Characterization of Morphological Traits and Diversity Assessment of Desi Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Lines

Author: Sunny Thakur*, Garima Mishra, Surbhi Pachori and Anita Babbar

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Abstract

The experiment was conducted in the rabi season of 2019-20 with the objective of morphological characterization and diversity estimation of 55 desi chickpea lines. Visual assessment of 19 phenotypic traits listed in DUS guidelines was performed. Seven traits were monomorphic, six were dimorphic, four were trimorphic and one (seed size) was polymorphic. Stem height at the initiation of the first flower, plant growth habit, and plant height showed considerable variation. Shannon’s diversity indices were estimated using Microsoft excel. The index ranged from 0 to 1.420, with a mean value of 0.428. The highest value was obtained for seed size(g). Based on the current results, genotypes ICCV 181603, ICCV 191606, JG24 may be used as parents to develop tall, semi-erect and bold seeded varieties suitable for mechanical harvesting. These findings showcase wide morphological variation among the lines and their potential utilization in varietal identification, germplasm characterization and cro

Keywords

Chickpea, DUS, Morphological Characterization, Shannon’s Diversity Index, Diversity.

Conclusion

The results of the morphological characterization based on the DUS guidelines and diversity estimates obtained using Shannon’s diversity index (H) aided in the effective classification of the genotypes. Based on this study, a high amount of diversity is present in the germplasm for traits such as seed size, pod size, leaf size, number of seeds per pod and seed shape. Seed size and seed shapes are desirable market and consumer traits. Genotypes with such morphology can be selected as a donor in the crossing programme after establishing the stability and heritability of the traits. Similarly, genotypes with erect and semi-spreading growth habit with having tall plant height and the first fruiting node above 25 cm can be utilized to develop plant types suitable for mechanical harvesting.

References

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How to cite this article

Sunny Thakur, Garima Mishra, Surbhi Pachori and Anita Babbar (2022). Characterization of Morphological Traits and Diversity Assessment of Desi Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Lines. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(1): 481-486.