CHICKPEA GENOTYPES EVALUATION FOR MORPHO-YIELD TRAITS UNDER WATER STRESS CONDITIONS

N. Hussain, M. Aslam, A. Ghaffar, M. Irshad and Naeem-ud-Din

Arid Zone Research Institute, P.O. Box 15, Bhakkar, Punjab, Pakistan.
Corresponding Author Email: niazfm@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

A field experiment with two sets, each comprising 13 chickpea genotypes with three replications was carried out during Rabi 2012-2013 in stress and non-stress conditions. The objective of the reported research was to study the response of chickpea genotypes in drought stress and to screen the appropriate genotypes performing better in water deficit and irrigated conditions. Three genotypes TG1203, TG1221 and TG1219 exhibited best drought tolerance efficiency (92.74, 92.33 & 88.0%), good harvest index (51.6, 50.91 & 49.15%), least drought susceptibility index (0.49, 0.52 & 0.81), and minimum reduction in seed yield (7.26, 7.67 & 12.06%) in stress environment. With better yield stability, these genotypes would be recommended as drought tolerant under stress environment.
Key words: Drought tolerance, moisture stress, chickpea, yield stability.