Genetic Enhancement of Lentil for Adaptation to Various Production Niches in South Asia.

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris) is an important pulse crop grown and consumed  in South Asia since time immemorial. Its seed is used for human food, plant residues for animal feed and its cultivation provides sustainable rice-based cropping systems in the region.  Lentil is generally grown under residual soil moisture after rainy season, and the crop frequently faces drought and heat stresses, besides vulnerable to a range of pests and diseases. Lentils in South Asia have narrow genetic base with respect to morphological, agronomic and stress tolerant traits.  The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and its partners in South Asia are engaged in broadening the genetic base of lentil with the aim to develop high yielding and stable varieties with resistance to the prevailing stresses and suitable for cultivation under various crop production systems. ICARDA holds the largest collection of > 11,000 diverse lentil germplasm from 72 countries, which is the building block of an international breeding program.  Targeted utilization of these materials in genetic enhancement research has resulted into construction of new genotypes, and development of improved cultivars in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, and productivity has increased 11% in last decade.  Some of these varieties have early seedling vigor, early maturity, robust root systems, high biomass, and have ability to adapt under mixed cropping, inter-cropping and no-till production systems. Additionally, high iron and zinc content varieties is made available to farmers, super-early lentil genotypes have been identified to fit into short growing period (< 90 days) in rice-rice system and for cultivation  in  rice-fallows as a second crop. Higher yield with  and lucrative market price of lentil has encouraged farmers to expand lentil production in the region.