​Effect of Nutrients on Wilt in Chickpea

Background: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) contributes 18% of the global production of grain legume and serves as an important source of dietary protein. Fusarium wilt, caused by soil borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri appears to be the most devastating diseases of chickpea throughout the world. It is one of the important limiting factors of chickpea production in India. The disease causes substantial yield losses which may reach even 100 per cent under favorable weather conditions. Methods: Pot culture experiments were conducted at Rajasthan Agricultural Research Institute, Durgapura, Jaipur during rabi 2014-15 and 2015-16 to study the effect of nutrients on wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (Padwick) in chickpea (Cicer arirtinum). In the first experiment, the treatments comprised of four nitrogen levels-viz. 0, 15, 20 and 25 kg/ha and four phosphorus levels- viz. 0, 30, 40 and 50 kg/ha tried in sixteen treatment combinations. Surface sterilized seeds of chickpea cultivar L-550 were sown in each pot. After sowing, 400 ml water was supplied to each pot; there after watering was done at an interval of 6 days. In second experiment, the treatments comprised of 7 micronutrients viz. zinc, manganese, calcium, copper, cobalt, iron and nickel used at the rate of 10mg/kg of soil. Chickpea cultivar L-550 was used as a test crop. Result: Disease incidence was recorded periodically commencing 15 days after sowing and was continued up to 55 days after sowing. Levels of nitrogen application had increased wilt incidence successively in both the years. Whereas, a reverse trend was observed with the application of phosphorus, incidence of wilt was decreased with increasing levels of phosphorus. Application of zinc and calcium reduced the wilt incidence significantly over check. Zinc was found to be most effective in minimizing the disease incidence.

Antinutritional and Protein Based Profiling of Diverse Desi and Wild Chickpea Accessions

Background: To design future breeding programs, biochemical analysis is fundamental. Chickpea is a major protein source in India and worldwide. More than 3000 chickpea seed accessions are being maintained by Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur which demand biochemical analysis. Methods: Present study pertains multivariate analysis based on antinutritional content and their protein profile of 20 accessions of Cicer that included cultivated desi and wild. Results: The spectrum of biochemical characteristics was documented; for lectin ranged 192.19 HU/mg to 12.26 HU/mg and total proteins varied from 2.66-0.59 mg/g. SDS-PAGE appraised various bands in a molecular weight range of 3.5 to 125 kDa acknowledging genetic diversity. On the basis of present study, accession selection for future breeding programs to develop nutritionally elite chickpea cultivar can be executed.

Biology and Morphometrics of Pulse Beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) on Chickpea

The biology and morphometrics of pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis were studied on chickpea cultivar ICCV 2 under laboratory conditions at ICRISAT, Patancheru, Telangana, India during 2018-19 and 2019-2020. The experiments were carried out in the BOD incubator at temperature of 28 ± 2ºC and relative humidity of 65 to 70%. The life cycle of C. chinensis included four stages egg, grub, pupae and adult. The data revealed that eggs incubation period in 4-5 days, the grub stage consisted of four instars and its development ranged from 20-25 days, pupation lasted for 6-7 days, whereas, female adult longevity ranged from 9-12 days. The morphometric measurements revealed that the average length and breadth of eggs were 0.62 ± 0.03mm and 0.34 ± 0.02 mm respectively. The length and breadth (mm) of four grub instars G1, G2, G3 and G4 were 0.58 ± 0.02 and 0.30 ± 0.01, 1.53 ± 0.06 and 0.92 ± 0.04, 2.71 ± 0.10 and 1.47 ± 0.06, 3.59 ± 0.14 and 1.96 ± 0.08 respectively. The average length and breadth of pupa were 3.72 ± 0.12 mm, 2.15 ± 0.09 mm. Whereas, the length and breadth (mm) of adult male and female bruchids were 3.87 ± 0.08, 2.07 ± 0.05 and 4.23 ± 0.14, 2.31 ± 0.07 respectively. The total life cycle of C. chinensis ranged from 33-42 days.

Phylogeography and Symbiotic Effectiveness of Rhizobia Nodulating Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Ethiopia

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) used to be considered a restrictive host that nodulated and fixed nitrogen only with Mesorhizobium ciceri and M. mediterraneum. Recent analysis revealed that chickpea can also establish effective symbioses with strains of several other Mesorhizobium species such as M. loti, M. haukuii, M. amorphae, M. muleiense, etc. These strains vary in their nitrogen fixation potential inviting further exploration. We characterized newly collected mesorhizobial strains isolated from various locations in Ethiopia to evaluate genetic diversity, biogeographic structure and symbiotic effectiveness. Symbiotic effectiveness was evaluated in Leonard Jars using a locally released chickpea cultivar “Nattoli”. Most of the new isolates belonged to a clade related to M. plurifarium, with very few sequence differences, while the total collection of strains contained three additional mesorhizobial genospecies associated with M. ciceri, M. abyssinicae and an unidentified Mesorhizobium species isolated from a wild host in Eritrea. The four genospecies identified represented a subset of the eight major Mesorhizobium clades recently reported for Ethiopia based on metagenomic data. All Ethiopian strains had nearly identical symbiotic genes that grouped them in a single cluster with M. ciceri, M. mediterraneum and M. muleiense, but not with M. plurifarium. Some phylogeographic structure was observed, with elevation and geography explaining some of the genetic differences among strains, but the relation between genetic identity and symbiotic effectiveness was observed to be weak.

