Ecophysiological Investigation on Effect of Water Stresson Eight Local Chickpea Accessions (Cicer Arietinum L.)
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Date
1999-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Chickpea (Cicer arietillulIl L.) plants were subjected to three watering regimes in order to
evaluate effects of water stress on growth parameters, water relations, chlorophyll a
fluorescence of PSI! and drought induced gene expression under glasshouse conditions. A
.total of eight accessions were considered for the growth and physiological studies.
Water stress result in reductions of plant height branch number, leaf number, biomass
accumulation, total leaf area and relative growth rates. Biomass allocation to leaves, stem and
root did not differ between well-watered and stressed plants. Biomass partitioning to pods
showed an increasing trend with stress level but it was not significant except in one accession
(Ac3). Stomatal conductance declined with stress. Leaf water potential reached as low as -2.5
MPa in severely stressed plants, which had relative water content (RWC) between 50 - 60%.
Analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence showed that maximal photochemical yield (Fv IFm)
was not affected by water stress. However, there was a slight decrease in Fv/Fm ratio in the
dark. On the other hand, quantum efficiency (Ll.F/Fm') declined substantially under water
stress in most accessions. Moreover, diurnal reduction in Fm (maximum fluorescence) was
observed indicating the existence of mechanisms for thermal dissipation of excess energy at .
high irradiance. Water stress reduced seed yield by reducing the number of pods per plant.
However, number of seeds per pod was not affected although smaller seeds were harvested
in severely stressed plants. It is concluded that out of the studied physiological attributes,
stomatal conductances, RWC, quantum efficiency and cell membrane stability tests showed
intraspecific variations indicating that they could be used for selection of resistant types.
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Biology