Crop Type: Open field crop
Breeding system: Predominantly autogamous
Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is an annual, herbaceous, self-pollinated, diploid legume belonging to the Fabaceae family (Sharma et al. 1995). It is one of the most important grain legumes for direct human consumption worldwide with high nutritional value, as its seeds are rich in amino-acids, proteins and dietary fibres and low in fat (Sarker and Erskine 2006; Fikiru et al. 2011). The major components of lentil seed are proteins 20-26%, carbohydrates 55-60% and fibers around 30%. The mineral content of lentils is composed of relatively high levels of magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and significant quantity of iron (Fe). Also lentils are an important dietary source of a plethora of vitamins such as folate, thiamin (B1), and riboflavin (B2) (USDA, 2011).
Lentil is one of the main legumes and is grown mainly in the semi-arid areas of the world. In 2017 lentils were produced over an area of about 6.6 million hectares, mainly in America (53.9%) and Asia (36.6%) with a total production of 7.6 million tonnes per year (FAOSTAT 2019). The dried seed is used as a legume in the countries in which is produced.
The lentil is a predominantly self-pollinating plant.
References- FAOSTAT (2019) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAOSTAT database.
- Fikiru E, Tesfaye K, Bekele E (2011) Morphological and molecular variation in Ethiopian lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) varieties. International Journal of Genetics and Molecular Biology 3: 45–50.
- Horneburg B, Becker HC (2008) Crop adaption in on-farm management by natural and conscious selection: a case study with lentil. Crop Science 48: 203–212.
- Sarker A, Erskine W (2006) Recent progress in the ancient lentil. Journal of Agricultural Science 144: 19.
- Sharma SK, Dawson KI, Waugh R (1995) Relationship among cultivated and wild lentils revealed by RAPD analysis. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 91: 647–654.
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2011) USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23. Retrievable from http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=243584