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Evaluation of Ethiopian chickpea landraces for tolerance to drought
Abstract
Ethiopia is a secondary center of diversity for chickpea.It is possible that these germplasm lines have developed certain degrees ofadaptation to drought during many centuries of cultivation on residual soilmoisture. We, therefore, evaluated 482 genotypes of chickpea collected fromdifferent regions of Ethiopia for their tolerance to drought at Alem Tena, adrought-prone site. Differences were observed among genotypes in their reactionsto drought and 18 tolerant genotypes were identified based on drought responseindex (DRI). These were in the top 10% yielding genotypes under drought stress.The drought susceptible check Mariye gave grain yields of only 348kg/ha. Two of the drought tolerant genotypes ACC41235 and ACC 209025 were further evaluated in pots alongwith Mariye under stressed and nonstressed moisture regimes.Unlike Mariye the two test genotypes had relatively smallerindividual leaf area, which was further reduced under low moisture stresstreatment. On the other hand, dry root weight, root volume and rooting depthdecreased significantly under low moisture stress only forMariye. It appears that reduced water loss from the plant andextensive extraction of soil moisture are factors involved in the adaptation ofEthiopian chickpeas to drought conditions. The combined effect of the twofactors enables the plant to maintain high water status.
... This effect contributed to the largest variance component of the experiments [15]. Thus, the performance of some genotypes were largely in specific environments and genotypic differences were obtained from adaptive responses to the different environments as earlier reported by Anbessa and Bejiga [16], which observed differences among genotypes in their reactions to drought and 18 tolerant genotypes were identified based on drought response index (DRI). The effectiveness of the imposed drought stress in rainfed plots was indicated by the differences of the means in the DFL, DM, PLH, NB, NDW and NFW between rainfed and irrigated regimes. ...
... These results have indicated that, plants grown under rainfed conditions flowered and matured earlier than those under irrigated conditions and the same results were also reported by Saxena [18], and Kumar [5]. The extra earliness may be exploited in the improvement of chickpea for short growing environments, as the flowering and pods setting of the crop occur before water stress becomes a serious limiting factor [16]. The present study has shown that the level of drought has a major impact on the production and abortion of pods and hence on seed yield, therefor selected early flowering and maturity genotypes help the plants to avoid and escape from water deficit in crucial stage. ...
... The high significance value (P < 0.001) for all attributes showed considerable variation for these traits among chickpea genotypes, environments, and their interaction in response to water deficit (Table 3) [16,26,27]. From these results, drought stress causes a significant reduction in yield and yield components (Table 2), by affecting both plant growth and growth period, these findings are in line with that reported by Singh [28]; Dogan et al., [29]. ...
Environmental stresses, particularly drought, limit symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes, resulting in decreased yielding capacity. Drought is one of the most important constraints limiting yield potential in crops and it is the major abiotic stress that can cause more than 70% yield loss in chickpea. In this study, a total of two hundred four chickpea (Cicer arieti-num L.) genotypes were selected to study the interaction between drought stress and nod-ule formation. This interaction was assessed by using morphological, yield and yield components. The field experiments were laid out in two locations (Terbol and Kfardan stations , Bekaa valley, Lebanon) using Alpha lattice design with two replications and two watering treatments (irrigation and rainfed) during 2016 and 2017 seasons. Parameters that were measured include days to 50% flowering (DFL), day to maturity (DM), plant height (PLH), nodule biomass (NB), nodule fresh weight (NFW), nodule dry weight (NDW), grain yield (GY), Biological yield (BY), 100 seed weight (100SW) and drought tolerance stress (DTS). The results indicated a significant variation between genotypes, environments and other morphological, yield and yield components traits. Drought stress reduced significantly the yield and the nodule's characteristics, biological and grain yield. The genotypes with the highest levels of drought tolerance, such as IG70399, IG8256, IG71832, IG70270, and IG70272, showed a minimal decrease in yield and nodule biomass. Nodule observations significantly and positively correlated with GY (0.36-0.38) under drought stress treatment. The correlation values for nodule characteristics with DFL and DM were higher under drought stress compared to irrigated conditions. This is a comparative study between drought stress and nodule formation traits associated with morphological, yield and yield components traits. PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.
... It is used as a human food and animal feed and in particular, chickpea serves as an important protein supplement in the cereal-based diet of most Ethiopians. Yadeta & Geletu (2002) indicated that, it is an excellent source of protein (20-40%), which is approximately three times that of cereals. The protein in chickpea seed is rich in the amino acids, lysine and tryptophan, compared to cereal grains; however, it is deficient in methionine and cystine when compared to animal proteins. ...
... Flour made by grinding the seed is one of the chief ingredients of everyday diet for those suffering from uric Acid problem. Besides its food value, chickpea helps in the management of risk aversion where there is crop failure of major cereals due to recurrent drought (Yadeta & Geletu, 2002). It also helps in soil fertility management, particularly in dry land areas, through symbiotic nitrogen fixation. ...
Eight promising chickpea genotypes advanced from preliminary yield trial to multi environments trial were evaluated for their yield performance to the moisture stress areas and their utilization from 2009/10 and 2012/13 cropping season. The experiment was conducted at three locations viz, Sirinka, Chefa and Kobo using randomized complete block design with three replications. The additive multiplicative interaction model was used to analyze the data. The combined analysis of variance over years and locations revealed that there were highly significant differences among chickpea genotypes in yield and yield component traits. Based on the analysis of genotype ICC-14808 were better performing in all agronomic and yield parameter. The candidate genotypes were evaluated, validated and verified for release by the National Variety Releasing Committee. The yield potential of the genotype was 3.7 tons ha-1 at research station. ICC-14808 genotypes have a 45% of yield advantage over the standard check (Shasho). The candidate genotype has 35gm of 100 seed weight that fulfilled the required standard for export, and it was a drought tolerant that grows in area where all other cool season pulse crops couldn't grow very well. Based on the evaluation and assessment, genotype ICC-14808 was released for farmers in the Eastern Amhara. The breeder designates the variety to be called now and then Yelbe. The utilization and quality assessments of the farmers were explained in the papers.
... In Ethiopia, chickpea is mainly grown in the central quality. They are rich sources of complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals (Costa, Queiroz-Monici, Reis, &, northern and eastern highland areas of the country at an altitude of 1400-2300 m.a.s.l., where annual rainfall ranges between 700 and 2000mm (Anbessa Y, Bejiga G , 2002). Ethiopian soils are deficient of major soil nutrient like nitrogen (N) (Wondewosen Tena et al., 2016).The use of Rhizobium inoculants is to improve nitrogen Rhizobium symbiosis with legumes species is of special importance, producing 50% of 175 million tons of total biological nitrogen fixation annually worldwide (Sarioglu et al., 1993). ...
... Only Turkey, India, Australia, and Myanmar produce more chickpeas globally than Ethiopia, which is among the top five producers (FAO, 2019). Ethiopia is the greatest chickpea grower in Africa and is regarded as the second center of origin for the bean (Anbessa and Bejiga et al., 2002;ICARDA, 2010). ...
The chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a significant legume food crop in West Showa that farmers exploit to generate revenue and sustenance. Nevertheless, two major obstacles to production are the scarcity of high-quality seed and the poor fertility of the soil. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate how Rhizobium inoculation affected yield, growth, and its constituent parts. Four Rhizobium strains (Cp11, Cp17, Cp41, and control) x four varieties (Eshete, Dimtu, Teketay, and Local) organized in factorial combinations were assessed using a randomized complete block design with three replications. All phenology and growth parameters, yield components, seed yield, and productivity indices were significantly influenced by both variety and Rhizobium strain, with the exception of crop phenology and hundred seed weight, which were not significantly influenced by Rhizobium strain. Plant height and the number of pods per plant were significantly impacted by the interaction between the R strain and variety. Four types yielded seed with a range of 2013.89 to 2777.78 kg ha-1, whereas inoculation procedures produced seed with a range of 2152.78 to 2690.97 kg ha-1. The Teketay variety and seeds infected with the Cp17 Rhizobium strain produced the best seed yield. Higher grain yield index per day, Rhizobium sensitive or infection index, yield index, and seed production efficiency were also seen in Teketay variety and seeds infected with Cp17 Rhizobium strain. The largest seed yield was produced by the Teketay variety inoculated with the Cp17 Rhizobium strain, and in most cases, the enhanced varieties' seeds inoculated with the Cp17 strain also produced high yields.
... "Moisture stress at flowering and seed setting is most common and reported to reduce the seed yield significantly. Consequently, terminal drought stress, which occurs during the reproductive phase of the crop is common and critical" [7]. "The frequency and severity of drought and heat stresses are further expected to increase due to increasing climatic variability and overall impacts of climate change. ...
Heat stress is now widely accepted as an important ecological factor influencing growth of plants and production. Rising temperatures as a result of global warming cause heat stress, reducing plant development and potential output throughout the entire globe. A field experiment was carried out at Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur, to minimize the heat stress induced-losses in chickpea plants with the foliar spray of chemicals during two consecutive years 2021-22 and 2022-23 at Rabi season (November-April). Experimental treatments comprise two chickpea varieties (RVG-202 and RVG-203) sown on same day (15th November). foliar spray of seven chemicals at at vegetative, anthesis and at both stages. The chemcials include Salicylic acid @ 800 ppm, Salicylic acid @ 400 ppm, Ascorbic acid @ 10 ppm, Potassium chloride @ 1%, Thiourea @ 400 ppm, Cycocel @ 400 ppm and Control (no spray). Results suggested that heat stress severely reduced the chickpea growth and productivity. However, foliar application of salicylic acid and thiourea positively affected the plant growth attributes which ultimately increased the final productivity. Concisely, the foliar spray of chemicals particularly, salicylic acid and thiourea modulated the heat stress induced losses in chickpea cultivars, RVG-202 and RVG-203 by improving their antioxidant defense mechanism and enhanced the productivity.
