Agro-morphological characterization and comparative performance of Ethiopian and exotic lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) germplasm

Exploring genetic diversity and identifying new germplasm from genebanks is crucial for lentil breeding programs. This research was designed to assess the performance of lentil germplasm from various genebanks. About 615 diverse Ethiopian and exotic lentil germplasm, were characterized at Deneba, Amhara Region, Ethiopia using augmented design with 12 blocks and three checks. Data were recorded on 12 qualitative and 9 quantitative traits. Chi-square, Shannon diversity index, cluster and principal component analyses were employed for data extrapolation. There was significant variation among landraces, but only in terms of early plant vigor and stem pigmentation, however there was large variation among exotic lentil germplasm across their source of origin. Landraces did not show significant variation in terms of their phenology, yield, or yield-related traits as compared with exotics. However, hierarchical K clustering grouped Ethiopian landraces with germplasm from India and ICAR80 in terms of their agronomic traits. Similarly, germplasm sourced from the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Area (ICARDA), and through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), grouped in another cluster highlighting a close relationship between these two groups. In terms of seed per pod and earliness, landraces were significantly better than exotics. However, exotic lentils specifically from ACIAR and ICARDA performed best in terms of yield and yield-related traits. In general, days to maturity, yield, branching, seed weight, number of seeds per pod, and poding contributed to the large variation between landrace and exotic lentils, important traits for selection from this diverse lentil germplasm.