Screening of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Genotypes against Drought Stress Employing Polyethylene Glycol 6000 as Selecting Agent
Ruchi Asati
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India.
Manoj Kumar Tripathi *
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India and Department of Plant Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India.
Sushma Tiwari
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India and Department of Plant Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India.
Rakesh Kumar Yadav
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India.
Shailja Chauhan
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India.
Niraj Tripathi
Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur-482004, M.P., India.
R. S. Solanki
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India.
R. S. Sikarwar
Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior-474002, M.P., India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) stands as a prominent legume crop globally, renowned for its elevated protein content. The primary challenges to chickpea cultivation emanate from abiotic stressors, with drought reigning as the most pivotal contributor to diminished growth and production output. To select putative drought tolerant genotype (s), an in vitro screening method was deployed, utilizing different concentration of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG 6000) as selecting agent along with control. Seeds of twenty different genotypes were treated with different concentrations of PEG6000 and observations were recorded for shoot length (cm), root length (cm), germination percentage, relative water content, seedling vigour index and stress tolerance index (STI). Evidently, all assessed attributes exhibited a significant reduction commensurate with the augmentation of PEG6000. This trend detrimentally influenced germination and the entirety of seedling growth-related metrics. Furthermore, the distinction in variability across genotypes concerning germination percentage, vigour index, and stress tolerance index (STI) emerged as vigorous and informative standards for discriminating drought-tolerant chickpea genotype (s) during both germination and seedling phases. Investigative findings spotlighted the drought-tolerant disposition of genotypes, where genotypes viz., SAGL152252, ICC4958, and JG315 found to be putative drought tolerant based on different parameters investigated.
Keywords: Chickpea, PEG6000, drought, stress tolerance index, vigour index, germination percent