Genotypic variability for ascorbic acid content and high temperature stress tolerance in chickpea
摘要
High-temperature stress (HTS) affects the growth, reproduction, and yield potential of chickpea. This study evaluates the impacts of HTS on pollen viability, germination, physiological responses, phenological traits, and yield performance, with a focus on endogenous level of ascorbic acid (AsA). Our findings show significant genotype-specific variations in pollen viability (PV) and germination (PG) under HTS, and the genotypes rich in AsA demonstrated greater resilience. As temperature stress increased pollen viability and germination declined, with a more pronounced reductions under extreme heat conditions, and genotypes like as ICE-15,654-A, known for higher AsA content, maintained superior PV and PG. Furthermore, HTS significantly accelerated phenological development such as flowering and podding, and the high-AsA genotypes attained these milestones earlier than the genotypes with low-AsA content. Yield traits, like the number of pods, seeds, and seed weight, were significantly affected by HTS, and high-AsA genotypes showed less yield reductions. Notably, genotypes like IPC-06-11 and JG-14 exhibited better yield performance under HTS conditions, confirming the beneficial role of AsA in mitigating HTS effects of this study. The findings suggest that the chickpea genotypes with higher AsA content can exhibit better through improving HTS resilience, supporting sustainable development goal-2 by improving crop productivity, and ensuring food and nutritional security amid future rising global temperatures scenario.
Graphical abstract