here - First Legume Society Conference (LSC1)

Book of Abstracts First Legume Society Conference 2013: A Legume Odyssey Novi Sad, Serbia, 9-11 May 2013
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Evaluation of normal and micronutrient dense lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) cultivars
for nutritional security and cropping intensification in mid and far western Terai of
Nepal
R Darai 1 , A Sarkar 2 , DB Gharti 1 , MB Chadaro 3
1 NGLRP, Rampur
2 ICARDA, New Delhi
3 RARS, Nepalgunj
Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) is the main pulse in Nepal often referred as the "poor man's meat"
for its rich protein. Biotic and abiotic stresses are the major threats of the lentil production and
productivity. Micronutrients are especially required for adolescent and pregnant women in
sufficient quantum. Therefore research in collaboration with International Center for Agricultural
Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), Syria and National Grain Legume Research Program
(NGLRP), Rampur has identified very promising micronutrient rich lines i.e. iron, Zn, and ßcarotene
etc. Twelve to twenty four lentil genotypes of diverse origins were evaluated in the
Coordinated Varietal Trial (CVT), Regional Elite Varietal Trial (REVT), Participatory Varietal
Selection (PVS) and micronutrient trials at the station and the outreach research (OR) sites.
During the three experimentation seasons (2009/010-2011/12), using a randomized complete
block design with three to four replicates, the genotypes were tested for variation, performance
and suitability for growing under rainfed environments. Significant genotypic differences were
detected for major traits of each season and combined data over the year and may be due to their
different genetic backgrounds. The tested genotypes were varied in their interaction with the
prevailing environmental influences and exhibited different responses. Lentil genotypes ILL6467
(1306 kg/ha) produced the highest grain yield followed by Shital (1289 kg/ha), ILL6819 (1147
kg/ha) and LN00136 (1116 kg/ha) among the tested genotypes, respectively. Likewise, genotypes
ILL6467 (Iron-94 mg/kg, Zinc-57 mg/kg), ILL 7723 (Iron-91 mg/kg, Zinc-59 mg/kg), Khajura-
1 (Iron-94 mg/kg, Zinc-59 mg/kg) and RL13 (Iron-101 mg/kg, Zinc-57 mg/kg) contain rich
micronutrient content in the seed and performed very well in rainfed environment of Nepalgunj.
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