Antioxidant status and their enhancements strategies for water stress tolerance in chickpea

Water stress executes severe influences on the plant growth and development through modifying physio-chemical properties. Therefore, a field experiment was designed to evaluate the antioxidant status and their enhancements strategies for water stress tolerance in chickpea on loam and clay loam soils under agro-ecological conditions of Arid Zone Research Institute, Bahawalpur (29.3871 °N, 71.653 °E) and Cholistan farm near Derawer (28.19°N, 71.80°E) of Southern Punjab, Pakistan during winter 2014-15. Experimental treatments comprised of two chickpea cultivars i.e. Bhakhar 2011 (drought tolerant) and DUSHT (drought sensitive), two water stress levels i.e. water stress at flowering stage and water stress at flowering + pod formation + grain filling stage including well watered (control) and two exogenous application of osmoprotectants i.e. glycine betaine (GB) 20 ppm and proline 10 uM including distilled water (control). Results indicated that water stress at various growth stages adversely affects the growth, yield and quality attributes of both chickpea cultivars. Exogenous application of GB and proline improved the growth, yield and quality parameters of both chickpea cultivars even under water stress conditions. However, superior results were obtained with exogenously applied GB on Bhakhar 2011 under well-watered conditions. Similarly, foliar spray of GB on chickpea cultivar Bhakhar 2011 under stress at flowering + pod formation + grain filling stage produced maximum superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase contents. These results suggested that application of GB mitigates the adverse effects of water stress and enhanced tolerance in chickpea mainly due to higher antioxidant enzymes activity, demonstrating the protective measures of plant cells in stress condition. Hence, antioxidants status might be a suitable method for illustrating water stress tolerance in chickpea.

Albinism in F1 Hybrids Hinders Geneflow Between Cultivated Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and the Tertiary Gene Pool Species, Cicer Pinnatifidum

Wild Cicer species, especially those in the tertiary gene pool, carry useful alleles for chickpea improvement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the crossability and geneflow between three chickpea cultivars (as female parents) and four cross-incompatible Cicer pinnatifidum accessions (as pollen parents) from the tertiary gene pool. Ten crosses were conducted. One fully developed healthy F1 seed was harvested in vivo from the ICC 4958 × ICC 17269 cross, but the seedling developed an albino phenotype at 4–5 days after germination. Unlike other crosses, those involving the cultivar ICCV 96030 generated a large number of pods with comparatively large ovules. One albino plantlet was obtained from the ICCV 96030 × ICC 17269 cross by embryo rescue. Crosses involving ICCV 10 resulted in flower drop and poor pod set. These variable genotype-specific responses of pod, ovule, and seed development indicate that genetic factors affect the formation of interspecific hybrids. Although pod and seed formation in these interspecific crosses can be improved, geneflow between these materials is hindered by a strong genetic factor conferring albinism in the F1 hybrids.

Identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris Physiological Races in Chickpea Cultivated Areas in Al-Ghab Region, Syria

Alloush, L., S. Al-Maghribi and B. Barhom. 2021. Identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris Physiological Races in Chickpea Cultivated Areas in Al-Ghab Region, Syria. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 39(4): 231-240. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-39.4.231240 Fusarium wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris is one of the diseases that cause significant economic losses to the chickpea crop around the world, as infection with FOC can occurs during the different stages of plant growth. One of the best approaches to reduce the damage caused by FOC is by using resistant chickpea varieties. Hence, this study aimed to determine the physiological races of 25 FOC isolates collected from 20 agricultural sites belonging to six regulatory zones in the Al-Ghab region in Syria, based on their pathogenicity on 13 differential chickpea cultivars (C-104, JG -74, CPS-1, BG-215, BG-212, WR-315, Anniger, Chaffa, ILC482, L-550, K850-3/27, UC-27). The study was carried out during 2020 at the Agricultural Scientific Research Center in Al-Ghab. The results obtained showed that the tested isolates belong to races 0, 1B/C, 2, 3, 5, and 6. This is the first report of races 2 and 3 in Syria, and each of them constituted 28% of the total tested isolates, whereas 24% of the isolates were represented by race 0, and both races 5 and 1B/C occurred at 8% frequency, and race 6 included one isolate obtained from Abu Faraj site. Keywords: Chickpea, vascular wilt, physiological races, pathogenicity, Al-Ghab, Syria

Bazı Tescilli Nohut Çeşitlerinin Elek Analiz Değerleri

Chickpea is consumed after passing through different processes both in fresh and dry forms. Consumers generally prefer large kernels and a kernel size of below 6 mm is not preferred. In the present study, grain size fractions (above 9, 8, 7, 6 mm sieves and below 6 mm sieve) of different chickpea cultivars were determined. Experiments were conducted in randomized blocks design with 3 replications over the experimental fields of the Agricultural Research and Implementation Center of Erciyes University in 2018 and 2019 vegetation seasons without the use of chemical and organic fertilizers. In present experiments, 27 chickpea cultivars registered in Turkey between the years 1991 – 2013 were used. In both years, the greatest size ratios (41.21% in the first year and 35.41% in the second year) were observed for the 8 mm sieve and the second for the 7 mm sieve.

