Drought and Herbivory Differentially Modulate the Leaf Exudation of Organic Acids in Chickpea

Drought and herbivory challenge chickpea growth and yield. Consequently, we designed two glasshouse experiments to investigate the effects of drought and herbivory on chickpea growth and defence and explored the trade-offs between exudation of organic acids and growth. Experiment 1 combined factorially twelve varieties and three water regimes. Experiment 2 combined factorially six cultivars, two water regimes, and two herbivory treatments - plants challenged with Helicoverpa armigera larvae and untreated controls. Drought decreased the amount of leaf exudates by 71