Detergent-induced male sterility in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Abstract

Chemical induction of male sterility has been considered desirable because it has the potential to provide for the development of hybrids directly out of elite germplasm without the time and effort required to transfer male sterility and fertility restore genes. The newer generation of chemical hybridizing agents are found to be much more useful with increasingly better selectively and effectiveness [1]. Evaluation of some anilates as the potential chemical hybridizing agents have been successfully done in chickpea [2, 3]. In recent years, some synthetic detergents e.g. Nirma and Surf Excel have been successfully used to induced male sterility in several crops [4, 5]. Keeping this in view, the efficacy of Surf Excel in three varieties of chickpea (Gicer arietinum L.) was evaluated.