*Author for correspondence: Email: anilkgupta@satyam.net.in
Present investigation was undertaken to understand the pattern of variations in enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism and carbohydrate composition in vegetative tissues (leaves and 3rd to 5th internodal portion from upper side of stem) of wild Cicer species Cicer pinnatifidum and chickpea cultivar PDG-3 during crop development. The biomass accumulation in the above ground vegetative tissues of PDG-3 was 20–25 times greater than C. pinnatifidum. Higher activities of acid invertase in cultivated variety may be one of the factors for increased biomass of vegetative tissues in comparison with wild Cicer species. Higher activities of amylases were found to be responsible for reduced growth of wild species. Hence, acid invertase appeared to be positively and amylolytic activities to be negatively correlated with the growth of Cicer species. High acid invertase and low amylolytic activities in vegetative tissues may lead to better vegetative growth of the plant and hence increased productivity of chickpea crop.
