A Comparative Study for Assessing the Drought-Tolerance of Chickpea Under Varying Natural Growth Environments

Abstract

This study was planned with the purpose of evaluating the drought tolerance of advanced breeding lines of chickpea in natural field conditions. Two methods were employed to impose field conditions; the first: simulating drought stress by growing chickpea genotypes at five rainfed areas, with Faisalabad as the non-stressed control environment; and the second: planting chickpea genotypes in spring to simulate a drought stress environment, with winter-sowing serving as the non-stressed environment. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and generalized linear models (GLM) models were both found to be equally effective in extracting main effects in the rainfed experiment. Results demonstrated that environment influenced seed yield, number of primary and secondary branches, number of pods, and number of seeds most predominantly; however, genotype was the main source of variation in 100 seed weight and plant height. The GGE biplot showed that Faisalabad, Kallur Kot, and Bhakkar were contributing the most in the GEI, respectively, while Bahawalpur, Bhawana, and Karor were relatively stable environments, respectively. Faisalabad was the most, and Bhakkar the least productive in terms of seed yield. The best genotypes to grow in non-stressed environments were CH39/08, CH40/09, and CH15/11, whereas CH28/07 and CH39/08 were found suitable for both conditions. CH55/09 displayed the best performance in stress conditions only. The AMMI stability and drought-tolerance indices enabled us to select genotypes with differential performance in both conditions. It is therefore concluded that the spring-sown experiment revealed a high-grade drought stress imposition on plants, and that the genotypes selected by both methods shared quite similar rankings, and also that manually computed drought-tolerance indices are also comparable for usage for better genotypic selections. This study could provide sufficient evidence for using the aforementioned as drought-tolerance evaluation methods, especially for countries and research organizations who have limited resources and funding for conducting multilocation trials, and performing sophisticated analyses on expensive software.

Identification of drought tolerant Chickpea genotypes through multi trait stability index

“…A significant positive correlation with grain yield, high heritability coupled with high genetic variability and less yield losses under optimal conditions are essential for a character to be expressed as drought tolerance marker ( Maqbool et al, 2017 , Chandora et al, 2020 ). Therefore, a comprehensive multiple enhancement approach is needed for sustainable crop production under drought stress ( Arif et al, 2021 ). Thus, there is dire need to utilize techniques those present adaptability as well as stability to select the most excellent genotypes under different environmental conditions.…”

“…Multi environment trials (MET) are mostly used to evaluate impact of drought stress on crops could be analyzed by using additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) methods ( Olivoto et al, 2019a , Olivoto et al, 2019b ). AMMI stability and drought tolerance indices were recommended as drought-tolerance evaluation methods particularly in resource poor countries ( Arif et al, 2021 ). The AMMI is good graphical tool, but it lacks linear mixed‐effect model (LMM) while BLUP provides good estimates, however, new insights are needed to deal with a random genotype vs environment interaction (GEI).…”

Contribution of Pulses to Agrobiodiversity in the View of EU Protein Strategy

“…While ex situ conservation in gene banks is developing in many countries, this is mainly concerning staple crop species and non-staple ones are still generally underrepresented in these collections [75]. In situ conservation of crop species and varieties within the agroecosystem is of utmost importance because that is how these genetic resources could change and follow the changing environment [74], showing us their abilities to fight different stress factors [76]. Further research can explore new sources of genetic diversity and subsequently new opportunities for plant breeders [77].…”

Effects of Variety, Spacing and Nitrogen Application on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Growth and Yield in Embu County, Kenya

“…This crop also has the ability of drought tolerance and can survive under scanty rainfall conditions with optimum precipitation of 152-254mm and temperatures range of 18-29 o C (McVay and Crutcher 2011; Devasirvatham and Tan 2018;Kaloki et al 2019a). Its deep root system penetrates deeper soil horizons for moisture (Onyari et al 2010;Arif et al 2021). The legumes are a good source of proteins, dietary fiber, vitamins A, C, E, folate, and minerals (Wallace and Zelman 2016;Muehlbauer and Sarker 2017).…”