Product Code Database
The lentil ( Vicia lens or Lens culinaris) is an annual plant legume grown for its lens-shaped edible or pulses, also called lentils. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, usually with two seeds in each.
Lentil seeds are used around the world for culinary purposes. In cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, where lentils are a staple food, split lentils (often with their hulls removed) known as dal are often cooked into a thick curry that is usually eaten with rice or roti. Lentils are commonly used in stews and soups.
The former genus Lens, now considered a section of genus Vicia, consisted of the cultivated L. culinaris and six related wild taxa. As members of genus Lens, these six are Lens orientalis, Lens tomentosus, Lens lamottei, Lens odemensis, Lens ervoides, and Lens nigricans. The seven members are often referred to as "taxa" instead of "species" and/or "subspecies", as while it is broadly agreed there are seven of them, whether they constitute distinct species is not broadly agreed on. Among the wild taxa, L. orientalis is considered to be the progenitor of the cultivated lentil L. culinaris. Of the taxa, L. culinaris and L. orientalis are most often considered subspecies, and so are often also classified as L. culinaris subsp. culinaris and L. culinaris subsp. orientalis respectively. Following reassignment to genus Vicia, they may also be referred to as Vicia lens subsp. culinaris and Vicia lens subsp. orientalis.
The plant is a diploid, annual, bushy herb of erect, semierect, or spreading and compact growth and normally varies from in height. It has many hairy branches and its stem is slender and angular. The rachis bears 10 to 15 leaflets in five to eight pairs. The leaves are alternate, of oblong-linear and obtuse shape and from yellowish green to dark bluish green in colour. In general, the upper leaves are converted into tendrils, whereas the lower leaves are mucronate. If are present, they are small. The flowers, one to four in number, are small, white, pink, purple, pale purple, or pale blue in colour. They arise from the axils of the leaves, on a slender footstalk almost as long as the leaves. The pods are oblong, slightly inflated, and about long. Normally, each of them contains two seeds, about in diameter, in the characteristic lens shape. The seeds can also be mottled and speckled. The several cultivated varieties of lentil differ in size, hairiness, and colour of the leaves, flowers, and seeds.
Lentils are self-pollinating. The flowering begins from the lowermost buds and gradually moves upward, so-called acropetal flowering. About two weeks are needed for all the flowers to open on the single branch. At the end of the second day and on the third day after the opening of the flowers, they close completely and the colour begins to fade. After three to four days, the setting of the pods takes place.
Lentil seed coat colour can be broadly grouped into tan, grey, green, brown, clear or black, the first four of which will slowly turn brown over time. Black seed coat, which can present solid black (almost purple) or slightly patchy, acts like a pattern, Epistasis the "ground" colour (tan, grey, green or brown) beneath, while clear coats lack pigmentation altogether. Seed coat colour is also influenced by the colour of the cotyledon, though this does not usually affect market classification.
Seed coat patterning is usually selected against in most market types with the exception of Puy or "French green" lentil, which has "marbled" patterning. As well as "marbled" (which comes in two genetic variants termed Marbled-1 and Marbled-2), coats may be "spotted", "dotted", "mottled", or show complex/mixed patterns . Seed coat colour is determined by the genotype of the seed parent, rather than the genetics of the plant the seed will become.
Common cotyledon colours are an orange-red colour and a light yellow, usually just called "red" (occasionally "orange") and "yellow" respectively. Three other colours, a brown-yellow, a light green, and a dark green have also been documented.
| + Lentil production | |
| 1,841,222 | |
| 1,671,072 | |
| 1,558,636 | |
| 474,000 | |
| 260,450 | |
| 200,787 | |
| 7,068,620 | |
Lentil was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East and then spread to Europe and North Africa and the Indo-Gangetic plain. The primary center of diversity for the domestic Vicia lens as well as its wild progenitor V. lens ssp. lamottei is considered to be the Middle East. The oldest known carbonized remains of lentil from Greece's Franchthi Cave are dated to 11,000 BC. In archaeobotanical excavations carbonized remains of lentil seeds have been recovered from widely dispersed places such as Tell Ramad in Syria (6250–5950 BC), Aceramic Beidha in Jordan, Hacilar in Turkey (5800–5000 BC), Tepe Sabz (Ita. Tepe Sabz) in Iran (5500–5000 BC) and Argissa-Magula Tessaly in Greece (6000–5000 BC), among other places. Lentils were part of the ancient Israelite diet, served roasted or prepared as a soup/stew, as indicated by several Bible passages. Archaeological excavations at Tel Beit Shemesh have uncovered lentil remains dating from the Iron Age.
