Plant height in chickpea is a multivariate, dynamic trait, and shows differences in growth rate at different stages of plant development in different genotypes. In the majority of plant-breeding experiments, the phenotypic data on a quantitative trait measured at a fixed time point (generally at maturity) are used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping. However, this method can result in missing important/major QTLs which are expressed at different time points and are not expressed at maturity. In the current study, using a set of 49 desi chickpea genotypes sown at three different durations for two successive years, we observed that heritability for plant height was highest at the 2 month stage in the normal sown trial, and at the 1 month stage in late-sown trials. However, heritability drastically declines at maturity, particularly due to heat stress with an increase in temperatures during the growing period. In the association analysis, it was also observed that almost all the marker–trait associations (MTAs) identified using endpoint phenotypes were identified using data obtained at different intervals. In addition, some novel and stage-specific MTAs were identified using phenotypic data recorded at monthly intervals. The results highlight the importance of multistage phenotyping for dynamic traits like plant height in germplasm characterization programmes.

中文翻译：

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通过热应激下鹰嘴豆的多阶段表型研究植物高度作为动态性状的研究确定了常见的以及阶段特异性的标记-性状关联

鹰嘴豆的株高是一个多变量的动态性状，在不同基因型的植物发育的不同阶段显示出生长速率的差异。在大多数植物育种实验中，在固定时间点（通常在成熟时）测量的数量性状的表型数据用于数量性状基因座 (QTL) 作图。然而，这种方法可能会导致丢失重要/主要QTL，这些QTL在不同时间点表达，成熟时不表达。在目前的研究中，使用一组 49德西鹰嘴豆基因型连续两年在三个不同的持续时间播种，我们观察到在正常播种试验的 2 个月阶段和晚播试验的 1 个月阶段，株高的遗传力最高。然而，遗传力在成熟时急剧下降，特别是由于生长期温度升高的热应激。在关联分析中，还观察到几乎所有使用端点表型鉴定的标记 - 性状关联（MTA）都是使用在不同时间间隔获得的数据鉴定的。此外，使用每月记录的表型数据确定了一些新的和特定阶段的 MTA。结果强调了多阶段表型对种质表征程序中植物高度等动态性状的重要性。