Inheritance of Resistance to Ascochyta Blight in Chickpea1

Few genetic studies have been made to determine the inheritance of resistance to Ascochyta blight [Ascochyta rabiei (Pass) Lab.] in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). The objective of this study was to determine the inheritance of resistance in the lines ILC 72, ILC 183, ILC 191, ILC 200, and ICC 4935. The plants of F1 and F2populations of 12 crosses and 5 resistant and 11 susceptible parental lines were evaluated for resistance to Ascochyta blight under artificial epiphytotic conditions in plastic house and/or field. The results suggested that a single dominant gene conditioned resistance in the four parents, ILC 72, ILC 183, ILC 200, and ILC 4935, whereas resistance in ILC 191 was conferred by a single recessive gene. This is the first report on the identification of a recessive gene governing resistance to Ascochyta blight. The gene symbols of rar 1 for the recessive gene for resistance in ILC 191 and Rar 2 for the dominant gene for resistance in ILC 200 are proposed.