Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), commonly called gram, Bengal gram or garbanzo bean is the one of most important food grain legumes. It is also a major source of plant based dietary protein. By and large the crop is cultivated under rainfed conditions mostly on receding soil moisture, which often exposes the crop to drought during its active growth period. Drought alone is the most important constraint to crop productivity. With climate change and predictions of increased water scarcity in the future, water-stress is likely to remain the number one constraint. One way of improving the low...