... The importance of combination of bio-regulators and nutrients in enhancing crop yields has long been recognized, and this costeffective technology has now demonstrated its value in substantially increasing agricultural productivity. The challenge of moisture stress during the flowering and seed-setting stages, leads to decline in seed yield [11]. Thiourea is recognized for its ability to break dormancy and promote germination [12]. ...
Chickpea cultivation in rainfed regions, such as Madhya Pradesh, faces challenges due to water stress, impacting crop yield and quality. The study conducted assesses the impact of foliar spray with plant growth regulators and nutrients on the germination percentage, seedling length, and seed vigour indices of chickpea varieties (JG 36 and JG 14) under water deficit conditions. Cytokinin analogues, known for breaking dormancy, and other growth regulators and nutrients were applied during the flowering stage. The results revealed significant differences in germination percentage, seedling length, seed vigour index I, and seed vigour index II among irrigation levels, varieties, and foliar spray of plant growth regulators and nutrients. Under different irrigation levels, D1 (Irrigation at 30 DAS and at flower initiation) recorded the highest germination percentage (97.24%), seedling length (31.41 cm), seed vigour index I (3054.81), and seed vigour index II (52.77) compared to control D2 (Drought stress at Flowering up to physiological maturity). JG 14 (V1) performed well, achieving the highest germination percentage of 96.99%. Among the treatments, foliar application of Benzyladenine (BA) at 40 ppm (T3) resulted in the highest germination percentage (98.17%) and seed vigour index II (60.33), whereas T8 (BA 40ppm + ZnSO4 1%) exhibited the highest seedling length (31.83 cm) and seed vigour index I (3099.85). This study demonstrates that foliar spray with plant growth regulators and nutrients, particularly Benzyladenine at 40 ppm, significantly improved germination percentage, seedling length, and seed vigour index, offering potential solutions for enhancing chickpea productivity under water deficit conditions.
... A significant problem for chickpea production in arid and semi-arid areas is water scarcity. Investigations have shown that among the biotic and abiotic stresses, drought stress alone leads to a 50% reduction in chickpea yield (Anbessa & Bejig, 2002). Recently, nanotechnology has been used in modern agriculture to overcome some drought-induced concerns (Navarro et al., 2008). ...
Drought stress markedly affects plant growth and crop production. In turn, treatment with some metal‐based nanoparticles (NPs) such as TiO 2 ‐NPs could improve the plant tolerance against drought stress. In the present study, the effects of different levels of moisture regime (40%, 60%, and 90% field capacity [FC]) in conjunction with various concentrations of TiO 2 ‐NPs (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg. L ⁻¹ ) on chickpea were studied. Exposure of drought‐challenged chickpea plants to TiO 2 ‐NPs raised antioxidant enzyme activity compared with plants grown under drought without TiO 2 ‐NP treatment. The highest activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was observed at 40% FC and application of 40 mg. L ⁻¹ TiO 2 ‐NPs. Moreover, peroxidase (POX) activity has increased with the enhancing concentration of TiO 2 ‐NPs to 20 mg. L ⁻¹ at 90% FC. In comparison, the application of 40 mg. L ⁻¹ TiO 2 ‐NPs and decreasing levels of FC caused a rise in the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Exposure to TiO 2 ‐NPs raised the amount of total phenols and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picryl‐hydrazyl‐hydrate (DPPH) at different levels of moisture regime. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) at 60% FC has decreased by 22% after treatment with 20 mg. L ⁻¹ TiO 2 ‐NPs compared with control plants. Also, treatment with TiO 2 ‐NPs heightened the proline content, and the highest amount of proline was obtained at 40% FC by applying 20 mg. L ⁻¹ NPs. The treatment with TiO 2 ‐NPs in the moisture regimes led to higher chlorophyll and carotenoid production in chickpea plants. Taken together, the application of TiO 2 ‐NPs could raise the defense potential of chickpea plants against oxidative stress caused by the generation of reactive oxygen species.
... Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the third most important pulse crop with a total annual global production of 9.7 million tons from 11.5 million ha. In Ethiopia, chickpea is mainly grown in the central, northern and eastern highland areas of the country at an altitude of 1400-2300 m.a.s.l., where annual rainfall ranges between 700 and 2000 mm [3]. It is the major cool season food legume ranked second next to the Faba bean, which occupies about 239,747.51 ...
... Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the third most important pulse crop with a total annual global production of 9.7 million tons from 11.5 million ha. In Ethiopia, chickpea is mainly grown in the central, northern and eastern highland areas of the country at an altitude of 1400-2300 m.a.s.l., where annual rainfall ranges between 700 and 2000 mm [3]. It is the major cool season food legume ranked second next to the Faba bean, which occupies about 239,747.51 ...
Chickpea is a multi-functional crop, has an important role in the diet of Ethiopian small-scale farmers' households, and also serves as a protein source for the rural poor who cannot afford to buy animal products. Though many improved chickpea varieties were released by different research centers depending on breeding objectives. Participatory Variety Selection was conducted during 2019/2020 in both Simada and Libokemkem districts of south Gonder Zone, Ethiopia. To assess the performance of chickpeas) varieties and to evaluate farmers' selection criteria for chickpeas. Seven desi-type chickpea varieties with one local check were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The combined Analysis of Variance for stand count at germination, stand count at harvest, days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, grain yield per hectare, and hundred seed weight showed high significant (P< 0.01) difference for genotypes and the combined analysis of variance for stand count at germination, stand count at harvest, days to flowering, plant height, number of seeds per pod, and grain yield revealed significant (P<0.01) difference for location. The study also revealed that in some cases the researchers' selection criteria were identical to farmers' preferences. These parameters include Disease reaction, Branch number, pod size, adaptability, and early maturity. Hence, including farmers' preferences in a variety selection process is paramount important. Therefore, based on attentively measured parameters, farmers' favorites, and the agro-ecologies of the site the varieties Minjar and Fetenech are selected for the area. The varieties Minjar and Fetenech should also be considered by farmers for their preference in the study area.
... A major advantage of chickpea is its drought resistance. It is almost always grown on residual soil moisture after other crops have been harvested (Yadeta and Geletu, 2002). It is therefore "free" and does not occupy land on which less drought resistant crops must rely. ...
Tigray, the most northern of Ethiopia's ethnically based regional states, covers an area of 53 386 km 2 and has a population exceeding 5.17 million of whom some 24.3% are urban dwellers. Wide agroclimatic variations result from altitudinal differences (600 to 3000 m) and rainfall patterns. The area is a center of origin of many cultivated and wild plants. The mainly agricultural rural population, farming small areas of non-contiguous plots, makes wide use of these conditions to ensure its livelihood. Crops grown include ten species of cereals, seven pulses (legumes), six oilseeds, and numerous fruits, vegetables and spices. Within these groups and species several varieties or landraces are recognized and used to advantage. Wild species are exploited for food, especially at times of crop failure, and for medicines. Crop production is beset by many biotic (weeds, pests, diseases), abiotic (infertile soils) and anthropic (government policy, civil strife, military actions) constraints. Drought is a frequent occurrence and leads to crop failure and famine. In normal times crop yields are low but some of the production is marketed to provide cash for other necessities. Tigray's population is poverty stricken and often in need of food aid.
... In a study on identification of morpho-physiological characteristics associated with drought tolerance in selected chickpea germplasms in Nakuru and Baringo Counties of Kenya, drought tolerance index, biological mass, days to physiological maturity and days to 50% flowering were associated with drought tolerance due to their direct contribution to grain yield (Kirui and Njoka, 2013). In Ethiopia, eighteen drought tolerant genotypes were identified amongst a pool of different landraces, based on their drought tolerance indexes (Anbessa and Bejiga, 2002). ...
... A decline in leaf area index was observed in the moisture stress condition compared to the control plot in all genotypes. This was in confirmation with the findings of Anbessa and Bejiga (2002) in chickpea, Nagajothi et al. (2014) in red gram and Bangar et al. (2019) in green gram. The decrease in leaf area index may be due to the smaller leaf size and accelerated leaf senescence under the moisture stress condition. ...
Moisture stress during crop growth has been identified as a major impediment to long-term agricultural productivity. Crop losses vary depending on the severity and duration of the drought, as well as the stage of growth. The objective of the present investigation was to identify superior genotypes of horse gram with moisture stress tolerance having high yield and quality, especially suitable for the south-central laterite region of Kerala (India) as well as determine the nature and extent of diversity amongst the genotypes under investigation. In this study, we investigated the response of thirty genotypes of horse gram to their moisture stress tolerance at the seedling stage using PEG 6000 osmoticum in the laboratory and by withholding irrigation at the reproductive stage in the field. The genotypes were evaluated for six different morpho-physiological traits as well as various biometrical, physiological, biochemical and seed quality characters. Results of the analysis of variance revealed that the genotypes varied significantly for all traits. To know the magnitude of genetic diversity existing in genotypes, the Mahanalobis D2 statistic was also performed. The results from both experiments indicated that the genotypes IC22785 and IC139464 have the potential to be used in breeding programs for drought tolerance, as these genotypes recorded superior performance under high moisture stress conditions. The promising genotypes belonged to cluster III in the divergence analysis. Superior segregants may be obtained by crossing clusters I and III, as the highest inter-cluster distance was between them.
... with wide soil type adaptation, Ethiopia is the largest Insufficient application of Phosphorus fertilizer below chickpea producer in Africa, with a share of about 39% of crop requirement was the major constraint which limits total chickpea produced there in 2011 [2]. Chickpea is its productivity [6,7] on the other hands excessive or mainly grown in the central, north eastern highland inappropriate applications rate of P fertilizers have a direct and southern region of Ethiopia with altitude ranging negative impact on surface waters that influence the 1400-2300 masl, Yadessa Anbessa and Geletu Bejiga [3]. ...
