This document summarizes research efforts to improve chickpea productivity in India. It discusses: 1) Current chickpea production statistics and constraints facing different growing regions. 2) Achievements in developing stress tolerant and high yielding varieties. 3) Ongoing research priorities including abiotic/biotic stress resistance, genetic enhancement, and marker-assisted breeding. 4) Efforts to involve farmers and ensure adoption of new varieties through seed production.

1. TL III Program Improvement Plan-
Chickpea in India
Sushil K Chaturvedi and B.B. Singh

2. Chickpea in India
Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/pmreleases.aspx?mincode=27
* Third estimates (chickpea share is 43.84%) released on 9th May 2016
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Yield (kg/ha) Area (m ha) (Production (M t)
*Pulses: 17.06 m t, *Chickpea: 7.48 m t

3. Chickpea in contrasting agro-climatic zones
Zone Trait Stress Yield limiting constraints
North Excessive
biomass
Temperature
extremities
130-170 days crop duration,
fog & frost, temperature
extremities, flower drop, poor
sunlight
South Less
biomass
Terminal drought 85-100 days crop duration,,
harsh post-anthesis period
Central Less
biomass
Terminal drought
& heat
110-125 days crop duration,
harsh post-anthesis period,
frost, drought and heat stress

4. Productivity Constraints
• Climate change- vulnerability of varieties to fluctuating
temperatures, intermittent drought and heavy downpours
• Narrow genetic base - vulnerability to stresses
• Declining TFP in irrigated areas dominated by cereal-cereal cropping
system Emerging diseases, insect pests and weeds posing serious
threat (minor ones are becoming major)
• Regional shifts cooler to warmer regions
• Emerging pests
• Problematic soils, and high/low soil moisture at seeding

5. IIPR, Kanpur
Head Quarter

6. Achievements
>71 varieties in seed chain
• Diseases resistant : Fusarium wilt and Ascochyta blight
• Drought tolerant: Rainfed conditions
• Heat tolerant : Delayed sowing
• Salinity tolerance
• Lodging tolerance

7. Farmers’ preferred traits
Extra-large seeded kabuli
• MNK 1, Phule G 0517 , PKV 4-1
Large seeds kabuli
• IPCK 2002-29, ICK 2004-29, KAK 2
Short duration
• JG 14, JSC 55, JSC 56, IPC 2006-77
Mechanical harvesting
• NBeG 47
• GBM 2
Green seeds
• RSG 992, sadabahar

8. Research Priorities
• Germplasm enhancement- Prebreeding
• Resistance breeding- Multiple adversities resistance
• Varieties with farmers’ preferred traits- seed size & intercropping
• Improving nutrient use efficiency- ‘P’ acquisition efficiency
• Reducing cost of cultivation- Machine harvestable varieties &
- Herbicide tolerance
• Trait identification- Immature green chickpea grain, nutrients rich
grains, milling quality, etc.
• Ensuring genetic purity : Variety specific diagnostic markers

9. Genetic Resources Maintained at IIPR
Crop Germplasm Acc. Wild Wild sps. Landraces
Chickpea 4730 123 6 188
>18000 acc. maintained in different gene banks

10. Value addition to PGR
• PGR conservation: NBPGR, ICRISAT, ICARDA
• Identification of donors – NARS, ICRISAT, ICARDA
• Utilization by NARS
Precise phenotyping of genetic
resources (core or mini-core
sets) including wild relatives &
primitive landraces to indentify
donors

11. PGR- reservoir of useful genes
 198 land races and 120 accessions of 6 wild Cicer
species were characterized .
 3003 germplasm accessions maintained for further
utilization.

12. Pre-breeding efforts using primitive landraces
& wild Cicer species
Screening against
•Abiotic stresses (heat, cold & soil moisture stress)
•Biotic stresses (diseases: BGM , AB)
Reservoir of useful genes-
can help in alleviating tolerance
against abiotic stresses

13. Pre-breeding for broadening genetic base
Interspecific crosses made using
• ILWC 179 & ILWC 245 (C. echinospermum)
• ILWC 212, EC 556270, ILWC 237 (C. reticulatum)
Several crosses using landraces were made :
• ILC 3512,
• ILC 3518
• ILC 3279 Variability released for
• Seed per pod: 2-3 seeds
• Profuse primary branches: 8-10
• Profuse secondary branches: 17-23
• Plant height >90 cm.
• Lodging tolerance
• Heat tolerance

14. ILC 115: Heat tolerant >350C temperature)
• 71 acc. of wild Cicer sps screened against heat stress
• ILC 115, EC 556270 and ILWC 21 : Heat tolerant
• Pollen germination & pollen tube growth observed at
>350C temperature
• Similar genotypic variations observed for membrane stability
Phenotyping against heat stress

15. Genotype
Yield (kg/ha)
100 seed
wt. (g)
Pant G 186 1611 16.3
BG 372 1488 15.5
KPG 59 1429 17.8
IPC 2010-62 1719 25.7
IPC 2006-77 1817 16.3
Improving Heat Tolerance
(over 3 years; 7/11 locations)

16. Phenotyping for Herbicide Tolerance
Tolerant: ICC 1161, ICC 1205, ICC 13816, IPC 2008-29, IPC 2006-
134, ICC 1710, ICC 2629, GL1006 , ICCV 08102, IPC 2010-56 & IPC
2010-173
ICC 5484: most sensitive and showed leaf
burning within 7 days of herbicide
application
Two mapping populations are being developed
Transcriptome analysis performed- communicated

17. Restructuring traditional plant types
• Resource conservation
• High population density
• Mechanical harvesting
Plant type (tall : >60 cm. , Growth: Erect/semi-erect), Profuse
primary branches of equal height, medium large leaflets, podding
above 20-25 cm from the base, and >550 angle for branches

