* Department of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 004, Punjab, India. E-mail: navrajpau@yahoo.co.in
Seed Technology Centre, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 004, Punjab, India.
Eight genotypes of chickpea cultivated under Punjab conditions were morphologically characterized using nineteen descriptors at different stages of plant growth. In desi type chickpea, out of twelve qualitative traits, nine traits were observed to be monomorphic in nature and the remaining three (growth habit, green colour intensity of foliage and seed colour) were polymorphic. Whereas, in kabuli type chickpea, all the twelve qualitative traits were found to be monomorphic and the two cultivars could be differentiated based on seed size. Days to 50% flowering and seed size were the most widely varied quantitative traits in desi type chickpea. Genetic parameters for all the quantitative revealed less environmental influence on their expression thus, signifying their utility in the varietal characterization.
Chickpea, Cicer arietinum, Morphological characters, Varietal characterization
