A conservative pattern of water use, rather than deep or profuse rooting, is critical for the terminal drought tolerance of chickpea
Open Access
- 24 May 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Experimental Botany
- Vol. 62 (12), 4239-4252
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/err139
Abstract
Chickpea is mostly grown on stored soil moisture, and deep/profuse rooting has been hypothesized for almost three decades to be critical for improving chickpea tolerance to terminal drought. However, temporal patterns of water use that leave water available for reproduction and grain filling could be equally critical. Therefore, variation in water use pattern and root depth/density were measured, and their relationships to yield tested under fully irrigated and terminal drought stress, using lysimeters that provided soil volumes equivalent to field conditions. Twenty chickpea genotypes having similar plant phenology but contrasting for a field-derived terminal drought-tolerance index based on yield were used. The pattern of water extraction clearly discriminated tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Tolerant genotypes had a lower water uptake and a lower index of stomatal conductance at the vegetative stage than sensitive ones, while tolerant genotypes extracted more water than sensitive genotypes after flowering. The magnitude of the variation in root growth components (depth, length density, RLD, dry weight, RDW) did not distinguish tolerant from sensitive genotypes. The seed yield was not significantly correlated with the root length density (RLD) in any soil layers, whereas seed yield was both negatively related to water uptake between 23–38 DAS, and positively related to water uptake between 48–61 DAS. Under these conditions of terminal drought, the most critical component of tolerance in chickpea was the conservative use of water early in the cropping cycle, explained partly by a lower canopy conductance, which resulted in more water available in the soil profile during reproduction leading to higher reproductive success.Keywords
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- Assessment across the United States of the Benefits of Altered Soybean Drought TraitsAgronomy Journal, 2010
- Terminal drought-tolerant pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] have high leaf ABA and limit transpiration at high vapour pressure deficitJournal of Experimental Botany, 2010
- Constitutive water-conserving mechanisms are correlated with the terminal drought tolerance of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]Journal of Experimental Botany, 2009
- Flower numbers, pod production, pollen viability, and pistil function are reduced and flower and pod abortion increased in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under terminal droughtJournal of Experimental Botany, 2009
- Assessment of transpiration efficiency in peanut (Arachis hypogaeaL.) under drought using a lysimetric systemPlant Biology, 2009
- Variation in pod production and abortion among chickpea cultivars under terminal droughtEuropean Journal of Agronomy, 2006
- Genetic variability of drought-avoidance root traits in the mini-core germplasm collection of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).Euphytica, 2005
- Potential importance of water status traits for durum wheat improvement under Mediterranean conditionsThe Journal of Agricultural Science, 2001
- Physiological responses of chickpea genotypes to terminal drought in a Mediterranean-type environmentEuropean Journal of Agronomy, 1999
- Adaptation of Lentil to the Mediterranean Environment. II. Response to Moisture SupplyExperimental Agriculture, 1993