Multiple disease resistance - a solution for encouraging chickpea (Cicer arietinum) cultivation in various climatic zones in India

Abstract

A study was conducted during 2001-06 at Ludhiana, to evaluate 2 250 chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes for Fusarium with, Dry root rot (DRR), Foot rot, Ascochyta blight and Botrytis gray mold resistance. Over the years increase in resistance for Fusarium wilt was from 6.6 to 19.3%, for Dry root rot 10.4 to 17.4%, for Foot rot 10.9 to 12.0% in desi; from 7.6 to 4.7% for Fusarium wilt, 7.6 to 12.6% for Dry root rot and 7.6 to 8.0% for Foot rot in kabuli AICRP genotypes. Whereas for Ascochyta blight, increase was from 2.7 to 6.9% in desi but workable resistance was identified in kabuli from AICRP chickpea material. This increase in PAU material for desi genotypes was from 35.1 to 68.7% for Fusarium wilt, 53.7 to 85% for Dry root rot and 53.7 to 60% for Foot rot; for kabuli this increase varied from 57.8 to 46% for Fusarium wilt, 63.1 to 54% for Dry root rot and 68.4 to 66.4% for Foot rot. However, for Ascochyta blight resistance increased from 2.7 to 11.1 in desi and remained between 3.5 and 5.1% in kabuli. Seventy genotypes were found promising to Fusarium wilt, Dry root rot and Foot rot as these were either immune or showed less than 5% wilting/rotting. 'GL90168', 'GL91137', 'GL92015', 'GL88341' and 'PGL167' were free from root wilt/rotting diseases and resistant to Ascochyta blight. Another 24 genotypes scored 3.0 for Ascochyta blight and less than 3% in aggregate or individually for Fusarium wilt, Dry root rot and Foot rot and can be considered as multiple disease-resistant genotypes.