ABSTRACT
Developing improved varieties of lentil William Erskine, University of Western Australia, Australia; Ashutosh Sarker, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), India; and Shiv Kumar, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Morocco
1 Introduction
2 Production regions and their agro-ecologies
3 Phylogeny, domestication/spread and genetic resources
4 Problems addressable by breeding
5 Breeding methods
6 New technologies
7 Success stories
8 Future trends
9 Where to look for further information
10 References
The lentil (Lens culinaris Medik. ssp. culinaris) is a short, slender annual leguminous plant that produces a popular pulse that is widely consumed, especially in Asia. Its grain is a vital source of protein, with a mean content of 28.3% ranging from 15.9 to 31.4% (Grusak, 2009), especially for the poor, who cannot afford animal products. Lentil seed also contains high amounts of macro-and micro-nutrients such as Ca, Fe, K, P and Zn; the vitamins – ascorbic acid, inositol, niacin and vitamin A; fibre; and also carbohydrates for balanced nutrition (Bhatty, 1988; Savage, 1988; Kumar et al., 2016b; Thavarajah et al., 2016).