18. Reduction in plant biomass due to low P availability in soil varied
from less than 10 to 80% among the genotypes.
Better P use efficiency was observed in BG 256, IPC 2010-167 and
lowest in IPC 2005-44 followed by JG 16.
This indicates presence of genetic variations for P use efficiency.
0.0
50.0
100.0
150.0
200.0
250.0
300.0
350.0
400.0
IPC2005-44 JG-16 IPC 2010-152 BG 256 IIPC 2010-
167
172.71
241.55
284.09
364.96
384.62
P-useefficiency(gshoot/
gPuptake)
Chickpea Varieties
Phosphorus Acquisition Efficiency

19. Emerging Diseases
Rust (Uromyces ciceris-arietini),
is emerging as one the
important disease under late
sown conditions of Terai,
Eastern and Southern India.
Alternaria Blight (Alternaria
alternata), Dry root rot and
Stunt (Bean leafroll leuteo
virus, chickpea chlorotic dwarf
geminivirus) are emerging
diseases in eastern India

20. Ensuring maximum returns: Tailoring
crop plants for intercropping systems
Plant types ensuring better solar light
interception on both the crops need to
be ensured while developing suitable
varieties of chickpea.

21. Immature Green Chickpea Grain (IGCG)-
for vegetable purpose as 'Health Food'
•Extra-early maturing and cold tolerant varieties
•Retention of green colour of immature grains: till physiological
maturity
Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, western Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Chhota Nagpur plateau (South Bihar, Southern West Bengal, Odisha
etc.

22. Research strategies
• Germplasm enhancement- Prebreeding & value addition to PGR
• Integrated Breeding – deployment of molecular markers to enhance
efficiency of selection
• Accelerated Breeding – Utilizing rapid generation advancement, and
• Transgenic technology- utilizing genes from diverse sources

23. Rapid Generation advancement
IIPR Off-Season Nursery, UAS Campus, Dharwad
2-3 generations can be ensured, if facilities are utilized properly
June/July to October/November

24. Transforming using cry1Ac : DCP 92-3
A B C D
E F G H I
[A: Germinated seedlings; B: Removal of radical and plumule; C: Axillary meristem
explants, D: Initiation of multiple shoots; E: Multiplication and elongation of shoots;
F: Separated green healthy shoots; G: Graft onto non-transgenic root stock; H:
hardening of grafted plants; I: mature fertile plants]

25. Genomics Enabled pulses Improvement
• Development of molecular markers
• Mapping of gene(s)/QTLs conferring resistance
• Identification of linked markers to targeted traits
• Deployment of molecular markers in breeding
Deploy molecular markers- for traits where selection
during segregating generations is difficult ??????

26. BC3F4 and BC3F3 generation of the cross Pusa 256 x
Vijay screened against foc race 2 in sick plots, 4 progenies were
found highly resistant and one resistant, seed is being multiplied.
•Introgression of race specific resistance to FW (Foc 2) in
variety Pusa 256
Deployment of molecular markers for developing
wilt resistant varieties- for learning

27. MABC Lines
for drought
testing
MABC for drought tolerance
9/7/2016 27
F1
(Off season 2012)
Back cross
DCP92-3 ICC4958x
F1
BC2F1
KWR108 (P1) ICC 4958 (P2)x
BC1F1
MARKER : TA 1 8
150bp
130bp

28. Priority traits Source of
variation
Technology Current Status
Drought QTL hotspot IB JG 11, JAKI 9218,
ICCV 10, JG 14
Heat Available CB, Marker
Dev, IB
Many breeding lines
avail
Dry root rot Mod source Patho, GR,
CB, IB
protocol available
Photo-thermo
insensitive
Available CB, Marker
Dev
few breed lines,
mapping popl.
Herbicide tol Available CB, Marker
Dev, GE
few breed lines
available
Helicoverpa Not avail GE Bt-lines available
from IIPR, ICRISAT
Chickpea-Priority traits

29. Priority traits Source of
variation
Technology Current Status
Green seeded Available CB limited efforts
Parching quality Not available CB limited efforts
P- acquisition
efficiency (PAE)
Available Marker Dev limited efforts
Protein content,
Fe, Zn
Available Marker Dev limited efforts
Chickpea-Priority traits
Challenge: Gene identification, cloning and
transformation: Gene controlling seeds per pod from
C. cuneatum : 4-5 seeds per pod

30. Ensuring genetic gains
• Development of high yielding varieties having desired traits
• Farmers’ Participatory Varietal Selection Trials
• Mini-kits programs- small seed packets distribution
• Front line demonstrations- farmers’ fields
• Ensuring availability of quality seed of new releases
• Policy support

31. Assessing genetic gains- Future plan
• Large scale seed production- creation of 150 Seed-Hubs (52 on
chickpea)- investment by Federal Government
• Linking chickpea production with Prime Minister Crop Insurance
Scheme (PMFMY)
• Tracking varieties adoption in areas selected area- future plan
(quality seed sale, sampling from farmers’ fields and diagnostic
markers)
• Procurements by the Government ensuring benefits to farming
community

32. Seed production- Quality Assurance
 Genetic purity
 Certification programs
Grow out test is the way to
check genetic purity: 3-10
months program-
alternate is
•Development of variety
specific diagnostic
markers

33. To conclude………
•With the kind of research network, genetic resources, breeding
techniques, human resources, infrastructure etc. available for
research: varieties with enhanced genetic yield potential will be
developed ; and
•Collaborative efforts are going to ensure high speed for genetic
improvement ensuring genetic gains
•Close collaborations- harnessing available strength will be the key
for success in future when investments are reducing