Understanding the physiological and biochemical basis of plant tolerance to freezing stress is very critical in in breeding plants tolerant to freezing stress. In this study, consisting of two independent experiments, kabuli type chickpea genotypes (701) were exposed to freezing stress (− 12 °C) at the seedling stage under controlled conditions. Thirty days after the stress, alive seedlings were transferred to the field, and at the end of the growing season, yield and yield-related variables were assessed. In general, 42% of the genotypes survived after the freezing stress, among which 38 had a survival rate above 75%. A significant and positive correlation was observed between survival percentage and maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II in the light (F_v′/F_m′), water soluble carbohydrates and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity after freezing stress. However, the survival percentage negatively correlated with electrolyte leakage. Principal component analysis showed that in the PC3 survival percentage, F_v′/F_m′ after freezing stress, water soluble carbohydrates after freezing stress, and APX activity after freezing stress had a high negative coefficient, while EL had a high positive coefficient. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that F_v′/F_m′ after freezing stress and APX activity after freezing stress described the most changes in survival percentage. In the field experiment, seed weight had the highest correlation coefficient with biomass and harvest index. In the principal component analysis, the coefficients of the PC1 for seed weight, biomass, and harvest index were − 0.92, − 0.87, and − 0.74, respectively. In conclusion, the chickpea genotypes with high antioxidant potential and water soluble carbohydrates were able to sustain carbon fixation and growth, and yielded well under freezing stress. The same traits may be used in mass screening of chickpea genotypes for tolerance to freezing stress.

了解植物抗冻胁迫的生理生化基础对于培育抗冻植物非常关键。在这项由两个独立实验组成的研究中，kabuli 型鹰嘴豆基因型 (701) 在受控条件下的幼苗期暴露于冷冻胁迫 (− 12 °C)。胁迫 30 天后，活苗被转移到田间，在生长季节结束时，评估产量和产量相关变量。总的来说，42%的基因型在冷冻胁迫后存活，其中38个存活率在75%以上。光照下光系统 II 的存活率与最大光化学效率之间存在显着正相关 (F _v ′/F _m′), 冷冻胁迫后水溶性碳水化合物和抗坏血酸过氧化物酶 (APX) 活性。然而，存活率与电解质渗漏呈负相关。主成分分析表明，在PC3存活率中，冷冻胁迫后的F _v ′/F _{m ′、冷冻胁迫后的水溶性碳水化合物和冷冻胁迫后的APX活性具有较高的负系数，而EL具有较高的正系数。}逐步回归分析显示 F _v ′/F _m' 冷冻胁迫后和冷冻胁迫后 APX 活性描述了存活百分比的最大变化。在田间试验中，种子重量与生物量和收获指数的相关系数最高。在主成分分析中，种子重量、生物量和收获指数的 PC1 系数分别为 - 0.92、- 0.87 和 - 0.74。总之，具有高抗氧化潜力和水溶性碳水化合物的鹰嘴豆基因型能够维持碳固定和生长，并且在冷冻胁迫下产量高。相同的性状可用于大量筛选鹰嘴豆基因型的抗冻性。