Ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Labr., and Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. Emend. Synd. & Hans. f. sp. ciceris (Padwick) Synd. & Hans, are the most important diseases affecting chickpea crop in different chickpea growing areas in the world. Occasionally, these diseases, in severe form can cause heavy yield losses, or sometimes complete crop failures. Although some chemicals are available to control these diseases but these are uneconomical and environmentally unfriendly. Thus host plant resistance is the best alternative to control these diseases and reduce yield losses they inflict. Reliable screening techniques for evaluation for resistance to these diseases under field conditions are developed and in use. Chickpea Improvement Program at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), in collaboration with the advanced institutions in Canada and Australia, has been developing a large number of breeding materials and genetic stocks and evaluating them for resistance against these two diseases. The resistance to each of these diseases as well as combined resistance to both is incorporated into agronomical desirable cultivars using gene pyramiding approach. The resultant disease resistant elite materials are shared with the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in different countries. In the present paper achievements made to date and future strategies for further improvement of Ascochyta blight and Fusarium wilt resistance in chickpea are discussed.
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