Optimal essential nutrient management under balanced soil fertilization becomes crucial as natural resources utilization increasing with limited supply of resources specially on those of nonrenewable ones by taking this into consideration soil test based phosphorus calibration study under balanced soil fertilizer application were studied on vertisols of Dendi district in Ethiopian central highland on chickpea (Cicer arietinum) crop at 2019 cropping season in Ginchi substation permanent plot which is managed for four successive years to implement those phosphorus calibration trials. Fertilizer treatments were applied at planting and soil samples were collected three weeks after planting to analyze Olsen extractable phosphorus which is correlated to relative chickpea grain yield and determine the critical soil phosphorus level (by using Cate-Nelson graph method) and phosphorus requirement factors of chickpea on vertisols accordingly it was determined as 11.9 mg kg of soil and 8.97 mg kg , respectively. From the aggregate mean data analysis result 1 1 the highest chickpea grain yield, biomass yield and other related yield components was obtained from 30 kg P ha application rate with 20 kg starter Nitrogen ha , 7 kg Sulfur ha and 0.51 Kg Boron ha. The least 1 1 1 1 result in all parameters was obtained from control treatment which has 0 P level.
... Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the world's second most important grain legumes after common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) (Guar et al.,2012;FAOSTAT, 2012). Ethiopia is a secondary center of genetic diversity for chickpea; the wild relative of cultivated chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), is found in Tigray region of Ethiopia (Yadeta and Geletu, 2002;Kanouniet al., 2011). India is the world's leading producer of chickpea followed by other major producer countries such as Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Myanmar, Australia, Ethiopia, Canada, Mexico and Iraq. ...
... Chickpea is widely grown across the highlands and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and serves as a multi-purpose crop. The country is also considered as the secondary center of diversity for chickpea (Anbessa and Bejiga, 2002). It has a major role in the daily diet of the rural community and parts of urban population. ...
... e abiotic tolerance of the isolates to extreme temperature, pH, and salt concentrations was determined. e potential of the rhizobial isolates to grow and tolerate several temperature ranges such as 5,10,15,20,25,35,40,45, and 50°C was evaluated [1]. A loop full of rhizobial isolates grown on YEMA media were streaked and incubated by adjusting at the specific temperature for 3-4 days. ...
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) is an important pulse crop prized for its high protein content and is grown as a food source worldwide, including Ethiopia. However, the yield of chickpea is low due to low soil fertility and the ever-changing abiotic stresses. Therefore, this study aimed at isolation, characterization, and selection of chickpea rhizobia effective in their nitrogen fixation and abiotic stress tolerance potential. As a result, 150 nodule samples were collected from three districts of chickpea-producing areas in South Wollo. The nodules were crushed, and the rhizobia were isolated and characterized by using standard microbiological procedures. Based on the presumptive tests conducted, 103 (68.7%) of the rhizobial isolates were tentatively categorized as Rhizobium species. Regarding phosphate solubilization, only 48 (46.7%) solubilized phosphate with a solubilization index ranging from 2.1 to 2.7 mm. Twenty-four (50%) of the isolates were found to be hydrogen cyanide producers. Among the rhizobial isolates tested under greenhouse conditions, 37 (77.1%) of them induced nodulation on their host plant (chickpea). Their symbiotic effectiveness evaluation test confirmed that 16(47.1%), 6(17.6%), 26.47%, and 3(8.8%) were highly effective, effective, low effective, and ineffective, respectively. Of the authenticated rhizobial isolates, 12 (35.5%) of them, including WuCR-15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, and 48, accumulated higher shoot dry matter than the positive control. Isolates WuCR- 11, 17, and 36 showed resistance to low and high extreme abiotic stresses of pH, temperature, and salt. Consequently, rhizobial isolates, WuCR- 11, 17, and 36, which were effective and competent in all the tested parameters, were recommended as good rhizobial candidates for applications under greenhouse and field conditions.
... The roots accumulated material, which caused them to develop more quickly than roots under less stress (Rauf and Sadaqat, 2008). Anbessa and Bejiga (2002) showed that drought circumstances caused a decrease in the root volume in chickpea, which is consistent with the present study. Moreover, reducing soil moisture can reduce access to nutrients and water in terms of low moisture around the roots and limited proliferation of root biomass or limited nutrient uptake (Staniszewska et al., 2003;Razmjoo et al., 2008) and thus lead to reduced plant height, growth and yield (Staniszewska et al., 2003). ...
Several Salvia species are among the most valuable aromatic herbs used for industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Hence, under greenhouse trial conditions, the effects of chitosan treatment (0, 100, and 200 mg L⁻¹) and water deficiency stress on the morphological, physiological, and biochemical features of two Salvia species were examined. Significant changes were seen in chlorophyll a, root volume, dry and fresh weight, and H2O2 concentration as a result of drought stress. Significant influence of chitosan was found for all studied parameters except root length and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), proline, and MDA were elevated, while photosynthetic pigments decreased under drought stress. The highest essential oil (EO) content (2.20% d.b.) was recorded under moderate stress condition in the absence of chitosan treatment. Using chitosan topically, it is possible to offset the impact of water scarcity on EO content decline and enhance EO compositions. The compensatory effects of chitosan application under stress conditions were observed on the abundance of EO constituents, such as 1,8-cineol, camphor, bornyl acetate, α-bisabolol, α-cadinol, and α-humulene. Moreover, present results suggested that chitosan application can alleviate the drought damage in studied Salvia species.
... Chickpea is widely grown across the highlands and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and serves as a multi-purpose crop. The country is also considered as the secondary center of diversity for chickpea (Anbessa and Bejiga, 2002). It has a major role in the daily diet of the rural community and parts of urban population. ...
Beekeeping is an important economic activity that helps rural communities to raise additional income to improve their livelihoods though women have been excluded from the sector. However, women are conscious and interested to expand their economic activities. With this regard, the project was implemented at Wolmera, Guduru, and Ababo guduru districts to improve the livelihood of rural women through involving them in a beekeeping activity through self-help women's group. FRG based apiary site establishment for pre-existent women's self- help groups (SHG) were used as an entry point that addresses about 160 participant members with about 80% female participants. With this intervention, each group member has obtained on average about 2000-9500 ETB though 50% of the groups were saving their income in the group account. In the apiary management practices, more than 70% of the households were attained on a good level of awareness on the beekeeping management even though depending on the funding organization persisted. However, due to the investment is an asset for at least 10 years, it is important to enhance the sustainability of the group at least for 5 years. However, group financial management, business-oriented attitude, group fragmentation, internal conflict, and systematic group exclusion is a critical challenge that need focus.Generally, capacity building related to bookkeeping, queen multiplication, colony multiplication, and formalizing the existing SHG adds a flavor value to sustainability andgrowth.
... Chickpea (CicerarietinumL.) is the world's second most important grain legumes after common bean (PhaseolusvulgarisL.) among food legumes grown for production worldwide [2]. Ethiopia is considered as secondary center of genetic diversity for chickpea and the wild relative of cultivated chickpea (CicerarietinumL.), is found in Tigray region of Ethiopia [13,6]. An average chickpea yield in Ethiopia on farmers field is usually below1t/ha although its potential is more than 5t/ha [4,8]. ...
... Ethiopia is one of the largest producers of chickpea in Africa and shares 4.5% of the global chickpea market and more than 60% of Africa's global chickpea market [4]. The country is also considered as the secondary center of diversity for chickpea [5]. It is widely grown across the highlands and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and serves as a multi/dual-purpose crop. ...
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important pulse crops that play a vital role in human diet. One of the major insect pest attacking chickpea crop is African bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Ethiopia. The Laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of new insecticides at Ambo University, Guder Mamo mezemir Campus and the field experiment was conducted at Amaro kebele, Ambo District, West Shoa zone of the Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia during main cropping seasons in 2020/2021.The treatment had three replicates and entire set up was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in field and CRD in the laboratory. The laboratory study was showed percent mortality of larva were achieved with shark 2.5% EC, Vayego SC 200 , Benezer plus 38.5% EC, Focus 5% EC and Belt SC480 (96.67,100.0, 100.0, 100.0 and 100.0%), respectively. At field, minimum & maximum mortality percentage recorded in three round spray caused mean percent mortality belt SC 480 the highest per cent of mortality were recorded (63.71-100.0%) followed by Benezer plus 38.5%EC (53.86-100.00%), Focus 5% EC (57.08-95.28%), Shark 2.5% EC (55.50-100.0%) and Vayego SC 200 (44.97-100%). The lowest pod damage was observed in treated plot with Belt SC480 (0.44%) as compared to control plot (9.00%. The highest yield also obtained from Belt SC480 treated plot (2.89 Ton/ha) and the lowest yield obtained from control plot (1.78 Ton/ha). The overall percentages of yield losses were 1.92-38.46% if the field was not treated with synthetic insecticides. Further research should focus on the effectiveness of these chemical insecticides under different ecology of Ethiopia and can be incorporated into the integrated management of H. armigera.
... Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important cool-season annual food and cash crop for many households in Ethiopian highlands. Ethiopia is considered a secondary center of genetic diversity for chickpea (Yadeta and Geletu, 2002;Kanouni et al., 2011). Chickpea varieties are the most important crop in terms of local and export market due to their large-seeded type. ...
... A major advantage of chickpea is its drought resistance. It is almost always grown on residual soil moisture after other crops have been harvested (Yadeta Anbessa and Geletu Bejiga (2002). It is therefore "free" and does not occupy land on which less drought resistant crops must rely. ...
