Evaluation of grain yield and repeatability of drought tolerance indices for screening chickpea (Cicer aritinum L.) genotypes under rainfed conditions

In order to identify drought tolerant chickpea genotypes, an experiment was conducted in the west of Iran, during 2007-2009 cropping seasons. Several selection indices were used to illustrate genotypic differences in response to drought stress. The results of combined analysis of variance showed that year, genotype, stress conditions and their interaction effects were highly significant. Correlation analysis between indices revealed that the yield index (YI), stress tolerance index (STI), geometric mean productivity (GMP) and mean productivity (MP) were correlated to grain yield and together in three years, indicating that they can be used as an alternative to each other for selecting drought tolerant genotypes in both stress and non-stress conditions. Consequently, GGE biplot showed that most ideal genotypes for rainfed conditions were genotypes G6 and G15. In conclusion, the identification of these chickpea genotypes with high yield and stability performance under unpredictable environments and high tolerance to drought stress conditions can help breeding programs in future.