Genetic relatedness among desi and kabuli chickpea varieties of India

More than 200 chickpea varieties released in India have resulted in achieving 8–9 million tonnes of production annually. However, its production remains unstable over years and locations due to vulnerability of present day varieties to fluctuating weather condition and various biotic stresses. The narrow genetic base of the cultivars is mainly responsible for vulnerability to biotic and abiotic stresses. The present study takes stock of the current genetic base by analysing genetic relatedness of 105 desi and 33 kabuli chickpea varieties released in India till 2015 through pedigree analysis. The genetic base of desi and kabuli varieties could be traced back to 120 and 53 parents, respectively. IP 58 (27), C 1234 (26), JG 62 (18), S 26 (18) and Chaffa (15) were the most utilised parents in desi while Rabat (26), Pb 7 (24), Banda Local (14), Etah Bold (14), Guamchil 2 (14), P 458 (14) and GW 5/6 (14) were the frequently used lines in kabuli varieties. More than 50% of total genetic base could be traced to 24 parents among desi and only 9 parents among kabuli varieties. It is a high time that concerted efforts should be made for utilization of diverse germplasm lines involving wild species and primitive landraces to broaden genetic base so that vulnerability to biotic and abiotic stresses can be minimized.