Iron deficiency in lentil: Yield loss and geographic distribution in a germplasm collection


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1993-04-01

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William Erskine, N. P. Saxena, Mohan C. Saxena. (1/4/1993). Iron deficiency in lentil: Yield loss and geographic distribution in a germplasm collection. Plant and Soil, 151, pp. 249-254.
Iron deficiency symptoms are observed on some genotypes of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) grown in calcareous soil. A germplasm collection of 3512 accessions originating from 18 countries was characterized for iron deficiency in a Calcic Rhodoxeralf soil at ICARDA, Tel Hadya, Syria in the 1979/80 season. At 105 days after sowing, 592 accessions, representing 16.9% of the collection, showed chlorosis symptoms characteristic of iron (Fe) deficiency. The Fe deficiency was verified by foliar application of Fe-chelate. Germplasm from different countries showed differences in iron deficiency, with those accessions exhibiting symptoms of iron deficiency mostly originating from relatively warm climates such as India (37.5% accessions showing Fe deficiency) and Ethiopia (30%). Populations from those Mediterranean countries where lentil originated (Syria and Turkey) exhibited Fe-deficiency symptoms only at very low frequencies. Fe-deficiency induced chlorosis was positively correlated with cold susceptibility. Fe chlorosis was transient, the deficiency symptoms largely disappearing during reproductive growth at a time, coinciding with increases in soil temperature and daylength-conditions favorable for plant growth. In Indian germplasm, mild deficiency symptoms did not lead to reduced seed yield, but there was a major yield reduction of 47% in those accessions with the most severe symptoms. Straw yields was reduced commensurately with the severity of symptoms. ei]Section editor: B G Rolfe