Lentils improve the physical properties of soils and increase the yield of succeeding cereal crops. Biological nitrogen fixation or other rotational effects could be the reason for higher yields after lentils . (2025). 9781402063121, Springer Verlag. ISBN 9781402063121
The plant densities for lentils vary between , seed size, planting time and growing conditions, and also from region to region. In South Asia, a seed rate of is recommended. In West Asian countries, a higher seed rate is recommended, and also leads to a higher yield. The seeds should be sown deep. In agriculturally mechanized countries, lentils are planted using Seed drill, but many other areas still hand broadcast.
| + Fungal diseases | |
| Alternaria blight | |
| Anthracnose | |
| Aphanomyces root rot | Aphanomyces euteiches |
| Ascochyta blight |
|
| Black root rot | Fusarium solani |
| Black streak root rot | Thielaviopsis basicola |
| Botrytis gray mold | Botrytis cinerea |
| Cercospora leaf spot | |
| Collar rot |
|
| Cylindrosporium leaf spot and stem canker | Cylindrosporium sp. |
| Downy mildew | |
| Dry root rot |
|
| Fusarium wilt | Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lentis |
| Helminthosporium leaf spot | Helminthosporium sp. |
| Leaf rot | Choanephora sp. |
| Leaf yellowing | Cladosporium herbarum |
| Ozonium wilt | Ozonium texanum var. parasiticum |
| Phoma leaf spot | Phoma medicaginis |
| Powdery mildew |
|
| Pythium root and seedling rot | |
| Rust |
|
| Sclerotinia stem rot | Sclerotinia sclerotiorum |
| Spot blotch | Bipolaris sorokiniana |
| Stemphylium blight |
|
| Wet root rot |
|
| + Nematodes, parasitic | |
| Cyst nematode | Heterodera ciceri |
| Reniform nematode | Rotylenchulus reniformis |
| Root knot nematode | |
| Root lesion nematode | Pratylenchus spp. |
| Stem nematode | Ditylenchus dipsaci |
| +Viral diseases | |
| Bean (pea) leaf roll virus | Beet western yellows virus |
| Bean yellow mosaic | Bean yellow mosaic virus |
| Broad bean mottle | Broad bean mottle virus |
| Broad bean stain | Broad bean stain virus |
| Cucumber mosaic | Cucumber mosaic virus |
| Pea seedborne mosaic | Pea seed-borne mosaic virus |
A major part of the world's red lentil production undergoes a secondary processing step. These lentils are Husk, split and polished. In the Indian subcontinent, this process is called dal milling. The moisture content of the lentils prior to dehulling is crucial to guarantee a good dehulling efficiency. The hull of lentils usually accounts for 6 to 7 percent of the total seed weight, which is lower than most legumes. Lentil flour can be produced by milling the seeds, like cereals.
They are frequently combined with rice, which has a similar cooking time. A lentil and rice dish is referred to in Levantine countries as mujaddara or mejadra. In Iran, rice and lentil is served with fried raisin; this dish is called lentil rice ( adas polo). Rice and lentils are also cooked together in khichdi, a common dish in the Indian subcontinent (India and Pakistan); another dish, kushari, made in Egypt, is considered a national dish.
Lentils and pasta are another common combination in Middle Eastern cuisine, found in countries like Palestine, Syria, Egypt,, Lebanon, among others.
Lentils are used to prepare an inexpensive and nutritious Lentil soup throughout Europe and Americas, sometimes combined with chicken or pork. In Western countries, cooked lentils are often used in salads. In Italy, the traditional dish for New Year's Eve is Cotechino served with lentils.
Lentils are commonly eaten in Ethiopia in a stew-like dish called misir, or misir wot, one of the dishes people eat with Ethiopia's national food, injera flatbread.
Lentils were a chief part of the diet of ancient Iranians, who consumed lentils daily in the form of a stew poured over rice.
Lentils also have antinutrient factors, such as trypsin inhibitors and a relatively high phytate content. Trypsin is an enzyme involved in protein digestion, and phytates reduce the bioavailability of dietary minerals. The phytates can be reduced by prolonged soaking and fermentation or sprouting. Cooking nearly completely removes the trypsin inhibitor activity; sprouting is also effective.
The focus lies on high yielding and stable cultivars for diverse environments to match the demand of a growing population. In particular, progress in quantity and quality as well as in the resistance to disease and abiotic stresses are the major breeding aims. Several varieties have been developed applying conventional breeding methodologies. Serious genetic improvement for yield has been made, however, the full potential of production and productivity could not yet be tapped due to several biotic and abiotic stresses.
Wild Lens species are a significant source of genetic variation for improving the relatively narrow genetic base of this crop. The wild species possess many diverse traits including disease resistances and abiotic stress tolerances. The above-mentioned L. nigricans and L. orientalis possess morphological similarities to the cultivated L. culinaris. But only L. culinaris and L. culinaris subsp. orientalis are crossable and produce fully fertile seed. Between the different related species hybridisation barriers exist. According to their inter-crossability with Lens taxa can be divided into three gene pools:
Crosses generally fail between members of different gene pools. However, Plant hormone and/or embryo rescue allows the growth of viable hybrids between groups. Even if crosses are successful, many undesired genes may be introduced as well in addition to the desired ones. This can be resolved by using a backcrossing programme. Thus, mutagenesis is crucial to create new and desirable varieties. According to Yadav et al. other biotechnology techniques which may impact on lentil breeding are Micropropagation using meristamatic explants, callus culture and regeneration, protoplast culture and doubled haploid production.
There is a proposed revision of the gene pools using SNP phylogeny.
Breeding
Although lentils have been an important crop for centuries, lentil breeding and genetic research have a relatively short history compared to that of many other crops. Since the inception of The International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) breeding programme in 1977 significant gains have been made. It supplies landraces and breeding lines for countries around the world, supplemented by other programmes in both developing (e.g. India) and developed (e.g. Australia and Canada) countries. In recent years, such collaborations among breeders and agronomists are becoming increasingly important.
See also
Further reading
External links
|
|
