Journal article
Screening chickpea accessions for aluminium and manganese toxicity tolerance
Discover Agriculture, Vol.4(1), 251
2026
Abstract
In acidic soils, toxic levels of plant available aluminium (Al) and manganese (Mn) can severely restrict plant growth. Despite the prevalence of acid soils in Kenya’s high-potential agricultural zones, no systematic screening of locally adapted chickpea germplasm for Al and Mn toxicity tolerance has been conducted. This study addressed that gap by evaluating Al and Mn toxicity tolerance among 26 chickpea accessions through solution and soil screening conducted in a glasshouse. The accessions were screened in nutrient solutions containing 0, 15, and 60 µM Al concentrations for Al toxicity and 2 and 150 µM Mn for Mn toxicity, with cowpea as the control. Soil experiments used soil pH (H20) levels of 4.5 and 6.5. Root tolerance index (RTI), relative root length (RRL), relative shoot length (RSL), and relative root and shoot weights (RRW, RSW) were used as indices for Al tolerance, while RSL, RSW, and symptom scores were used for Mn tolerance. Accessions with tolerance index values > 70% were classified as tolerant and 50–70% as moderately tolerant. At 15 µM Al, accessions Saina 1, ICCVs 11514, 11519, 11504, 11316, and 07114 were consistently tolerant to moderately tolerant across all indices. At 60 µM Al, most accessions were sensitive. In soil, RRL results correlated significantly (r = 0.67) with those from the hydroponic experiments at 15 µM Al. For Mn toxicity, ICCV 07313, 07101, 97128, 11514, Chania 2, and Saina 1 were tolerant. In the germplasm collection only ICCV 11514 and Saina 1 demonstrated moderate tolerance to both Al and Mn. Future research should validate these findings in a range of acid soils and seasons in field experiments to confirm their suitability for acidic environments.
Details
- Title
- Screening chickpea accessions for aluminium and manganese toxicity tolerance
- Authors/Creators
- Langat Elkanah Kipkoech - University of NairobiOnwonga Richard Ndemo - University of NairobiKaruma Anne - University of NairobiRichard W. Bell - Murdoch UniversityWendy H. Vance - Murdoch UniversityKarthika Pradeep - Murdoch UniversityJaneth Chepkemoi - University of Nairobi
- Publication Details
- Discover Agriculture, Vol.4(1), 251
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Grant note
- Australian Awards fellowship
- Identifiers
- 991005912898207891
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2026
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Agricultural Sciences; Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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