Chickpea Descriptors

Abstract

This descriptor list for chickpea (Cicer spp.) is an update of ICRISAT's "Chickpea Genetic Resources, Introduction of the Descriptors and Data Evaluation", distributed as a pre-publication in 1979 on the occasion of the International Workshop on Chickpea Improvement held from 28 February to 2 Karch in Hyderabad, India. The descriptors were prepared at ICRlSAT and lCARDA on the basis of classifications widely used by breeders and then refined where needed. The descriptor list has been written by L.J.G. van der Maesen and R. P . S . Pundir (ICRISAT) and K. B . Singh (ICARDA) according to lBPGR standards, following advice on descriptors and descriptor states from many crop experts. ICRISAT, ICARDA, and the IBPGR encourage the collection of data on the first four categories of this list: 1. Accession; 2. Collection; 3. and 4. Characterization and preliminary evaluation. The IBPGR endorses the information in categories 1-4 as the minimum that ideally should be available for anyone's accession. other descriptors are given in categories 5 onwards that will enable the simple encoding of further characterization and evaluation data and which can serve as examples for the creation of additional descriptors in the IBPGR form by any user. Although the suggested coding should not be regarded as the definitive scheme, this format has the full backing of the IBPGR and is promoted worldwide. The descriptor list given here provides an international format and thereby produces a universally understood 'language' for all plant genetic resources data. The adoption of this scheme for all data encoding, or at least the production of a transformation method to convert other schemes to the IBPGR format, will produce a rapid, reliable, and efficient means for information storage, retrieval, and communication. This will greatly assist the utilization of germplasm throughout the international plant genetic resources network. It is recommended, therefore, that information should be produced by closely following this descriptor list with regard to ordering and numbering descriptors; using the descriptor specified; and using the descriptor slates recommended.