Enhancing genetic diversity in chickpea: Characterisation of wild annual Cicer Germplasm using AFLP analysis

Improved chickpea varieties with resistance to pests and diseases and tolerance to environmental stresses are increasingly required for the chickpea industry, but it is difficult to make rapid improvement within chickpea due to its narrow genetic diversity. In contrast, its wild relatives, within the genus Cicer, possess a wide range of valuable traits which potentially could be introgressed through hybridisation into chickpea cultivars.