In breeding chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.), the prime objective is high-protein genotypes’ development for a balanced diet with plant-origin products. The pertinent research also aimed to develop drought-resistant and highly productive chickpea cultivars with better quality, adapting well to the soil and climatic conditions of Kazakhstan. The article summarized the results of many years of research on chickpea world collection in the dry-steppe and foothill zones of Southeast Kazakhstan. Chickpea genotypes’ characterization has included as essential base material for subsequent breeding programs with specific economically valuable traits, i.e., early maturity, high-seed productivity, seed size, plant height, height of the lower pods, and shape of the bush. In the collection nursery, 223 chickpea cultivars incurred analysis. A structural analysis ensued based upon the following characteristics, i.e., the bush structure, plant height, height of the lower pods, the number of lateral branches, the number of productive nodes, the number of pods per plant, seed weight per plant, and 1000-seed weight. On the flowering and maturity period, 132 chickpea samples were at the standard level, for which the period was 80–88 days, while 62 genotypes matured 5–6 days earlier than the standard. The use of 13 drought-resistant genotypes, i.e., 12216, 12227, 12118, 3046, 12125, 12108, 12119, 31107, 42134, 31105, 31108, 31232, and 42145 was necessary to enhance the chickpea productivity with quality through hybridization program. Overall, the study identified 42 chickpea cultivars based on growth and yield traits for chickpea breeding under the environmental conditions of Southeast Kazakhstan.

Keywords: Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), world collection, conventional breeding, hybridization, drought resistance, growth and yield traits, selection, Southeast Kazakhstan

Key findings: Through the chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) breeding program, identifying droughtresistant, highly productive, and better-quality genotypes was successful. Based on the economically valuable and quality properties, the selected genotypes will serve in the parental genotypes‟ selection for crossing through conventional hybridization.