Understanding photothermal interactions will help expand production range and increase genetic diversity of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

Authors: WRIGHT, DEREK - University Of Saskatchewan; NEUPANE, SANDESH - University Of Saskatchewan; HEIDECKER, TARYN - University Of Saskatchewan; HAILE, TEKETEL - University Of Saskatchewan; Coyne, Clarice - Clare; McGee, Rebecca; UDUPA, SRIPADA - International Center For Agricultural Research(ICARDA); HENKRAR, FATIMA - International Center For Agricultural Research(ICARDA); BARILLI, ELEONORA - Spanish National Research Council; RUBIALES, DIEGO - Spanish National Research Council; GIOIA, TANIA - University Of Basilicata; MEHRA, REENA - International Center For Agricultural Research(ICARDA); SARKER, ASHUTOSH - International Center For Agricultural Research(ICARDA); DHAKAL, RAJEEV - Local Initiatives For Biodiversity, Research And Development; ANWAR, BABUL - Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; SARKER, DEBASHISH - Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; VANDENBERG, ALBERT - University Of Saskatchewan; BETT, KIRSTIN - University Of Saskatchewan

Submitted to: Plants, People, Planet
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2020
Publication Date: 10/21/2020
Citation: Wright, D., Neupane, S., Heidecker, T., Haile, T., Coyne, C.J., McGee, R.J., Udupa, S., Henkrar, F., Barilli, E., Rubiales, D., Gioia, T., Mehra, R., Sarker, A., Dhakal, R., Anwar, B., Sarker, D., Vandenberg, A., Bett, K.E. 2020. Understanding photothermal interactions will help expand production range and increase genetic diversity of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.). Plants, People, Planet. 3(2):171-181. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10158.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10158

Interpretive Summary: Lentil is a globally important pulse crop, recognized as part of the solution to combating global food and nutritional insecurity as it is a good source of dietary fibre, protein, B vitamins, and minerals, and has low levels of sodium, cholesterol, fat and calories. Lentils are also quick cooking relative to most other pulses, making them particularly important in regions where cooking fuel is limited. In lentil, days to flower (DTF) can be used to adequately assess adaptation to a specific environment. The diversity of environmental conditions among the regions where lentils have been cultivated has led to the selection of a variety of responses of DTF to temperature and photoperiod, which we classified into eight groups based on statistical modleing. In addition, the variation in response of DTF to increased temperatures or photoperiod that may be associated with climate change could be useful to breeders looking to mitigate its effects, which will be most drastic in the Mediterranean region. The results from our study can be exploited by breeders looking to expand the genetic diversity within their breeding program, through the identification of genotypes with appropriate flowering time by predicting DTF in a specific environment, and/or by identifying genotypes with increased or decreased temperature or photoperiod sensitivity.

Technical Abstract: Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is cultivated under a wide range of environmental conditions, which has led to diverse phenological responses depending on the specific environment in which they are grown. We phenotyped 324 genotypes across nine locations over three years to assess the response of phenological traits to the environmental conditions of major lentil production regions and tested a photo-thermal model to predict days from sowing to flowering (DTF). Reproductive periods were relatively consistent across all environments, conversely, DTF was heavily influenced by the environment and showed a strong correlation with other phenological traits, indicating that evaluation of DTF is sufficient to explain adaptation in lentil. Hierarchical clustering of principal components revealed the presence of eight cluster groups based on the responses of DTF to contrasting environments. Across all site-years, the photo-thermal model had a high goodness-of-fit of R2 = 0.886, however, in certain site-years it was unable to accurately predict DTF, warranting caution and is suggestive of additional environmental factors that can influence DTF. Additionally, the photothermal model can assess temperature and photoperiod sensitivity, which could be important selection factors under future climate change scenarios. Results from this study can be exploited by breeders looking to predict DTF in a given environment and identify adapted genotypes with appropriate phenology.