Effect of moisture stress on physiological traits and yield components in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes

Present investigation was carried out to find out the effect of moistures regimes on the yields of chickpea genotypes. The grain yield of chickpea significantly declined due to moisture deficit, which appeared as a result of reduction in leaf area index, root length, photosynthetic rate, relative water content, membrane stability index, plant height, number of pods per plant, pod weight and harvest index. Among the six varieties of chickpea, Dahod yellow recorded significantly highest yield under irrigation as well as moisture stress condition, hence, it was identified as drought tolerant variety. The remaining varieties were sensitive to moisture stress.