Tigray, the most northerly of Ethiopia’s ethnic based Regional States, covers an area of 53 386 km sq and has a population exceeding 5.17 million of whom some 24.3% are urban dwellers. Wide agroclimatic variations result from altitudinal differences (600–3000 + meters) and rainfall patterns. The area is a center of origin of many cultivated and wild plants. The mainly agricultural rural population, farming small areas of non-contiguous plots, makes wide use of these conditions to ensure its livelihood. Crops grown include ten species of cereals, seven pulses legumes), six oilseeds, and numerous fruits, vegetables and spices. Within these groups and species several varieties or landraces are recognized and used to advantage. Wild species are exploited for food, especially at times of crop failure, and for medicines. Crop production is beset by many biotic (weeds, pests, diseases), abiotic (infertile soils) and anthropic (government policy, civil strife, military actions) constraints. Drought is a frequent occurrence and leads to crop failure and famine. In normal times crop yield are low but some of the production is marketed to provide cash for other necessities. Tigray’s population is poverty stricken and often in need of food aid.
... In Ethiopia, chickpea is mainly grown in the central, northern and eastern highland areas of the country at an altitude of 1400-2300 m.a.s.l., where annual rainfall ranges between 700 and 2000 mm [5]. Chickpea, locally known as shimbra, is one of the major pulse crops (including faba bean, field pea, haricot bean, lentil and grass pea) and in terms of production, it is the second most important legume crop after faba beans [27]. ...
Chickpea has a major role in the daily diet of the rural community and urban population as a good source ofenergy, protein, minerals, vitamins, fiber and its straw is used for animal feed, and it also improves soil fertility by fixing theatmospheric nitrogen. Optimum plant density and appropriate genotypes for a given agro ecology influences plant size, yieldcomponents and ultimately the seed yield. Hence, a field experiment was carried out to determine the effect of intra and inter-row spacing on growth, yield and yield component of chickpea (Cicer aeritinum L.) Genotypes under rain fed condition inHuletegna Choroko, Southern Ethiopia in 2016 cropping season. A split-split plot design with three replications was used withtwo chickpea genotypes: Genotypes Habru and Mastewal were arranged in main plot and intra-row spacing of 5, 10 and 15 cmin sub-plot and inter-row spacing’s of 30, 40 and 50 cm in sub-sub plot. Days to flowering and hundred seed weight weresignificantly different between the two genotypes. Intra-row spacing had significantly affected physiological maturity, noduledry weight plant-1, plant height, primary branch plant-1, pods plant-1, seeds pod-1, above ground biomass and seed yield. Interrow spacing also significantly affected days to flowering, days to physiological maturity, nodule number plant-1, nodule dryweight, plant height, primary branch, pod plant-1, seed number pod-1, above ground dry matter and seed yield. Mastewalgenotype obtained the maximum (2.91 t ha-1) grain yield at the combination of 15 cm intra row and 30 cm inter row spacingwhile Habru genotype obtained (2.57 t ha-1) at the same intra and inter-row spacing. Finally it could be concluded that intrarow spacing of 15 cm and inter row spacing of 30 cm were found to be the optimum for maximum grain yield of chickpeausing genotype Mastewal and Habru at Halaba, Huletegna choroko
... In Ethiopia, the earliest finding of chickpea cultivation was reported as of 1520 B.C. from Lalibela cave and it is considered as a secondary center of diversity and Cicer cuneatum is the wild relative of cultivated chickpea found in Tigray region of Ethiopia [42][43][44]. However, chickpea [15,26]. ...
We have assessed the distribution and mating type of chickpea blight (Didymella rabiei (Kov.) v. Arx) from a total of 350 and 272 fields in major chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) growing areas of Ethiopia for two consecutive cropping seasons 2017 and 2018, respectively. The prevalence of D. rabiei was 20% for the year 2017 and 7% for 2018. Severity range of 2-9 and incidence of 10-100% were recorded for both seasons in only 7-20% of the assed fields. Field prevalence of 2017 and 2018 seasons were significantly different (df = 31; p < 0.001 and df = 31; p < 0.001, respectively). Similarly, the disease prevalence of both seasons was significantly different (df = 31; p < 0.001). The disease prevalence ratio frequency was highly deviated from (1:1) for both seasons (X² = 213.62 p= <0.001; X² = 144.36 p = 0.01). Genomic DNA of Representative samples were extracted from single spore culture and Mating type 1 (MAT1-1) specific primer SP21, Mating type 2 (MAT1-2) specific primer Tail 5, and a flanking region-specific primer Com1 assay were multiplexed in a single PCR reaction to determine the occurrence of D. rabiei mating type in Ethiopia. Out of 156 samples, only 15 samples were positive to MAT1-1 (∼10%) with the ratio of 9:1. MAT 1-2 type was the most dominant and possibly the asexual reproduction of D. rabiei is the major type in Ethiopia. The result is important for Ascochyta blight management in breeding strategy.
... The variation in height might be due to genetic characteristics of the varieties for this trait. Anbessa and Geletu [8] reported that drought stress reduced plant height by 4% and 8% at vegetative and anthesis stage, respectively. ...
Authors' contributions This work was carried out in collaboration and equal contribution among all authors, we do not wish take any special credit for any work. This research was done primarily to enhance chickpea production and productivity in Ethiopia which has a significant role in ensuring food and nutritional security among a large starving and malnourished population. Moreover, we would like to add to the research literature and knowledge base for the benefit of students and researchers working in these regions where there is substantial shortage of quality literature as well as research potential. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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ABSTRACT
One of the basic agronomic practices to improve the yield of chickpea are ideal sowing date and high yielding varieties. Thus, a field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of different sowing dates on yield and yield components of chickpea varieties in the main cropping season of 2019 at Toke Kutaye District. Four sowing dates (September 4 th , September 14 th , September 24 th , and October 5 th) and four kabuli varieties. Four Kabuli types of chickpea varieties were Dalota, Ejere, Teji and Dube (local check). Experiment was laid out in split plot design using factorial arrangement with three replications and sowing date treatments were assigned to the main plots and varieties to sub plots. The main effect of sowing date showed highly significant effect on days to emergence, days to 50% flowering and physiological maturity. Highest days to emergence (12.4 days) were recorded from a plot sown on October 5 th , while longest days to 50% flowering (54.92 days) and physiological maturity (122.5 days) were recorded from a plot sown on September 14 th. Moreover, varieties had significant effect on days to physiological maturity of chickpea. Longest 15 days to physiological maturity (133 days) were recorded from local variety and early days to physiological maturity (113.3 days) was recorded from Dalota variety. The main effects of sowing date and variety were significant on plant height, as the tallest plant height (42.75 cm) was recorded from September 24 th sown plants. Similarly, the tallest (41.42 cm) plant was recorded from Dalota variety. In addition, the highest number of primary branches (6.83) and secondary branches (16.42) per plant were recorded from Dalota variety, while the lowest number of primary branch (5.5) and secondary branches (8) were scored from Ejere and Teji varieties, respectively. Highest grain yield (2415.4 kg ha-1) was obtained from plots sown on September 14 th whereas Dalota variety produced highest grain yield (2051.25 kg ha-1). Hence, Dalota variety and September 14 th sowing date emerged as best among all tested treatments and can be recommended for chickpea production in the study area and similar agro-ecologies. Conclusive recommendation could be obtained if the study is repeated at more locations and seasons in the future.
... Chickpea is an example of a dry bean. Dry beans, by definition, are legumes grown to the mature stage, allowed to dry, and harvested for the seed within the pods [6]. World chickpea production is approximately 9.4 million metric tonnes. ...
Chickpeas are a very important legume crop and have an abundant amount of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, fibers, and mineral contents. Most of the time, breeders were focused on the yield and the disease resistance criteria parameters for releasing new varieties, but not that much attention is given to the nutritional quality and quantity aspect. So the objective of this review mainly focuses on giving some hints for breeders and nutritionists on nutritional profiles and effects of traditional processing of different Ethiopian chickpea varieties which may be used for variety selection for the new variety trial and new product development, respectively. Chickpeas have many bioactive compounds, important vitamins, and minerals. Besides having nutritional benefits, the consumption of chickpeas always requires some processing as they have many antinutritional factors. Various traditional processes such as soaking, cooking or boiling, germination, roasting, fermentation, and dehulling have their own effects on the availability of nutrients. Chickpeas are used to make many Ethiopian traditional chickpea-based food products such as nifro, kollo, shiro, dabo, mitad shiro, ashuk, boklet, kita, genfo, injera, and shimbra-asa by using different processing methods. Chickpeas have several potential health beneficial effects on some of the important human diseases like cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, digestive diseases, and cancers. This review summarized that different Ethiopian chickpea varieties have significant differences in the nutritional composition profiles between different varieties grown in Ethiopia and are an excellent source of micronutrients and macronutrients.
... Chickpea is widely grown across the highlands and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and serves as a multi-purpose crop. The country is also considered as the secondary center of diversity for chickpea (Anbessa and Bejiga, 2002). It has a major role in the daily diet of the rural community and parts of urban population. ...
... Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the world's second most important grain legumes after common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) [1,2].Ethiopia is a secondary center of genetic diversity for chickpea; the wild relative of cultivated chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), is found in Tigray region of Ethiopia [3,4]. ...
... Although chickpea grows in environments with different moisture levels, this does not means that its development is not influenced by the moisture conditions. Anbessa & Bejiga (2002) found that reduced water loss from the plant and extensive extraction of soil moisture are factors involved in the adaptation of chickpeas to drought conditions. Modification of root system architecture may improve desirable agronomic traits such as yield, drought tolerance, and resistance to nutrient deficiencies (Tuberosa et al. 2002, Beebe et al. 2006, Ghanem et al. 2011. ...
