Résumé
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second most important pulse crop worldwide next to beans. It is a cool season annual crop that belongs to the Leguminosae family. It is a rich source of protein (20-30%), carbohydrates (similar to 40%), and minerals and thus serves as an important source of nutrients in vegetarian diets, especially in developing countries (Jukanti et al. 2012). The average production of chickpea was 14.2 million tons from an area of 14.8 million ha giving an average yield of 0.96 t ha(-1) (FAO 2014). About 90% of this crop was grown under residual soil moisture in the arid and semiarid regions of the world (Kumar and Abbo 2001). Terminal drought is one of the major constraints limiting chickpea productivity (Krishnamurthy et al. 2010) that causes substantial annual yield losses up to 50% (Ahmad et al. 2005). Plant traits that allow soil water conservation (limited or restricting TR) under well-watered conditions during the vegetative stage may allow greater water availability for successful grain filling during terminal drought.