Drought adaptations in chickpea: A review of tolerance mechanisms and breeding progress

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most important pulse crops cultivated largely under rainfed environments, making it highly vulnerable to drought stress. The ongoing changes in global climate, particularly rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns, are expected to intensify moisture deficits in major chickpea-growing regions. Drought, especially terminal drought, remains themost important abiotic constraint limiting chickpea productivity. Developing drought-resilient cultivars has therefore become a central objective of chickpea improvement programs worldwide. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the impact of climate change on chickpea production, the physiological and morphological basis of drought tolerance, and advances in conventional and molecular breeding strategies. Recent developments in genomics, high-throughput phenotyping, genomic selection, and genome editing are also discussed. A holistic integration of physiology, phenomics, and genomics is essential for accelerating the development of climate-resilient chickpea cultivars capable of sustaining yield under water-limited conditions.