This PhD thesis presents an innovative experimental investigation on the mechanical response of sand to plant root growth.Root-soil interaction is investigated for two different root systems -- Maize and Chickpea -- and two different gradings of Hostun sand with two initial porosities.An original protocol is developed aiming to create samples with repetitive initial nominal properties and representative of the natural interaction.Two experimental campaigns were run on a series of samples with different sands and plants.A 4D (3D+time) analysis of the interaction is carried out by using x-ray Computed Tomography.For each sample, an average of 7 x-rays scans is performed, from the day of the seed sowing up to 7-days-old root system.An image processing technique has been developed and it is applied to the 3D images resulting from the reconstruction of the x-ray scans. Through this image processing, the root system is identified, together with the sand grains and the water present in the system. Finally, a four-phased volume representative of the soil-root system can be defined for each state of the observed samples.Besides, from the 3D greyscale images of the samples, measurements of the kinematics of the system are obtained through local and discrete approaches of image correlation.Local sand porosity and deformations resulting from the four-phased volumes and the image correlations are detailed for one sample of each root-sand configuration.Regarding the impact of the initial sand state on the root system development, the comparison of the different configurations shows, among other things, that the sand density plays a key role on the expansion of the root system, for both plant species.Concerning the sand response to the root growth, the strain tensor computed with image correlation shows that a root shears the soil while growing and the sheared zone is wider when the initial bulk density is lower.This work focuses also on the determination of the sand volumetric response to root growth in the sheared zone and its dependency on the soil density.Sand response is purely dilatant for denser initial states, while the looser sand exhibits a contractant behaviour far from the root surface. Such a response is obtained in the case of both maize and chickpea. Moreover, the contractant behaviour induced by the shearing away from the root is confirmed also for both sand granulometries in a looser state.
... There is key roles of the crop improvment over decades to enhance the productivity (CSA, 2018), revenue generation power (Setotaw et al., 2018), farming culture (Pachico, 2014) of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Ethiopia, which is the secondary centere of its diversity (Yadeta and Geletu, 2002). Modern breeding approaches are increasingly being deployed in legumes such as chickpea to enable the rapid development of improved varieties with enhanced yields under challenging climatic conditions (Varshney, 2016). ...
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is grown in a wide range of environments and cropping systems and its maturity ranges from 80 to 180 days.. Time-saving breeding is key to responding to the dynamics of demands and environmental changes. The study employed Single Seed Descent (SSD) technique in advancing the generation, Rapid generation advance in chickpea for accelerated breeding gain in Ethiopia [2] supported by an independent observation of chickpea seed germination and seedling establishment in the seed lab. The filial generation nursery was derived from 46 initial crosses with the aim of enhancing drought and yield response of otherwise commercial 10 cultivars. Between 5 December 2017 and 20 December 2018 we were able to obtain four rounds of working chickpea seeds (F 2-F 5) using two research locations. The average time required to obtain early matured pods varied from 80 to 85 days. Harvesting four generations in an annual cycle enables a saving of at least 50% time in variety release, which has the potential to double the rate of genetic gain and variety replacement. As long as measures are taken to reduce risk associated with extreme weather events or animal damage, this low-cost rapid cycling approach could be adapted for large-scale breeding programs to fast track the development of more productive varieties.
... Chickpea is widely grown across the highlands and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and serves as a multi-purpose crop. The country is also considered as the secondary center of diversity for chickpea [6]. It has a major role in the daily diet of the rural community and parts of urban population. ...
... It has been shown recently that chickpea stringently selects the symbiotic gene background (Zhang et al. 2012b), possibly playing a role in selecting symbiotic partners based on their effectiveness. In terms of the contribution of crop genetic variation, areas high of chickpea cultivar diversity such as Ethiopia (Anbessa and Bejiga 2002;Keneni et al. 2012b), further increased by the introduction of improved genotypes (Keneni et al. 2012a, b), have potential for a wide variation in symbiotic effectiveness and specificity. Apart from interactions due to individual cultivars, higher level genetic differences may also be of relevance. ...
Legume genotype (G L) x rhizobium genotype (G R) interaction in chickpea was studied using a genetically diverse set of accessions and rhizobium strains in modified Leonard Jars. A subset of effective G L x G R combinations was subsequently evaluated in a pot experiment to identify combinations of chickpea genotypes and rhizobium strains with stable and superior symbiotic performance. A linear mixed model was employed to analyse the occurrence of G L x G R interaction and an additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model was used to study patterns in the performance of genotype-strain combinations. We found statistically significant interaction in jars in terms of symbiotic effectiveness that was entirely due to the inclusion of one of the genotypes, ICC6263. No interaction was found in a subsequent pot experiment. The presence of two genetic groups (Kabuli and Desi genepools) did not affect interaction with Mesorhizobium strains. With the exception of a negative interaction with genotype ICC6263 in the jar experiment, the type strain Mesorhizobium ciceri LMG 14989 outperformed or equalled other strains on all chickpea genotypes in both jar and pot experiments. Similar to earlier reports in common bean, our results suggest that efforts to find more effective strains may be more rewarding than aiming for identification of superior combinations of strains and genotypes.
... In the Southern Ethiopia, chickpea is sown as a double crop in early September after harvesting the principal crops. As a result, chickpea is essentially grown on residual soil water, which often exposes the crop to terminal drought and soil nutrient deficiency during its active growth period (Anbessa and Bejiga, 2002). ...
A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of two chickpea varieties to water stress at the College of Agriculture campus, Hawassa University under greenhouse from January to June 2017. Three water stress levels i.e. without stress (control), vegetative water stress and seed filling water stress were assigned as main plot, chickpea varieties Habru (Kabuli type) and Mastewal (Desi type). The treatments were laid in split plot design with four replications. The results showed that water stress significantly affected all parameters studied in this experiment. The seed filling water stress resulted greater reductions in the value of all tested parameters studied compared to optimum watering and vegetative stress except number of primary branches and harvesting index, which were significantly lower under vegetative water stress. As well, the two varieties significantly differed for all observed parameters except number of nodules per plant and nodule dry weight. Days to flowering, pod maturity, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and harvest index were significantly higher for Mastewal variety while, plant height, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, dry biomass, seed yield per plant, hundred seed weight and root dry weight were greater for Habru variety. Days to flowering, plant height, seed yield per plant, hundred seed weight, number of pods per plant and harvest index were significantly affected (p<0.05) due to all two way interactions. Water management schemes that ensure to avoid especially terminal water stress could help to maintain chickpea production, which is usually grown with residual moisture by the majority of Ethiopian farmers. Given the fact that the results are obtained from a pot experiment there is a need to substantiate the findings with field experiments conducted under contrasting moisture environments. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(1): 13-21, June 2020
... Pulses grown in Ethiopia covered 12.33% (1,549,911.86 hectares) of the grain crop area and 9.69% (about 28,146,331.73 quintals) of the grain production. In Ethiopia, chickpea is mainly grown in the central, northern and eastern highland areas of the country at an altitude of 1400-2300 m.a.s.l., where annual rainfall ranges between 700 and 2000 mm [10,11]. %. ...
Chickpea is among the major pulse crops grown in southern Ethiopia including Borana and West guji zone. The area has potential to the production of Chickpea for food and nutrition security as well as export commodity. However, scarcity of varieties that fit to the environment is one of the major constraints of production. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to evaluate 9 chickpea varieties to select adaptable varieties for yield and agronomic traits. The field experiment was conducted in 2017 and 2018 at two locations (Abaya and Bule hora) and varieties were planted in Randomized complete block design. Data were collected on yield and important agronomic traits. Analysis of variance computed for individual locations and combined analysis over locations revealed significant variations among varieties. Moreover, Varieties showed a grain yield as high as 1087.5kg/ha and 873.79kg/ha at Bule hora and Abaya respectively. Minjar variety is significantly high yielding variety at both locations with yield advantage of 26.13% and 52.07% over variety mean at Bule hora and Abaya respectively and therefore recommended for both locations and locations with similar agro ecologies.
... Moisture stress at flowering and seed setting is most common and reported to reduce seed the yield significantly. Consequently, terminal drought stress, which occurs during the reproductive phase of the crop is common and critical (Anbessa and Bejiga, 2002). ...
A field experiment was conducted at the Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Kalaburgi, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur to study the influence of foliar spray of thiourea, salicylic acid and homobrassinolide on crop growth and seed yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under moisture stress conditions in rabi 2018-19. The experiment consisted of sixteen treatment combinations (four moisture stress with four foliar sprays) which was laid out in 2 factor RBD. Among the different treatments imposed, two foliar spray of thiourea @ 1000 ppm under no moisture stress (control) during flowering (45 DAS) and seed setting 75 DAS recorded significantly higher plant height (42.0 and 49.0 cm), leaf area index (3.020 and 2.003), number of primary branches plant-1 (9.1 and 10.7), chlorophyll content (SPAD values 64.4 and 56.6), number of pods plant-1 (64.3), 100 seed weight (25.0 g), drought tolerant efficiency 100.0 %, seed yield plant-1 (18.9 g) and hectare-1 (27.2 q) compared to other treatments.
... While these cultivars can boost crop productivity under optimal conditions, it is less clear if they satisfy the diverse needs of rural farming communities, and they may not perform as expected under the marginal conditions faced by many smallholders [28,29]. Farmers' traditional varieties, or landraces, have been selected for specific agroecological niches and in some cases have been shown to better resist insect pests, diseases and climate shocks, as well as meet the nutritional and cultural needs of Ethiopia's diverse farming communities [30][31][32][33]. ...
