This document provides information about lentils (Lens culinaris), including: 1. Lentils are an important pulse crop grown mainly in Canada, India, Turkey, US, and Australia, with India producing about 0.6 million tons annually. 2. Lentils have a diploid chromosome number of 2n=2x=14. Their center of origin is the Near East and they were first domesticated there. 3. Breeding objectives for lentils include increasing yield, improving seed size/color/quality for different market classes, and improving resistance to diseases, insects, drought, and lodging.

1. L e n t i l
Lens culinaris Medik
(2n=2x=14)

2. Introduction
• Lentil is a rabi pulse crop grown mainly in
Canada, India, Turkey, US, Australia.
• In India, the acreage under lentil is about 1
million hectare which is about 5% of the
total pulse acreage.
• The production is about 0.6 million tones
accounting for about 5% of the total pulse
production.
• Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar
and West Bengal are the states where
95% of the acreage is concentrated.

3. Biological Classification
• Order: Fabales
• Family: Fabaceae
• Genus: Lens
• Species: L. culinaris
• Common Names: Masoor, Masura

4. Morphology of Lentil
Plant
• Lens culinaris is an erect, pale green
annual herb up to 75 cm tall. Its main
stem is square in cross-section, and
from it many branches extend.
• Leaves: The pinnately compound
leaves are arranged alternately along
the stem. Each leaf consists of 5-16
leaflets which are inserted along the
leaf’s central axis (the rachis).

5. Morphology of Lentil
Plant
• Fruit: The fruit is a 6-20 mm long, 3-
12 mm wide pod containing up to 3
seeds.
• Seed: The seeds are lens-shaped, 2-
9 mm long, 2-3 mm wide and can be
grey, green, brownish green, pale red
speckled with black or pure black in
colour.

6. Floral Biology
• Lentil is self pollinating crop due to cleistogamy, with
less than 1% cross pollination.
• Pollination normally occurs just before the flower
opens.
• The stalked flowers are arranged along an
unbranched axis (a raceme).
• The flowers are pale blue, white or pink.
• The flower consist of 10 stamens (9:1 arrangement).
• The pistil consists of the stigma, the style and the
ovary, usually with two ovules.

7. Origin
• Lens orientalis is the progenitor
species.
• The centre of origin for Lens
culinaris is the Near East and the
species was first domesticated in
the Near East.
• Lentil first spread to the Nile from
the Near East, to Central Europe
and then to the Indian subcontinent
and Mediterranean region.

8. Cytology
• The diploid chromosome number is
2n=2x=14.
• 2 pairs of chromosomes are Metacentric, 2
pairs are Sub-metacentric and 3 pairs are
Acrocentric.
• The chromosome length may vary from
1.9 to 6.4 µ and the total chromosome
length from 14.1 to 36.3 µ.
• The number of chromosomes with
secondary constrictions ranged from 0-2.

9. Breeding Objectives
• High Seed Yield
• Appropriate Size, Shape, Seed Coat Colour and Quality for the
following market classes of lentil:
• Large Green
• Medium Green
• Small Green
• Small Red
• Extra Small Red
• a Few Minor Specialty Classes
• High Protein Value
• Less Cooking Time

10. Breeding Objectives
• Tolerance to Drought
• Resistance to Shattering
• Lodging Tolerance
• Resistance to Diseases
• Ascochyta blight
• Rust (Uromyces fabae)
• Wilt (Fusarium oxysporum)

11. Breeding Objective
• Resistance to Insects
• Pod borer (Etiella zinckenella)
• Cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon)
• Aphid (Aphis craccivora)

12. Breeding Procedures
• Pureline Selection among locally adapted germplasm lines.
• Varietal Hybridization
• Pedigree Method
• Bulk Method
• Single Seed Decent Method
• Backcross Method
• Biotechnology