Genotype and Environment Interaction Identifies Stable High-Yielding and Pod Borer-Resistant Chickpea Genotypes for Sustainable Production

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important legume crop valued for its nutritional quality and adoption to diverse agroecological conditions. The present study evaluated 44 chickpea genotypes, comprising 40 advanced lines and four local check cultivars, under insecticide-treated and untreated pod-borer management conditions, during the 2022–23 cropping season. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) genotypic and genotype × pest-management interactions for most studied traits, indicating differential genotype responses to pod-borer management conditions. Pest-management effects were significant for days to 50% flowering, days to 90% maturity, and plant height, while pod damage and seed yield also differed markedly between treated and untreated conditions. D-15005 showed the earliest flowering (105.5 days), D-14014 reached maturity earliest (164.8 days), and K-11051 recorded the greatest plant height (73.3 cm). D-14005 exhibited the lowest pod damage (5.08%), indicating strong pod-borer resistance. D-11030 showed the highest biological yield (5903.7 kg ha-1) and seed yield (2518.5 kg ha-1) and maintained superior performance across both management conditions, particularly for productive branches, pods per plant, and seed yield. Insecticide-treated conditions reduced mean pod damage from 19.27% to 7.00% and increased mean seed yield to 1865.4 kg ha-1. High heritability was observed for days to 50% flowering, pods per plant, and plant height under both management conditions, whereas high genetic advance was recorded for biological and seed yield. Based on yield performance, stability across contrasting pest-management conditions, and pod-borer resistance, D-11030, D-14005, K-01153, K-01213, and K-70009 were identified as promising genotypes for chickpea improvement and sustainable production.