Tolerance to Helicoverpa armigera damage in chickpea genotypes under natural infestation

Host plant resistance is one of the important components for minimizing the damage by the pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera. To develop cultivars with stable resistance to insect pests, there is a need to identify genotypes with different mechanisms of resistance for gene pyramiding. Therefore, we studied the tolerance component of resistance to H. armigera damage in a diverse array of chickpea genotypes under natural infestation in the field. The chickpea genotypes ICC 506 EB, ICCC 37, ICC 12478, and ICC 12479 recorded high grain yield under unprotected conditions, of which ICC 506 EB and ICC 12478 showed lower reduction in grain yield under un-protected conditions as compared to ICC 3137, ICC 4918, and ICCC 37. Significant and negative correlations were observed between yield plant-1 and pod borer damage under unprotected conditions. The genotypes ICC 12478, ICC 12479 and ICC 506 EB, showing tolerance to H. armigera damage can be used for chickpea improvement