DNA methylation reprogramming during seed development and its functional relevance in seed size/weight determination in chickpea

Seed development is orchestrated via complex gene regulatory networks and pathways. Epigenetic factors may also govern seed development and seed size/weight. Here, we analyzed DNA methylation in a large-seeded chickpea cultivar (JGK 3) during seed development stages. Progressive gain of CHH context DNA methylation in transposable elements (TEs) and higher frequency of small RNAs in hypermethylated TEs during seed development suggested a role of the RNA-dependent DNA methylation pathway. Frequency of intragenic TEs was higher in CHH context differentially methylated region (DMR) associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs). CG context hyper/hypomethylation within the gene body was observed for most of DMR-associated DEGs in JGK 3 as compared to small-seeded chickpea cultivar (Himchana 1). We identified candidate genes involved in seed size/weight determination exhibiting CG context hypermethylation within the gene body and higher expression in JGK 3. This study provides insights into the role of DNA methylation in seed development and seed size/weight determination in chickpea.

Changes in productivity and yield components in four field crops sown on damaged by frost crops of winter oilseed canola

During 2016 - 2018 was conducted a field experiment. On areas with damaged by frost winter oilseed canola, were sowed and 4 field crops: 1 chickpea cultivar - Kabule (Cicer arietinum L.); 1 forage pea cultivar - Mir (Pisum sativum L.); 1 milk thistle cultivar - Silmar (Silybum marianum Gaertn.); 1 coriander cultivar - Lozen (Coriandrum sativum L.). The same variants were planted on areas under conventional soil cultivation for each of these crops. After plowing of canola crops, it is more appropriate to sow chickpea in which weed control is carried out by soil treatment with herbicide Merlin flex, followed by foliar treatment with herbicide tank mixture Challenge + Shadow. After plowing areas with damaged by frost winter oilseed canola without any problems can be sown forage pea. Milk thistle and coriander are suitable crops for sowing on areas after damaged by frost winter oilseed canola. The differences in productivities and yield components of chickpea, forage pea, milk thistle and coriander, sown on damaged by frost areas of winter oilseed canola and in normal sowing, are small and mathematically unproven.

Development of the main elements of the crop structure of pea and chickpea at different rates and methods of seeding under the conditions of the steppe Crimea

In this article, we present research results on studying the effect of rates and methods of seeding on the seed productivity of new cultivars of pea (Pisum sativum L .) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. ) under conditions of the Crimea. The field trials were conducted during the period 2016-2018. Studies have shown that the optimum seeding rate for the pea cultivar Pharaoh (leafless morphotype) was 1.2-1.4 million pieces per hectare. The best seeding rate for the chickpea cultivar Zolotoy Yubiley both under closely spaced rows (15cm) and wide-row sowing with the 45 cm row-width spacing was 400 thousand seeds per hectare, and under wide-row sowing with the 60 cm row-width spacing was 200 thousand seeds/ha. For the cultivation chickpea Zolotoy Yubiley, the most productive was the wide-row sowing with the 45 cm row-width spacing because the yield, in this case, was 1.23 t/ha.

Chickpea Cultivar Selection to Produce Aquafaba with Superior Emulsion Properties

Aquafaba (AQ), a viscous by-product solution produced during cooking chickpea or other legumes in water, is increasingly being used as an egg replacement due to its ability to form foams and emulsions. The objectives of our work were to select a chickpea cultivar that produces AQ with superior emulsion properties, and to investigate the impact of chickpea seed physicochemical properties and hydration kinetics on the properties of AQ-based emulsions. AQ from a Kabuli type chickpea cultivar (CDC Leader) had the greatest emulsion capacity (1.10 ± 0.04 m2/g) and stability (71.9 ± 0.8%). There were no correlations observed between AQ emulsion properties and chickpea seed proximate compositions. Meanwhile, AQ emulsion properties were negatively correlated with AQ yield and moisture content, indicating that AQ with higher dry-matter content displayed better emulsion properties. In conclusion, the emulsification properties of aquafaba are greatly influenced by the chickpea genotype, and AQ from the CDC Leader chickpea produced the most stable food oil emulsions.