Winter hardiness in Lentil (Lens Culinaris Medik)

Abstract

Climate change affects lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) cultivation, particularly through extreme winter weather, highlighting the need to assess winter hardiness. This study conducted on of four advanced lentil lines and three controls under winter sowing conditions over three successive growth periods from 2021 to 2023 at the Ikızce Research Application Farm of Field Crops Central Research Institute, Turkey. The analysis aimed to determine the variability in yield and winter resilience of red lentil lines. Results releaveled negligible winter damage, with plant heights ranging from 24 to 30 cm, first pod heights from 23 to 33 cm, and 50% flowering occurring on average of 196 days. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that 75% of observed variability between genotypes are attributed to genetic factors, while 25% can be ascribed to external influences. Notably, lines AKM 1089 and AKM 1087 have been detected as superior, providing a foundation for future lentil breeding studies to develop climate-resilient varieties with genotypic superiority.