Novel Method for Rapid Screening of Chickpea for Combined Dry Root Rot Disease and Osmotic Stress

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), confronts substantial challenges from the emerging pathogenic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid, causing dry root rot (DRR) disease. Chickpea plants severely affected by combined DRR and drought stress. Currently sick plot and sick pot method are utilized for germplasm screening to identify tolerant genotypes. These methods are time-consuming; therefore, we propose a novel methodology for the rapid screening of chickpea under combined DRR and osmotic stress conditions. This chapter introduces an adept high-throughput phenotyping methodology, conducted within controlled laboratory conditions, aiming to investigate the interaction between osmotic stress and DRR disease in chickpea crops. The methodology employs an innovative pouch technique for screening combined stress, providing a streamlined temporal investigation process and precise control over stress parameters. The incorporation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) enables the simultaneous imposition of osmotic stress alongside pathogen infection, making the methodology versatile for studying combined stress scenarios. This approach fills a gap in concurrent stress imposition techniques, enhancing germplasm screening by identifying genotypes with varying susceptibility and resistance levels. Thus, we suggest use of high-throughput phenotyping in combination genome-wide association study (GWAS) can take combined stress resistance breeding in chickpea at next level to combat food security and climate change.