Smallholders throughout sub-Saharan Africa produce legume crops as sources of food, fodder, and cash income, as well as to improve soil fertility. Ethiopian farmers have developed diverse legume varieties that enable adaptation to changing agroecological and sociocultural conditions. However, over the past several decades, as farm sizes declined and extension services promoted new varieties developed by plant breeders, changes in legume diversity have not been monitored. Based on interviews with smallholder farmers (n = 1296), we investigated the status of inter- and intraspecific legume diversity in major production areas of Ethiopia for five food legumes: common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), field pea (Pisum sativum L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). Legume species richness increased with altitude, relative household wealth, and land area planted to legumes. The highest numbers of varieties were found for common bean, followed by field pea, faba bean, groundnut and fenugreek. The average number of varieties planted per household was low (ranging from 1 to 2) and often much lower than the number reported in the same community or zone, which ranged from 2 to 18. For three out of the five species, the number of varieties significantly increased with total land area planted to legumes. Most varieties were rare, planted by less than 1/3 of farmers; however, informants accurately named varieties planted by others in the same community, demonstrating awareness of legume diversity at the community level. Given that the ability to plant multiple legume varieties is limited by land size, policies need to strengthen community-level conservation based on the diverse interests and needs of individual households.
... Ethiopia is considered as secondary center of genetic diversity for chickpea and the wild relative of cultivated chickpea (C. arietinum L.), is found in Tigray region ( Yadeta and Geletu, 2002;Dagne et al., 2018). In Ethiopia the area coverage and the volume of production of chickpea in 2017/2018 are 242703.73 ...
... Ethiopia is considered as a secondary center of genetic diversity for chickpea (Cicer arietinum), is found in Tigray region of Ethiopia (Yadeta and Geletu, 2002;Kanouni et al., 2011). Ethiopia shares 2% among the most chickpea producing countries next to India (64%), Turkey (8%) and Pakistan (7%) (ICRISAT, 2004). ...
AB S T RA C T In Ethiopia, chickpea is an important grain legume next to faba bean and common bean both in terms of area coverage and production. It is mainly grown as a source of food protein, income generation, and soil fertility restoration and used for animal feed. Quality seed production and associated technologies could be mentioned among the major challenges that limit chickpea production and productivity in Ethiopia. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the experiences and perception of farmers regarding chickpea seed quality. Two representative districts (Ada and Lume) were systematically selected from the major chickpea growing area. 84 seed producers were randomly selected from the districts and interviewed to gather information on perception and experience of chickpea seed production systems. The survey result indicated high adoption rate for improved chickpea varieties in the study areas. Arerti and Habru were among the dominant and widely grown chickpea varieties in the districts. Half of the farmers in the study area experienced that seed quality test are mandatory process in the seed production systems.In the study area, disease is as a major challenge for chickpea seed production so; the seed regulatory unit should consider future work associated to seed health.
... In 2014, 14.25 million of tons of chickpea grain was produced on about 14.8 million hectares across the world with an average productivity of 0.96 ton ha -1 (FAOSTAT, 2016). In Ethiopia, chickpea is mainly grown in the central, northern and eastern highland areas at an altitude of 1400-2800 m.a.s.l., with annual rainfall range of 700-2000 mm (Anbessa and Bejiga 2002). During the 2014/2015 cropping year, 1.08 million smallholder Ethiopian farmers produced 458,682 tons of chickpea on 239,755 ha of land with an average productivity of 1.913 tons ha -1 (CSA, 2015). ...
Th is study was conducted to determine the interaction between chickpea genotypes with the environment (GxE) on the yield stability and adaptability of desi type chickpea genotypes (Cicer arietinum L.). Seventeen chickpea genotypes were evaluated for two cropping years (2012/2013-2013/2014) at four locations i.e., eight environments (locations x years combination). Chickpea grain yield was significantly (p<0.01) affected by genotypes, the environments and GxE interaction, indicating that the varieties and the test environments were diverse. GxE was further partitioned by principal component axes. The first two principal components cumulatively explained 53.1% of the total variation, of which 32.7% and 20.4% were contributed by IPCA1 and IPCA2, respectively. This implies that the interaction of 17 chickpea genotypes with eight environments was predicted by the first two principal components. AMMI1 biplot analysis showed five adaptive categories of genotypes based on similarities in their performance across environments. The AMMI2 biplot generated using genotypes and environmental scores for the first two IPCAs revealed positioning of the five genotype groups (GC) into four sectors of the biplot. Among them, two genotypes in GC 5 (G5 and G11) exhibited high yields across environments, low IPCA1 scores, low AMMI stability value (ASV) and yield stability index (YSI). G5 was released as a new variety, 'Dimtu' and registered in the Official Varieties Catalogue of Ethiopia, 2016.
... Chickpea (CicerarietinumL.) is the world's second most important grain legumes after common bean (PhaseolusvulgarisL.) among food legumes grown for production worldwide [2]. Ethiopia is considered as secondary center of genetic diversity for chickpea and the wild relative of cultivated chickpea (CicerarietinumL.), is found in Tigray region of Ethiopia [13,6]. An average chickpea yield in Ethiopia on farmers field is usually below1t/ha although its potential is more than 5t/ha [4,8]. ...
Drought is a major abiotic stress that drastically reduces chickpea yields. The present study was aimed to identify drought-responsive traits in chickpea by screening a recombinant inbred line population derived from an inter-specifc cross between drought cultivar of GPF2 (C. arietinum L.) and drought sensitive accession of ILWC292 (C. reticulatum), at two locations in India. Twenty-one traits, including twelve morphological and physiological traits and nine root-related traits were measured under rainfed (drought-stress) and irrigated conditions (no-stress). High genotypic variation was observed among RILs for yield and root traits indicated that selection in these germplasms would
be useful in achieving genetic progress. Both correlation and principal component analysis revealed that plant height, number of pods per plant, biomass, 100-seed weight, harvest index, membrane permeability index, and relative leaf water content were significantly correlated with yield under both irrigated and drought stress environments. Root length had significant positive correlations with all root-related traits except root length density in drought-stressed plants. Path analysis and multiple and step wise regression analyses showed that number of pods per plant, biomass, and harvest index were major contributors to yield under drought stress conditions. Thus, a holistic approach across these analyses identified number of pods per plant, biomass, harvest index, and root length as key traits for improving chickpea yield through indirect selection for developing drought-tolerant cultivars. Overall, on the basis of yield components morphological and root traits, a total of 15 promising RILs were identified for their use in chickpea breeding programs for developing drought tolerant cultivars.
Water stress is one of the most important challenges that the plant faces. Regarding the importance of drought stress and its effect on plant yield, 12 oilseed sunflower genotypes under normal and drought stress conditions were evaluated in the year 2016. In conditions of normal and drought stress, genotypes of Progress and Sor had the highest grain yield potential respectively. 11 tolerance and stress susceptibility indices were calculated based on grain yield in non-stress and drought stress conditions. The MP, GMP, STI, Harm, YI and DI indices were used due to positive and significant correlation with grain yield under both normal and stress conditions for identification and selection of tolerant and sensitive drought stress genotypes. The first two components of the analysis of the main components of the studied indices and grain yield in both conditions justifies more than 99% of the variation. The coefficients of the analysis of the main components of the indices, the first component was named as the component of grain yield potential and drought stress tolerance and the second component as a component of drought stress susceptibility. Cluster analysis based on the values of first and second components derived from drought stress indices, classified genotypes into five independent groups. The genotypes used in this study showed high genetic diversity in drought stress. Finally, the Progress and Sor genotypes were the most tolerant and the Lakomka genotype was the most sensitive genotype for the end of season drought stress.
Evaluation of the genetic diversity and an understanding of the genetic structure and relationships of chickpea genotypes are valuable to design efficient germplasm conservation strategies and crop breeding programs. Information is limited, in these regards, for Ethiopian chickpea germplasms. Therefore, the present study was carried out to estimate the genetic diversity, population structure, and relationships of 152 chickpea genotypes using simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. Twenty three SSR markers exhibited polymorphism producing a total of 133 alleles, with a mean of 5.8 alleles per locus. Analyses utilizing various genetic-based statistics included pairwise population Nei’s genetic distance, heterozygosity, Shannon’s information index, polymorphic information content, and percent polymorphism. These analyses exemplified the existence of high genetic variation within and among chickpea genotypes. The 152 genotypes were divided into two major clusters based on Nei’s genetic distances. The exotic genotypes were grouped in one cluster exclusively showing that these genotypes are distinct to Ethiopian genotypes, while the patterns of clustering of Ethiopian chickpea genotypes based on their geographic region were not consistent because of the seed exchange across regions. Model-based population structure clustering identified two discrete populations. These finding provides useful insight for chickpea collections and ex-situ conservation and national breeding programs for widening the genetic base of chickpea.
The low organic matter, soil poor structure and extensive cropping pattern are the main characteristics of Pakistan's agriculture. In the current study the goals were set to sustain soil quality and productivity can only be achieved through sustainable management practices. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are important soil microbes enchant growth and yield of plants through direct and indirect mechanisms of root colonization or seed inoculations. Five bacterial strains isolated from rhizospheres of Chickpea (Cicer aritenum.L), Lentil (Lens culinaris) Barseem (Trifolium alexendrium), mungbean (Vigna radiate) and Sesame (Sesamum indicum) were morphologically and biochemically screened and identified. Field experiment was performed at the Arid Zone Research Center, Dera Ismail Khan (Pakistan). These five bacterial strains were used as augmentation material with chickpea seeds. The results showed that treated plots with inoculation of rhizobium strains showed highest shoot and root weights (37.66, 7.00 g). Maximum root length (50 cm) was found in treatment T14 (Rhizobium ciceri) along with organic amendments as compared to control treatment. In arid environment, the effect of rhizobial strains (PGPR) on chickpea showed that significantly increases the crop germination percentage. This combination thus increases the uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus in treated plots of rhizobacteria strains T14 treated chickpea crop. The research revealed that the use of inoculation treatments plots have significantly higher yield than non-treated. Treatment with Rhizobium ciceri along with compost, which showed higher grain yield (8 %) as compared to the control. Therefore, it may be recommended for the farmers to use organic manures along with mineral fertilizers, synthetically active organic products to sustain production and saving soil.
