Differential growth of chickpea genotypes in response to moisture stress

Eight chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) genotypes were screened for moisture stress in terms of growth and yield. The genotypes Pusa 256, C 235, Pant G 186, Pusa 1103, BG 3003, RSG 888, BGD 72 and JG 11 represented different zones and were grown under irrigated and moisture stress conditions in the year 2009–10 and 2010–11 at IARI Research Farm. The maintenance of leaf area to a satisfactory level was found closely related to tolerant behavior. Seedling vigour and leaf area were also found closely associated with dry matter production and seed yield due to development of strong sink. The moisture stress caused significant reduction in plant height. The tolerant genotypes have shown differential behaviour in relation to plant height. Number of pods and seed weight were significantly different in tolerant and susceptible genotype. On the basis of result obtained the high yielding genotypes under moisture stress have shown superiority in above mentioned traits. The harvest index was also significantly higher in tolerant types. The genotypes under study could be classified into three groups –high, medium and low on the basis of leaf area.