Chickpea Heat Tolerance Traits Identified by Australian Researchers

Researchers from the Plant Breeding Institute at the University of Sydney led by Prof. Richard Trethowan have identified chickpea heat tolerance traits. The research team analyzed chickpea from three sources, including material from the Australian Grains Genebank, Australian cultivars, and lines from India with heat tolerance.

Chickpeas were exposed to heat stress, staggered sowing dates (with the late-sown replicates experiencing higher flowering temperatures), and in-field heat chambers to deliver heat stress for five days during the sensitive flowering period. The researchers analyzed the response to heat of anther and pollen development.

The associated genetics with interesting traits were mapped using the Chickpea DArTseq technology to identify traits linked to the novel heat tolerance traits. The heat-tolerant materials were also crossed with Australian-adapted chickpea germplasm to develop a population of pre-breeding lines. These new materials show substantial yield advantages under high temperatures, with some yielding almost double when grown in late summer.

For more details, read the news article in the Grains Research and Development Corporation GroundCover.