Elucidation of the genetic diversity of desi-type chickpeas in relation to their adaptability to various autumn weather conditions

Chickpeas are one of the most important sources of protein, vitamins, and minerals. It has been proven that cultivating them in autumn leads to an increase in seed yield. However, the cultivation of this crop is limited in many parts of the world during autumn due to its low tolerance for cold temperatures. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of 27 desi-type chickpea genotypes in three regions with different climates during autumn cultivation using multivariate analysis. Agro-morphological attributes were used to differentiate and group the selected genotypes. The seed yield in Mashhad ranged from 0.10 to 1.71 t ha−1, in Jolgeh rokh from 0.12 to 1.66 t ha−1, and in Shirvan from 0.63 to 1.48 t ha−1. In all three regions, there was a strong and positive correlation between seed yield and biological yield. Three principal components were identified in all three regions, explaining a significant proportion of the total variability. The first principal component had a high negative coefficient in all three regions for seed yield and biological yield. According to the cluster analysis, the genotypes of the fifth group in Mashhad exhibited superiority in terms of five traits. In Jolgeh rokh and Shirvan, the genotypes of the first group, which had seven traits (all of which were significant based on ANOVA), were also superior to the genotypes of the other groups. The results of the stepwise regression analysis showed that in three regions, the two traits, biological yield and harvest index, were found to be significant factors in explaining the seed yield of chickpeas. The findings of this study indicate that the use of multivariate statistical methods is appropriate for identifying the agro-morphological traits that affect the yield of chickpeas in different climates.