Effects of host plant resistance and fungicide applications on Ascochyta blight symptomology and yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Ascochyta blight (AB), caused by the pathogen Ascochyta rabiei, is a major threat to chickpea production worldwide causing major yield losses and decreasing quality. Control of AB requires integrating pest management options including resistant cultivars and fungicide applications. To address this, fungicides with different modes of action were evaluated on three chickpea cultivars with differing levels of susceptibility to AB under irrigated and dryland conditions in 2015 to 2017. The fungicides were applied once or twice and compared to a no fungicide application control on AB score and yield. The mean grain yields across locations and years were 1753, 1283 and 981 kg/ha, with a corresponding AB mean score of 2.6, 3.2, and 3.3 on 0 to 7 scale (where 0 is no disease and 7 is completely dead) for the moderately resistant, moderately susceptible, and susceptible chickpea cultivars, respectively. Fungicide application was not enough to control disease throughout the season. The use of AB resistant cultivars had the most significant impact on minimizing the disease and maximizing yield, irrespective of year and location. This study supports previous research indicating that planting AB resistant chickpea cultivars is essential for disease control, regardless of the fungicides applied.

Influence of Salt Stress on Seed Germination and Agro-morphological Traits in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Background: The experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, An-Najah National University, Palestine under growth chamber and greenhouse conditions. Methods: To study the effect of NaCl on germination, fifty seeds in each treatment for each cultivar were germinated on a filter paper in petri dishes moistened with the different NaCl concentration levels (0.0, 50 and 100 mM ). To study the effect of NaCl on plant growth and productivity, 2 seeds per variety were grown in 10 liter pots filled with peat moss-sand. Pots were irrigated with the different NaCl levels. Result: The tested Chickpea cultivars showed different tolerance levels in response to NaCl stress levels. NaCl reduced final germination percentage (FGP) and germination index (GI). The highest plant height was obtained by Einalbeda (38.63 cm) in the control group, while the lowest one was found in Arij (28.25 cm) under 100 mM NaCl. NaCl did not affect root/shoot ratio in all genotypes. Reduction in fresh weight ranged between 25.6 and 74.2% under 50 and 100 mM NaCl.

DETERMINATION OF SUITABLE WINTER CHICKPEA (CICER ARIETINUM L.) CULTIVARS UNDER KAHRAMANMARAŞ CONDITIONS

This study was conducted with the chickpea cultivars of Işık-05, Azkan, Sarı 98, Hisar, Çakır, Aydın 92, Yaşa-05, Menemen 92, Cevdetbey, Çağatay, Aksu and two local cultivars over the experimental fields of Kahramanmaraş Eastern Mediterranean Transitional Zone Agricultural Research of Institute in 2014-2015 cropping years. Experiments were conducted in randomized blocks design with 3 replications. Quality traits of plant height, the first pod height, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, number of kernels per plant, kernel weight per plant, kernel yield, 100-kernel weights were investigated. The differences in plant height, the first pod height, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, number of kernels per plant, kernel weight per plant, kernel yield and 100-kernel weight of the genotypes were found to be significant. Kernel yields of the genotypes varied between 425.40 - 267.93 kg da-1 with the greatest value from Çakır cultivar and the lowest value from Hisar cultivar.

Potential of cold plasma to control Callosobruchus chinensis (Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) in chickpea cultivars during four year storage

Cold plasma has proven itself as a promising method of food preservation by controlling food spoilage bacteria at very low temperatures. It is showing potential for insect control. Synthetic pesticides are mostly used to control Callosobruchus chinensis L. (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera) to which it has developed resistance. The prospective potential of cold plasma treatment to control pulse beetle infestation of chickpea in the storage for about four years of plasma treatment was studied. The four chickpea cultivars were treated with cold plasma at different power 40, 50, and 60 W each for 10, 15, 20 min. Plasma treated and untreated chickpeas were stored in an airtight ziplock pouch. At regular intervals, the grains were observed for infestation. It was found most effective in controlling the pulse beetle infestation of treated chickpea samples. While plasma untreated chickpeas were attacked and damaged mostly by pulse beetle within the first quarter of the storage study. To avoid the problems created by the use of pesticides cold plasma treatment is found to be the best alternative in the protection of chickpea invasion by pulse beetle during a longer storage period. The findings in the present research may be used for the preparation of legumes which may also soak and cook faster like quick-cooking legumes and preserved for years without invasion of pulse beetle.