摘要
Chickpea （Cicer arietinum L.） is a crop cultivated in semi-arid and rainfed areas of Pakistan and it experiences terminal drought stress. In this paper, the morpho-anatomical study regarding roots of chickpea was carried out to investigate the drought adaptation strategies. Twelve cultivars of chickpea were grown in pots under drought stress of 70% and 35% field capacity in addition to control （100%）. Root segments of mature chickpea plants were sectioned in 2 cm from root-shoot junction and used for making transverse sections. The development of sleeve and stele tissues and their proportion were markedly influenced by moisture availability to the root system. Roots length, flesh and dry weight, and number of secondary roots were decreased under field capacity of 70% and 35% as compared to control in 12 cultivars of chickpea. Root epidermis and cortex of CH47/04 consisted of cells with thickened walls and with 2-3 cell layers of sclerenchymatous cells below the epidermis. Increased number of medullary rays and high vascular region was observed in cultivars CH120/04, CH47/04, CH587/05 and CH87/02. Anatomical studies showed that CH47/04 was highly tolerant among 12 cultivars of chickpea, while CH587/05 and CH87/02 behaved moderately under both levels of drought stress （70% and 35% field capacity）.
