Evaluation of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Genotypes for Yield and Drought Tolerance under Rain Fed and Irrigated Conditions

In Southern India, drought stress is a major constraint to chickpea production and yield stability. Drought tolerant index (DTI) that provides a measure of drought based on yield loss under drought condition in comparison to normal condition was used for screening drought-tolerant genotypes. This study was conducted to determine drought tolerant genotypes with high yield in stress and non-stress conditions utilising physiological traits. Thirty chickpea genotypes were tested in a randomized complete block design with three replications under rain fed and irrigated conditions at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh, India during rabi, 2018-2019. The analysis of variance carried out for yield and drought tolerant traits revealed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all characters under rain fed as well as irrigated conditions. NBeG 776, NBeG 779, NBeG 868, ICCV 181606, MH 13 and MH 14 are drought tolerant. NBeG 776, NBeG 779 and NBeG 868 are suitable under both rain fed and irrigated conditions with significantly higher yields over their respective means. ICCV 181606, MH 13 and MH 14 are suitable exclusively for rain fed condition with significantly superior yields over the mean.