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Screening for Drought Resistance in Spring Chickpea in the Mediterranean Region *
Author(s) -
Singh K. B.,
Omar M.,
Saxena M. C.,
Johansen C.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of agronomy and crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.095
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-037X
pISSN - 0931-2250
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-037x.1997.tb00495.x
Subject(s) - germplasm , agronomy , sowing , irrigation , drought tolerance , biology , drought resistance , mediterranean climate , environmental science , moisture stress , drought stress , yield (engineering) , moisture , geography , ecology , materials science , meteorology , metallurgy
Even though chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) is well adapted to growing on stored soil moisture in drought‐prone environments, drought is a major yield reducer in most chickpea‐growing regions. Little progress has been made in breeding for improved performance under drought stress for want of a reliable and repeatable method of screening for drought resistance. Therefore, a study was initiated in 1990 to develop a screening technique and a rating scale to evaluate germplasm for drought resistance. A spring date‐of‐planting experiment was conducted during spring from 1990 to 1992 at Tel Hayda (northern Syria) to see if the expression of genotypic differences in drought resistance should be accentuated. Simultaneously, a rating scale was developed. Using the screening technique and rating scale, over 4000 germplasm lines were evaluated from 1992 to 1995. The resulting screening technique involves delayed sowing by 3 weeks during spring at a relatively dry site (long‐term average annual rainfall of 328 mm), preliminary evaluation of materials on a rating scale of 1–9 to discard susceptible lines, and final evaluation of promising lines under stress (drought) and non‐stress (supplemental irrigation) conditions, selecting drought‐resistant lines which perform well under both conditions. In the 1–9 rating scale that was developed: 1 = no yield reduction as compared to a non‐stress control and 9 = all plants dry without producing any seed. Using this technique, 19 lines out of 4165 lines screened were identified as drought resistant, producing over 1 t ha −1 seed yield under drought conditions while being able to yield over 2t h −1 under non‐stress conditions. Resistant lines are being used by national programs in the Mediterranean region and by ICARDA for developing drought‐ and disease‐resistant. high‐yielding cultivars.