Resistance in chickpeas to Ascochyta rabiei

A technique for large-scale screening of chickpeas for resistance to Ascochyta blight involves interplanting a susceptible spreader line, scattering infected debris between rows, spraying with spores from infected plants, and providing high humidity by sprinkler irrigation. By this screening method, in two to three seasons, 21 lines and 36 progenies in the F4 to F7 generations were identified as resistant among 9,385 genotypes involving germ plasm lines and segregating populations. Four lines were resistant in three Mediterranean countries. Three accessions, one each of the wild species of Cicer pinnatifidum, C. montbretti, and C. judaicum, were highly resistant.