ABSTRACT
Chickpea, the second most important grain crop in the world, is widely grown across the Mediterranean basin, East Africa, India, the Americas, and Australia. Plants perceive, process, and translate different stimuli into adaptive responses. Physiological indices have been used to compare different varieties and their ability to cope with abiotic stress. Jasmonates promote stomatal closure. A crosstalk of abscisic acid in methyl-jasmonate-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis has been found. Ethylene production in an earlier period of water stress may be a signal, helping the plants to sense the stress condition and to make some adaptive physiological response in advance. Strigolactones have been shown to be positive regulators of plant response to drought. Plant growth promoting fungi and bacteria are able to elicit induced systemic tolerance to drought in plant roots. The study confirmed that the Desi-tolerant variety responds by maintaining its physiological parameters for longer times under water stress challenge and induces the expression of genes associated with stress resistance.
