Evaluation of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes for tolerance to frost in controlled environment

Authors: ADMAS, SINTAYEHU - Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute; HAILESELASSIE, TEKLEHAIMANOT - Addis Ababa University; TESFAYE, KASSAHUM - Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute; SHIFERAW, ELENI - Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute; Flynn, Kyle

Submitted to: Sinet, Ethiopian Journal of Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/23/2021
Publication Date: 12/30/2021
Citation: Admas, S., Haileselassie, T., Tesfaye, K., Shiferaw, E., Flynn, K.C. 2021. Evaluation of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes for tolerance to frost in controlled environment. Sinet, Ethiopian Journal of Science. 44(2):151-160. https://doi.org/10.4314/sinet.v44i2.2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/sinet.v44i2.2

Interpretive Summary: The study aimed to evaluate the frost tolerance variability of Ethiopian chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) germplasm under a controlled environment through implementation of growth chambers. A total of 72 genotypes were screened for frost tolerance. The research found a significant difference amongst genotypes for plant height, number of foliage, number of primary branch, growth rate, and fresh biomass weight. Moreover, based on the combined results of freezing tolerance rate and plant survival rate scores, 26 genotypes were found to be frost-tolerant genotypes at a temperature level as low as -5 degrees Celsius at seedling stage. These findings suggest that Ethiopian chickpea germplasm has a genetic potential for frost-tolerance traits that could be applied in breeding programs.

Technical Abstract: The study aimed to evaluate the frost tolerance variability of Ethiopian chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) germplasm under controlled environment using growth chamber. A total of 72 genotypes were screened for frost tolerance using complete randomized design with two replications. The analysis of variance result indicated that there was a significant (P<0.01) difference amongst genotypes for plant height, number of foliage, number of primary branch, growth rate, and fresh biomass weight. Based on plant survival rate (SR), 31 (43.1%) genotypes scored above 0.8 values. Based on Freezing tolerance rate (FTR), 37(51.4%) and 31(43.1%) genotypes were rated at a score of 1 to 3 in freezing test 1 (T1) and freezing test 2 (T2), respectively. There was a strong negative correlation between fresh biomass yields with SR (-0.75** for T1 and -0.71** for T2 at p<0.01), while a strong positive correlation with FTR value (0.74** at p<0.01). Based on the combined result of FTR and SR scores, 26 genotypes were found to be frost-tolerant genotypes at a temperature level as low as -5oC at seedling stage. Based on our findings, Ethiopian chickpea germplasm has a genetic potential for frost-tolerance traits for use in breeding programs.