METHODS OF EVALUATION AND SCREENING OF CHICKPEA (Cicer arietinum L.) GENOTYPES FOR WILT DISEASE TOLERANCE AND POTENTIAL USAGE OF ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI FOR BIOCONTROL OF WILT: A REVIEW

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris (FOC) causes wilt in Chickpea leading to a 90% yield loss depending on the environmental conditions. The review here deals on the tools and constrains associated with screening the diverse cultivar of Chickpea genotypes against biotic stress conditions using biochemical, molecular and phenological assessment. The use of different AMF species like Glomus hoi, Rhizophagus fasciculatus and Funneliformis mosseae for disease control and as biofertilizers on different varieties of the chickpea plant has proved to be beneficial in terms of disease severity reduction and plant growth and development. Although the plants have the potential to show responses against the biotic and abiotic stresses, the use of AMF and other biocontrol agents can induce the defence responses by influencing the biochemical and molecular change in the host plant. Therefore, the significance of the present study is to provide a holistic approach for the identification and screening of suitable wilt resistant genotypes of chickpea. In the future, evaluation of desirable cultivar consisting of FOC tolerance gene may help to utilize the elite genotype in the crop improvement program.