Natural cross-fertilization in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Three chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties, each with a different recessive marker character, were grown in plots of 12 m² in a systematic, alternating planting pattern. In the following year, the progenies of all plants were inspected for off-types with regard to the marker characters. Only 0.05% of off-types was observed. As outcrossing between plants of the same genotype might have occurred but could not be detected, the percentage of off-types underestimates the actual percentage of outcrossing by a factor of 1.5. It is, therefore, estimated at 0.08%.