ADAPTATION OF LENTIL SEED YIELD TO VARYING MOISTURE SUPPLY

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) is an important component of rainfed farming systems in West Asia and North Africa; it is also grown under irrigation in Egypt and Sudan. Our objectives were to determine the adaptation of a range of lentil genotypes to a wide spectrum of moisture regimes. Thirty-four diverse genotypes were grown for two seasons (1984-1985 and 1985-1986) at three locations varying in water supply, in northern Syria and Lebanon. At one location (Tel Hadya, Syria), the crop was given two supplementary irrigation regimes. Variation in mean seed yield per plant was largely explained (R2 = 0.833**) by the variation in water supply. Two supplementary irrigations (50 mm each) resulted in a 20% increase in seed yield per plant. Genotypic performance was adequately summarized by genotype means and their linear responses to different levels of moisture supply, allowing selection of genotypes for either wet or dry conditions.