Background: The chickpea, scientifically known as Cicerarietinum L., is a significant legume crop that serves as a valuable source of vegetable protein. The chickpea crop is susceptible to various pests and illnesses. Collar rot, induced by the fungal pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii, is a highly significant and extremely damaging disease that affects chickpea crops. The disease causes seedling mortality ranging from 54.7 to 95 per cent and field conditions result in yield decrease ranging from 22 to 50 per cent. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using a combination of fungicides, bio-agents and organic amendments for the management of collar rot in chickpea. Methods: The investigations were conducted in the Rabi seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21. The experiments involved the integration of fungicides, fungal biocontrol agents (Trichoderma spp.), FYM and vermicompost to control Collar rot disease in Chickpea caused by S. rolfsii. Six indigenous fungal antagonists (Trichoderma spp.) were assessed in a laboratory setting against S. rolfsii using both dual culture and non-volatile (culture filtrate) methods. The efficacy of the fungicides was assessed using the poison food technique. Nine fungicides were assessed in a laboratory setting to determine their effectiveness against a pathogen and Trichoderma harzianum-2. The fungicides were tested at four different concentrations: 50, 100, 500 and 1000 ppm. The goal was to identify fungicides that are extremely toxic to S. rolfsii at lower concentrations, while being less harmful to the bioagent Trichoderma spp. Pot culture studies were conducted using a completely randomised design (CRD), while field experiments were conducted using a randomised block design (RBD). Result: Trichoderma harzianum-2 (TH-2) was found to be highly efficient against the pathogen. It reduced the growth of the pathogen by 75.18% in the dual culture technique and by 61.85% in the culture filtrate approach. Among the nine fungicides tested, four of them, specifically propineb, mancozeb, captan 70% + hexaconazole 5% WP and penflufen 13.28% w/w + trifloxystrobin, showed lower inhibitory effects on Trichoderma harzianum at doses ranging from 50to 1000 ppm. The treatment that resulted in the highest seed germination rate (100%) and the lowest occurrence of collar rot was the one where the seeds were treated with captan 70% + hexaconazole 5% WP and the soil was supplemented with Trichoderma harzianum through vermicompost application.

Globally, escalating soil salinization poses significant abiotic stress, disproportionately impacting crops like chickpea (Cicer arientinum L.). This legume exhibits high sensitivity to salinity, which disrupts various physiological and metabolic processes, ultimately hindering growth and productivity. AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus) reduces salt's detrimental effects on plants' growth by bolstering the plant's antioxidant defense system, effectively reducing the damage caused by oxidative stress. In this study, the impact of AMF on salinity stress alleviation in chickpea was investigated in pot-grown experiments. Rhizophagus fasciculatus was used to inoculate the seeds of three different chickpea varieties (HC-3, CSG-8962, and C-235), and the physiological and biochemical changes of the AMF-inoculated and non-inoculated chickpea plants were studied. When exposed to salinity stress, the plants exhibited decreased leaf relative water content (RWC %) (21.13-31.30%), increased leaf relative stress injury, decreased chlorophyll content (45.22-58.24%), photochemical quantum yield, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance as compared to the control plants, but opposite results were observed in AMF colonized plants. A 9.16% to 14.79% increase in chlorophyll content was reported after AMF colonization. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POX) were increased by salt stress. They were further enhanced by AMF inoculation SOD activity by 20.3% to 23.3%, CAT activity by 65.7% to 78.7%, and POX activity by 32.7% to 39.3%. The findings clearly show that AMF Rhizophagus fasciculatus, via enhancing RWC, photosynthetic parameters, and antioxidant enzymes, can mitigate salinity stress in chickpeas.

Alkaline stress imposes significant constraints on agriculture by reducing nutrient availability and inhibiting plant growth. This study examines the physiological and biochemical responses of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seedlings to alkaline stress, with implications for improving crop resilience. Chickpea seedlings were subjected to combined Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 treatments, and changes in growth, root morphology, and nutrient uptake were evaluated. Alkaline stress led to substantial reductions in growth metrics (shoot and root length, fresh and dry weights), root-to-shoot ratio, and lateral root number, indicating pronounced root damage. This damage was associated with elevated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels, increased membrane damage, and reduced cell viability. In response to alkaline stress, chickpea roots accumulated osmolytes (proline, soluble sugars) and upregulated antioxidant enzymes (catalase, ascorbate peroxidase) as an adaptive response to mitigate osmotic and oxidative stress. Ion homeostasis was disrupted, with decreased uptake of essential nutrients like K, P, Mn, Fe, and Zn, while the uptake of Na, Mg, and Ca increased, disturbing nutrient balance. These findings underscore the need for strategies, such as genetic improvement to enhance alkaline stress tolerance in chickpea, contributing to improved crop performance in challenging soil conditions.

Chickpea is the second most widely grown legume in the world. Its cultivation is highly affected by saline soils. Salt stress damages its all growth stages from germination to maturity. It has a huge genetic diversity containing adaptation loci that can help produce salt-tolerant cultivars. The glutathione peroxidase (GPX) gene family plays an important role in regulating plant response to abiotic stimuli and protects cells from oxidative damage. In current research, the role of GPX genes is studied for inducing salt tolerance in chickpea. This study identifies the GPX gene family in Cicer arietinum. In response to the NaCl stress, the gene expression profiles of CaGPX3 were examined using real-time qRT-PCR. The results of phylogenetic analysis show that CaGPX genes have an evolutionary relationship with monocots, dicots, chlorophytes, and angiosperms. Gene structure analysis showed that CaGPX3, CaGPX4, and CaGPX5 have six, CaGPX2 has five, and CaGPX1 contains 9 exons. According to the Ka and Ks analysis chickpea has one pair of duplicated genes of GPX and the duplication was tandem with negative (purifying) selection Ka < Ks (<1). In-silico gene expression analysis revealed that CaGPX3 is a salt stress-responsive gene among all other five GPX members in chickpea. The qRT-PCR results showed that the CaGPX3 gene expression was co-ordinately regulated under salt stress conditions, confirming CaGPX3 ' s key involvement in salt tolerance.