Screening of chickpea genotypes for resistance to Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris) under field conditions in Ethiopia

Fusarium wilt is one of the economical important vascular root diseases affecting chickpea. A total of 427 chickpea germplasms were grouped into two types, desi type (385) and kabuli. 42 genotypes were evaluated to identify fusarium wilt resistant sources in Debre Zeit sick plot under natural infected field. The genotypes were grown in 2017/18 main cropping season and augmented design was used without replications; highly susceptible differential checks (JG-62) was replicated as indicator for disease appearance. The disease incidences were assessed three times at different growth stage and genotypes were graded as per ICRISAT rating scale. The fusarium wilt incidences revealed that five lines were resistant and ten had moderately resistant reaction in desi; five were resistant and 14 genotypes were moderately resistant in kabuli type of chickpea respectively. This implies that source of variability in desi type chickpea has low resistance to wilt/root rot and other major chickpea diseases. Most accession lines are early wilting type, which makes it difficult to identify slow wilting type of lines in chickpea. Thus, the promising genotypes indicate that it is most suitable for exploitation in breeding and its directly used in severely wilt affected areas as well as transfer of their gene to a commercial cultivar on the basis of resistance type. Key word: Chickpea, Fusarium wilt, incidence, inheritance, slow wilting.