Twenty three entries of Faba Bean(Vicia faba) introduced from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in addition to local variety (French) were used in this study. The seeds of 24 genotypes were sown under rain-fed conditions during season of 2012, in the farmer farms in Al-Shikan at 40 km North of Mosul, Iraq. The experimental unit consisted of 2 rows ; 4m. long and 30 cm apart. The characters studied were number of days to 50 % flowering, plant height (cm), 1st height pod, number of branches, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, seed yield , biological yield , harvest index %, weight of hundred seed. Entries were significantly different at 1% level for all characters. There was a high genetic variation for biological yield (kg /ha) , seed yield (kg /ha), weight of hundred seed . The highest values of genetic variation coefficient were obtained for seed yield. Broad sense heritability was higher for for all the study characters, between 0.619 for 1st height pod to 0.849 for biological yield (kg /ha) . which is due to the high variability among these characters. The expected genetic advance values as percentage of the total mean characters were high for seed yield, biological yield, harvest index and number of branches/ plant, moderate for plant height, 1st height pod, number of seeds per pod and 100 seed weight and few for number of days to 50 % flowering . The phenotypic and genotypic correlation was positively significant between seed yield and biological yield (0.883 and 0.888) respectively , the genotypic correlation was higher than phenotypic correlation for most studied characters , which assures that the gene action plays the main role in these characters and enables the vegetables growers to depending on it in selecting the hereditary structure of high production from the faba bean. The genetic path coefficient analysis showed that the biological yield and harvest index %, had a higher direct and indirect effects through the weight of hundred seed in the seed yield arranged in the second level. This characters can be used in the programmer of plant breeding.
Key words : path coefficient analysis , genotypic correlation , expected genetic advance , fababeen
Twenty three entries of Faba Bean(Vicia faba) introduced from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in addition to local variety (French) were used in this study. The seeds of 24 genotypes were sown under rain-fed conditions during season of 2012, in the farmer farms in Al-Shikan at 40 km North of Mosul, Iraq. The experimental unit consisted of 2 rows ; 4m. long and 30 cm apart. The characters studied were number of days to 50 % flowering, plant height (cm), 1st height pod, number of branches, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, seed yield , biological yield , harvest index %, weight of hundred seed. Entries were significantly different at 1% level for all characters. There was a high genetic variation for biological yield (kg /ha) , seed yield (kg /ha), weight of hundred seed . The highest values of genetic variation coefficient were obtained for seed yield. Broad sense heritability was higher for for all the study characters, between 0.619 for 1st height pod to 0.849 for biological yield (kg /ha) . which is due to the high variability among these characters. The expected genetic advance values as percentage of the total mean characters were high for seed yield, biological yield, harvest index and number of branches/ plant, moderate for plant height, 1st height pod, number of seeds per pod and 100 seed weight and few for number of days to 50 % flowering . The phenotypic and genotypic correlation was positively significant between seed yield and biological yield (0.883 and 0.888) respectively , the genotypic correlation was higher than phenotypic correlation for most studied characters , which assures that the gene action plays the main role in these characters and enables the vegetables growers to depending on it in selecting the hereditary structure of high production from the faba bean. The genetic path coefficient analysis showed that the biological yield and harvest index %, had a higher direct and indirect effects through the weight of hundred seed in the seed yield arranged in the second level. This characters can be used in the programmer of plant breeding.
Key words : path coefficient analysis , genotypic correlation , expected genetic advance , fababeen
Chickpea is an important pulse crop, cultivated on about 18 Mha worldwide, and is both a critical diet component for large populations of semiarid tropical climate and one of the most beneficial crops for farming systems’ sustainable productivity. Chickpea originates from a fairly narrow centre of origin, that is, the middle East Anatolia, although it enjoys large variation in its wild ancestors. As a cultigen, it has adapted to extremely varied cropping systems, either as a winter crop in tropical environments to a spring crop in more temperate climates, requiring in each case adaptive traits such as photoperiod sensitivity, or tolerance to cold, or Aeschochyta blight. In this chapter, we outline opportunities to meet the main challenges of chickpea adaptation to stresses, including heat, drought, and salinity, to improve agronomic management, to develop new plant types towards harvest mechanisation, and to increase quality standards to cater for the renewed interest on nutrition.
Chickpea is a nutrition-rich, cropping-system friendly, climate-resilient, and low-cost production crop. It has large economic potential in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, where it currently accounts for only approximately half a million hectares of the approximately 12 million hectares of total chickpea production land worldwide. This review highlights the opportunities for promoting chickpea production and marketing to tap the vast economic potential in SSA. The region can potentially produce chickpea on approximately 10 million hectares, possibly doubling the global production, and the region could become one of the highest consumption geographies of this healthy crop. Chickpea could easily be integrated into existing cropping systems including rice-fallows and cereal monocropping systems. Successful cases studies of the crop in the region are highlighted. The region could tap into the potential at scale through intervention in the agricultural policy environment and development and promotion of improved chickpea production technologies supported by well-organized extension services and sustainable seed systems. These interventions could be complemented with value addition and product quality improvementsÍ for SSA chickpea to benefit from high-value markets.
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) production in Ethiopia is exclusively rainfed. The average national yield remains low comparing to the potentially attainable yield because of the common notion among producers that the crop does not need any nutrient inputs. The newly developed high-yielding cultivars have brought significant yield gains. However, their genetic potentials are still hampered by the traditional crop management practices used and the problematic Vertisol growing conditions. Yields of chickpea grown on Vertisols are limited by poor drainage when sown early and by drought when sown late. This calls for optimization of the balance with minimum tradeoffs in key economic traits. Here, we review research progress on chickpea over the past five decades in Ethiopia, with particular emphasis on crop management practices. The paper gives a comprehensive overview of research findings and information generated on the Vertisol cropping systems, where chickpea is the principal rotational crop under cereal-legume cultivation entailing substantial role in cropping system intensification. It has been noted that the productivity of Vertisol-grown chickpea is largely constrained more by lack of the use of best bet crop management practices than the genetics of a given cultivar. For instance, raised-bed method as compared to the conventional flatbed increased grain and biomass yields by about 74% and 58%, respectively. The current average farm yield of chickpea in Ethiopia is about 55% of the yield potential of the crop, suggesting that farmers can still have rooms to substantially increase yield using improved practices. Based on the cumulative evidences, it can be concluded that the yield potentials of genetically elite cultivars may not be realized without synergistic combination of improved management practices and adequate nutrient use. We, therefore, recommend the integrated use of improved crop management strategies, while the soil physical properties still deserve utmost research attention.
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important legume plant which is being affected by drought stress. Due to drought, chickpea production has been low in Ethiopia and other chickpea producing countries. Hence, the aim of this study was to reduce the impact of drought on chickpea plant by taking advantage of consortium effect of Mesorhizobium ciceri CP41 and Pseudomonas fluorescens Biotype G. Two chickpea varieties, Habru (drought tolerant) and Arerti (drought susceptible) were used to study the effect of the two bacterial consortia in moderating the effects of drought stress on some morphological, physiological and biochemical traits. The results showed that co-inoculation had significantly improved fresh and dry weight of leaves, root and shoot (p < 0.05) under stress condition. However, non-significant difference was noted on nodules number per plant between co-inoculated and Mesorhizobium spp. alone inoculated. Relative water content, proline, total soluble sugar, total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were significantly affected in both drought tolerant and susceptible varieties. The present study demonstrated that consortia application had a potential to confer drought tolerance in chickpea by altering various growth, physiological and biochemical parameters under drought stress condition.
ICC4958 (PI439824), released in 1992, was one of the most drought-resistant of more than 1500 diverse germplasm lines screened under field conditions at ICRISAT, Patancheru during 1979-83. It also exhibited high drought resistance at Aleppo, Syria. ICC4958 is a brown-seeded desi chickpea adapted to short duration (90-95 days), progressively increasing terminal drought environments such as those occurring in India. It is semi-spreading and has terminal branching habit. Branches are few (15 vs. 22 in Annigeri), but canopy height is similar to that of Annigeri. Flowering begins around 39 days after sowing, compared with 43 days in Annigeri, and the 2 genotypes mature in about 88 and 103 days, respectively. The 100-seed weight is 30 and 19 g for ICC4958 and Annigeri, respectively, and percentage of damaged pods caused by Helicoverpa armigera is 22.2 and 40.3%, respectively
Diverse landraces of wheat, collected from the semi-arid (150 to 250 mm of total annual rainfall) Northern Negev desert in Israel were considered as a potential genetic resource of drought resistance for wheat breeding. These materials were therefore evaluated for their reponses to drought stress in agronomical and physiological terms. Up to 68 landraces, comprising of Triticum durum, T. aestivum, and T. compactum were tested in two field drought environments, in one favourable field environment, under post-anthesis chemical plant desiccation which revealed the capacity for grain filling from mobilized stem reserves, under a controlled drought stress in a rainout shelter and in the growth chamber under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced water stress. Biomass, grain yield and its components, harvest index, plant phenology, canopy temperatures, kernel weight loss by chemical plant desiccation, growth reduction by PEG-induced drought stress and osmotic adjustment were evaluated in the various experiments.
Landraces varied significantly for all parameters of drought response as measured in the different experiments, which was in accordance to their documented large morphological diversity. Variation in grain yield among landraces under an increasing drought stress after tillering was largely affected by spike number per unit area. Kernel weight contributed very little to yield variation among landraces under stress, probably because these tall (average of 131 cm) landraces generally excelled in their capacity to support kernel growth by stem reserve mobilization under stress. Yield under stress was reduced with a longer growth duration of landraces only under early planting but not under late planting. Landraces were generally late flowering but they were still considered well adapted phenologically to their native region where they were always planted late.
