Impact of low light intensity on biomass partitioning and genetic diversity in a chickpea mapping population

With recent climatic changes, the reduced access to solar radiation has become an emerging threat to chickpeas’ drought tolerance capacity under rainfed conditions. This study was conducted to assess, and understand the effects of reduced light intensity and quality on plant morphology, root development, and identifying resistant sources from a Sonali/PBA Slasher mapping population. We evaluated 180 genotypes, including recombinant inbred lines (RILs), parents, and commercial checks, using a split-block design with natural and low light treatments. Low light conditions, created by covering one of the two benches inside two growth chambers with a mosquito net, reduced natural light availability by approximately 70%. Light measurements encompassed photosynthetic photon flux density, as well as red, and far-red light readings taken at various stages of the experiment. The data, collected from plumule emergence to anthesis initiation, encompassed various indices relevant to root, shoot, and carbon gain (biomass). Statistical analysis examined variance, treatment effects, heritability, correlations, and principal components (PCs). Results demonstrated significant reductions in root biomass, shoot biomass, root/shoot ratio, and plant total dry biomass under suboptimal light conditions by 52.8%, 28.2%, 36.3%, and 38.4%, respectively. Plants also exhibited delayed progress, taking 9.2% longer to produce their first floral buds, and 19.2% longer to commence anthesis, accompanied by a 33.4% increase in internodal lengths. A significant genotype-by-environment interaction highlighted differing genotypic responses, particularly in traits with high heritability (> 77.0%), such as days to anthesis, days to first floral bud, plant height, and nodes per plant. These traits showed significant associations with drought tolerance indicators, like root, shoot, and plant total dry biomass. Genetic diversity, as depicted in a genotype-by-trait biplot, revealed contributions to PC1 and PC2 coefficients, allowing discrimination of low-light-tolerant RILs, such as 1_52, 1_73, 1_64, 1_245, 1_103, 1_248, and 1_269, with valuable variations in traits of interest. These RILs could be used to breed desirable chickpea cultivars for sustainable production under water-limited conditions. This study concludes that low light stress disrupts the balance between root and shoot morphology, diverting photosynthates to vegetative structures at the expense of root development. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of biomass partitioning under limited-light conditions, and inform breeding strategies for improved drought tolerance in chickpeas.