by CH12/12, D-16004, CH-09/12, TG-1218 and TG-1221 (83.84, 80.10, 72.27, 69.93 and 69.31 % respectively) coupled with least DSI (0.39, 0.40, 0.49, 0.69, 0.75 and 0.76 respectively). Results indicated that the genotypes Punjab-2008, CH12/12, D-16004, CH-09/12, TG-1218 and TG-1221 possess high drought tolerance and higher yield potential under moisture stress environment. Therefore, these genotypes may be included in chickpea breeding program for development of stress tolerant varieties for drought prone areas of the country