Characterization of Yield, Physiological and Biochemical Responses in Chickpea Genotypes under Contrasting Water Availability

Chickpeas are a rich source of protein and essential nutrients, making them a staple in many diets worldwide. They are also drought-tolerant, which makes them a valuable crop for improving food security in arid regions. Thirty chickpea genotypes were evaluated under irrigated and rainfed condition separately Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications at Post Graduate Institute Farm, MPKV Rahuri to study yield, physiological and biochemical response for drought tolerance in Rabi 2022-2023. Analysis of variance observed significant difference among studied genotypes in irrigated and rainfed condition for all the characters studied. Genetic variation exists in diverse chickpea genotypes for bio-physiological, morphological and yield attributing characters which can be explored for genetic improvement. As expected, water stress adversely affected the physiological, biochemical and yield responses of all the chickpea genotypes evaluated. The performance of genotypes Phule G-16318 and Phule G-1420-13-6 was observed to be stable for most of the characters such as Chlorophyll index, membrane stability index, relative water content, photosynthesis rate, proline content under moisture stress condition. Similarly, both the genotypes with minimal reductions in seed yield, 100 seed weight, pod number and biomass plant-1 under rainfed condition, can serve as donors for drought tolerance in chickpea improvement programs.