Landraces differed significantly in canopy temperature under drought stress. Canopy temperature under stress in the rainout shelter was negatively correlated across landraces with grain yield (r=0.67**) and biomass (r=0.64**) under stress. Canopy temperature under stress in the rainout shelter was also positively correlated across landraces (r=0.50**) with canopy temperature in one stress field environment. Osmotic adjustment in PEG-stressed plants was negatively correlated (r=−0.60**) with percent growth reduction by PEG-induced water stress. It was not correlated with yield under stress in any of the experiments. In terms of yield under stress, canopy temperatures and stem reserve utilization for grain filling, the most drought resistant landrace was the ‘Juljuli’ population of T.durum.
Early (‘58M’) and late (‘90M’) isogenic lines of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) were grown in a root observation field installation at Temple, Texas in 1976, in order to study the effect of soil moisture and growth duration on root development and plant water-use.The installation consisted of soil-filled steel chambers equipped with a glass panel and installed in retaining structures in the ground. Each chamber was lifted out of the ground for weighing and measuring roots visible on the glass panel.In all chambers, soil was irrigated to field capacity prior to planting. Two soil moisture regimes were then imposed — an irrigated treatment, wherein irrigation was applied whenever soil moisture content was reduced to 50% of available soil water; and a stress treatment, wherein no irrigation was applied and plants grew on stored soil moisture.Transpiration was considerably less for the early than for the late genotype in relation to the respective leaf area of the two genotypes. Transpiration demand was met without apparent plant stress, as long as the soil moisture content of the total soil volume was greater than 20% of available soil water. Below 20% of available soil water, transpiration was controlled mainly by a reduction in leaf area through leaf senescence.Total cumulative root length per plant and root length density were larger and root length density per unit leaf area was smaller for the late than for the early genotype. Root length density per unit of green leaf area increased under conditions of soil moisture stress due mainly to the reduction in green leaf area.Root distribution along the soil profile was highly skewed (higher root concentration at shallow than at deep soil layers) with irrigation and more homogeneous without irrigation. Root growth at shallow soil layers was promoted by irrigation.Root mortality of approximately two-thirds of the total cumulative root length produced by heading was recorded. Root mortality was not only associated with total plant senescence, but with plant age and rooting depth.
The line-source sprinkler technique was used to compare moisture responses of a range of advanced chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) breeding lines grown on receding soil moisture. Experiments were conducted on a Vertisol soil in peninsular India during the 1985/86 and 1986/87 postrainy seasons. Lines tested displayed a linear response of both aerial biomass and grain yield to moisture applied. Thus use of only two moisture levels, with and without irrigation, would be sufficient to compare moisture responses of chickpea in this environment. Genotypic responses were evaluated on the basis of slopes and intercepts of line-source data. Lines previously identified as drought resistant showed greatest resistance in the present study. Most test lines from breeders had relatively low drought resistance, as indicated by low intercept and intermediate to high slope. This is consistent with the test lines having been selected under different levels of supplementary irrigation in different generations. It is suggested that development of substantially improved drought resistance in this environment will require rigorous selection pressure under a given drought environment. A breeding program under natural receding soil moisture conditions in this environment is feasible because the pattern of receding soil moisture is, or can be made, similar across seasons, thus minimizing environmental variability in relation to genotypic variability.
The question of choice of selection criterion when lines are grown in stress and non‐stress environments is examined from a theoretical standpoint in this paper. Tolerance to stress is defined as the difference in yield between stress and non‐stress environments, while mean productivity is the average yield in stress and non‐stress environments. Equations are developed for the genetic correlations of tolerance and mean productivity with one another and with yields in stress and non‐stress environments in terms of the ratio of genetic variances and the genetic correlations between yields in stress and non‐stress environments. These equations show that selection for tolerance to stress will generally result in a reduced mean yield in non‐stress environments and a decrease in mean productivity. Selection for mean productivity will generally increase mean yields in both stress and non‐stress environments. Tolerance and mean productivity show negative genetic correlations whent he genetic variance in stress environmentsi s less than the genetic variance in non‐stress environments. This result provides an explanation for the positive correlations often reported between regression coefficient stability and mean productivity; a line with high tolerance to stress normally would have a low regression coefficient stability and genetic variances in stress environments are generally lower than in non‐stress enviornments.
This paper reviews some of the more recent findings on metabolic and physiological aspects of plant—water relations within the context of the topic of this symposium. Examined first are some of the physiological bases for differences among species in water-use efficiency and drought resistance, with special attention given to CO2 assimilation and transpiration. This is followed by a summary of important known plant responses to water deficits, mainly at the cellular level, and with some emphasis placed on growth as affected by changes in turgor pressure. Possible physicochemical mechanisms underlying these responses are also briefly discussed. The final section speculates on what several of these responses to water deficits may mean in terms of yield for some simple cases. Aspects considered include leaf area development, dry matter accumulation, and the growth of roots relative to that of leaves.
Yield trials of advanced lines of pearl millet were grown under midseason (panicle initiation to flowering) and terminal (flowering to maturity) drought stresses in the dry seasons of 1981, 1982, and 1983. Grain yield and its components were severely reduced by the terminal stress, but were little affected by the midseason drought, as there was compensation by later tillers for yield lost on the earlier shoots. The major factor determining grain yield of a genotype in both stress treatments was its time to flowering. Because of this, yield-yield component relationships under stress were a result of yield component-phenology relationships. Yield potential (measured in an irrigated treatment in the same field) was generally positively related to yield under stress, but accounted for a much smaller fraction of yield variation than time to flowering. These two factors together accounted for more than 50% of the total variation in grain yield under stress, suggesting that genotype drought response (drought resistance/susceptibility) was a secondary rather than a primary factor in differences in yield under stress among the genotypes tested.
Drought during the late vegetative and reproductive stages of development i the major constraint to the productivity of spring-sown chickpea in the rainfed farming systems of West Asia and North Africa. This paper examines the contribution of crop traits to yield under drought and determines the relative contributions of drought escape, yield potential and a drought response index (DRI) to such yield.In years with mild drought (1986/87 and 1987/88), high biomass, high yield potential and high harvest index were highly correlated with grain yield. During the severe drought of 1988/89, early flowering and low straw yield, high harvest index, yield potential, pod and seed number and seed mass were correlated with rainfed grain yield.Differences among chickpea cultivars in rainfed (drought) yield were partitioned into drought escape, yield potential and DRI. Drought escape accounted for 41% in 1986/87, 37% in 1987/88 and 69% in 1988/89; yield potential accounted for 47%, 37% and 1%, respectively; and DRI accounted for 4%, 17% and 17% of the variations, respectively. The three factors combined explained an average of 90% of the variability in grain yield. The DRI was used to quantify tolerance or susceptibility of a cultivar independently of drought escape (early flowering) and yield potential. Of the traits which were significantly associated with drought yield, high harvest index, large number of pod and high seed mass were associated with drought escape (early flowering), while deep root system, high leaf water potential at dawn and large number of seeds were associated with drought tolerance (DRI).
I have focused on examples of plant adaptations to environmental conditions that range from adjustments in the allocation of metabolic resources and modification of structural components to entirely separate mechanisms. The result of these modifications is more efficient performance under the stresses typically encountered in the plants' native habitats. Such adaptations, for reasons which are not entirely clear, often lead to poorer performance in other environmental conditions. This situation may be a fundamental basis for the tendency toward specialization among plants native to specific niches or habitats. The evolutionary mechanisms that have resulted in these specializations are very large-scale processes. It seems reasonable to suppose that the plants native to particular habitats are relatively efficient in terms of the limitations imposed by those habitats, and that the adaptive mechanisms these plants possess are, compared to those which have evolved in competing organisms, the most successful biological means of coping with the environmental stresses encountered.
I believe that we can learn from nature and utilize the adaptive mechanisms of these plants in agriculture to replace in part our present reliance on resources and energy to modify the environment for plant growth. By analogy with natural systems, improved resource utilization will require specialization and greater knowledge of the limitations of a particular environment and plant genotype. For example, the cultural conditions, plant architecture, and physiological responses necessary to achieve high water use efficiency from our crop species with C 4 photosynthesis probably differ from those required to achieve maximum total growth. Also, efforts to control water application to eliminate waste carry with them the risk that the crop could be injured by inadequate water. Thus, greater demands would be placed on the crop physiologist, the plant breeder, and the farmer. Planting and appropriate management of adapted crop genotypes could enable cultivation of many areas presently considered unusable because of environmental extremes or shortage of resources, and may lead to more efficient resource utilization on land already under cultivation. The costs or benefits of this cannot yet be estimated. However, I suspect that the greatest potential for application of such techniques will be in the developing rather than the developed regions of the world.
The genetic and functional diversity of plants is a tremendous biological resource. The capacity of plants to adjust in the future to changing environmental conditions depends on this diversity and on evolutionary processes of nature. Wild plants may provide a source of genetic material to improve crop plants. Also, as advocated by McKell, wild plants can be utilized to a greater extent directly by man. Long-term research efforts and commitment to preserve natural habitats and their populations of wild plants will be required to maintain and more effectively utilize this resource.
Genetic resources in Ethiopia Cool-Season Food Legumes of Ethiopia
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suggestion and comments. The technical assistants of Genotypic variation in moisture response of chickpea grown Mr. Ketema Alemu and Mr. Tadele T / Haimanot are under line-source sprinklers in a semi-arid tropical environment. also highly acknowledged
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ricultural Research Center, Ethiopia for their valuable Johansen C., Krishnamurthy L., Saxena N.P. and Sethi S.C. 1994. suggestion and comments. The technical assistants of Genotypic variation in moisture response of chickpea grown Mr. Ketema Alemu and Mr. Tadele T / Haimanot are under line-source sprinklers in a semi-arid tropical environment. also highly acknowledged. Field Crops Res. 37: 13–112.
Chickpea in Ethiopia Adaptation of Chickpea in theWest Asia and North Africa Region
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