Damping-off Resistance in Chickpeas. Jagdish Kumar, Senior Plant Breeder, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, A.P. 502 324, India. Walter J. Kaiser, and Richard M. Hannan. Research Plant Pathologist, and Horticulturist, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Regional Plant Introduction Station, Pullman, WA 99764-6402. Plant Dis. 75:1244-1245. Accepted for publication 5 April 1991. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1991. DOI: 10.1094/PD-75-1244.

Association of resistance to preemergence damping-off caused by Pythium ultimum and gene P for flower and seed coat color was studied in two crosses of chickpeas (Cicer arietinum), kabuli line C 104, and desi lines T3(GW) and P 436-2 made at ICRISAT, Patancheru, India. Evaluations were performed under greenhouse conditions. Resistance was found to be inherited polygenically. Gene P appeared to be closely linked to the resistance. Kabuli segregants with reduced susceptibility were identified in both crosses, which indicates that linkage between gene P and genes for resistance to P. ultimum can be broken.

Keyword(s): anthocyanin, garbanzo beans, gram.