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The productivity of chickpea (C. arietinum L.) in the arid and semi-arid regions is constrained due to terminal drought. Chickpea genotypes with prolific and deep rooting have been shown to be more adapted to drought but little information is available on the genetic control of root system. The genetic components that govern the expression of root and shoot characteristics were investigated through generation mean analysis, using six generations (P-1, P-2, F-1, F-2, BC1P1 and BC1P2) of two crosses (ICC 283 x ICC 8261 and ICC 4958 x ICC 1882) in chickpea involving parents with contrasting root characteristics. In both the crosses, the additive and additive x additive interaction effects played important role in governing the root length density and root dry weight. The direction of the additive gene effects was consistent and towards increasing the root growth. Delaying selections to later generations and generating larger populations for selections were proposed as strategies for improving root systems of chickpea to exploit additive x additive interaction. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.