Comprehensive evaluation of Chickpea genotypes through morpho-physiological and seed quality parameters: A way forward to sustainable crop improvement under changing environmental conditions

Forty-eight desi chickpea genotypes were evaluated at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, to characterize variation for yield-associated, physiological, biochemical and early-stage seedling traits and to identify genotypes showing favorable performance under Fusarium wilt screening. Phenotypic evaluation of seed yield performance during the 2022-23 cropping season identified CSG 20-6, GJG 1907, H 20-64, BG 4040, NBeG 1420, CSG 21-8, GL 18151, GJG 2011, TKCH 1, and IG 2021-283 as the top ten high-yielding genotypes. In 2023-24, significant genotypic variation was detected for all evaluated traits. Seed yield per plant ranged from 15.6 to 30.1 g, while number of pods per plant ranged from 35 to 121 and crude protein content from 17.7 to 24.7%. Broad-sense heritability was high for seed yield per plant (89.8%), biological yield per plant (87.6%), harvest index (85.0%), plant height (83.1%) and SPAD chlorophyll content (88.7%). Pearson correlations showed positive associations of seed yield per plant with biological yield (0.76), relative water content (0.53), SPAD chlorophyll content (0.50), NDVI (0.49), plant height (0.47) and primary branches (0.40). Germination percentage and vigour index-I were also positively associated with seed yield, although these relationships require independent validation before use as selection indices. In the 2023-24 wilt-screening experiment, PG 317, NBeG 1469, H 1926, GJG 1907 and NBeG 1420 combined relatively low wilt incidence with comparatively high seed yield and satisfactory crude protein content. The study indicating that lower wilt incidence is generally associated with higher biological and seed yields. Furthermore, these results identified promising chickpea genotypes and suggesting critical trait correlations, allowing breeders to further navigate the genetic trade-offs between morpho-physiological and seed quality parameters. Therefore, the better performed genotypes having stable wilt incidence can be utilized for understanding genetic relationships and identifying potential parental lines for future chickpea breeding programs.