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Abiotic Stresses in Major Pulses: Current Status and Strategies

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Approaches to Plant Stress and their Management

Abstract

Environmental stresses such as erratic and insufficient rainfall, extreme temperatures, salinity, alkalinity and aluminium toxicity limit the yield and productivity of many cultivated crops including pulses. Pulses are leguminous plants whose grains are used exclusively for food and are generally grown in harsh environments. Therefore, pulses encounter a number of abiotic stresses during various stages of their life cycle. Each type of stress hampers the growth of the plant by disturbing the normal physiology and morphology. The exact mechanisms governing the cause and effect of abiotic stresses in pulses are very complex and difficult to understand. Due to changing environmental conditions, very often referred to as ‘climate change’, pulses have become more prone to oxidative damage by overproduction of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. These radicals disturb the cellular homeostasis of the cell resulting in significant yield losses. In North India, high temperatures (>30 °C) coupled with drought stress during flowering stage produce distinct effect on the grain yield of chickpea and lentil, whereas in pigeon pea, low temperatures (<10 °C) cause severe flower drop resulting in yield losses. However, recent empirical evidence suggests that genotypic variations have been observed for almost all the abiotic stresses in pulses and several genotypes tolerant to heat, drought and waterlogging have been identified. Marker traits conferring tolerance to such stress(es) have also been identified which can be used in breeding programmes for improving tolerance. This chapter describes the production status, the impact of abiotic stresses and the opportunities for genetic improvement of tolerance to abiotic stresses in major pulses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), Sabour, BR, 813 210, India

    R. Sultana, A. K. Pal, B. D. Prasad & Ravigopal Singh

  2. IIPR RRC cum Off-season Nursery, Dharwad, KA, 580 005, India

    A. K. Choudhary

  3. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, AP, India

    K. B. Saxena

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  1. R. Sultana
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  2. A. K. Choudhary
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  6. Ravigopal Singh
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  1. Department of Science Faculty of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mody Institute of Technology & Science, Sikar, Rajasthan, India

    R.K. Gaur

  2. Division of Crop Improvement, Directorate of Wheat Research, Karnal, Haryana, India

    Pradeep Sharma

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Sultana, R., Choudhary, A.K., Pal, A.K., Saxena, K.B., Prasad, B.D., Singh, R. (2014). Abiotic Stresses in Major Pulses: Current Status and Strategies. In: Gaur, R., Sharma, P. (eds) Approaches to Plant Stress and their Management. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1620-9_9

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