Effects of Temperature and Photoperiod on Flowering in Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.)

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Abstract
Factorial combinations of two photoperiods (12 and 15 h), three day temperatures (20, 25 and 30 °C) and three night temperatures (10, 15 and 20 °C) were imposed on nodulated plants of nine chickpea genotypes (Cicer arietinum L.) grown in pots in growth cabinets. The times to first appearance of open flowers were recorded. For all genotypes, the rates of progress towards flowering (the reciprocals of the times taken to flower) were linear functions of mean temperature. There were no interactions between mean temperature and photoperiod but the longer photoperiod increased the rate of progress towards flowering. These effects were independent of both radiation integral (the product of irradiance and photoperiod) and the vegetative stature of the plant. Taken in conjunction with evidence from work on other long-day species, it is suggested that the photo-thermal response of flowering in chickpeas, over the range of environments normally experienced by the crop, may be described by the equation: 1/f = a+bī+cp in which f is the number of days from sowing to first flower, ī is mean temperature and p is photoperiod. The values of the constants a, b and c vary between genotypes and provide the basis for screening genotypes for sensitivity to temperature and photoperiod.