Abstract
Cultivated chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a self-pollinated, diploid, annual species. It is one of the oldest crops cultivated by man and currently ranks second worldwide as a food legume crop. Cultivated chickpea gene pool has a rich genetic diversity, conserved through over 97,400 ex situ collections in gene banks worldwide. This genetic diversity is acting as the base material for chickpea improvement programs globally. The success of any crop improvement program depends on the level of genetic diversity and the availability of useful traits in the crop gene pool. Not only cultivated chickpea germplasm but also wild Cicer species are playing a critical role in the broadening of cultivated chickpea genetic base and in trait introgressions. However, as a result of the loss of natural habitats due to drastic climatic changes, wild Cicer species are rapidly becoming endangered species. Therefore, sustaining chickpea yield has become a challenging task for breeders. In such a scenario, ex situ germplasm collections are being utilized increasingly, and they are playing a vital role in developing climatic resilience in chickpea.
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