Variation in Quality Traits and their Enhancement in Lentil.

Lentil is an important pulse crop since its domestication in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East. Its seed is used for human food and straw is an important source of animal feed. Hence, the crop has a unique role in sustainable cereal-based cropping systems, particularly in Asia and Africa. It is an important source of protein, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids, and micronutrients for nutritional security of the poor in many developing countries. Lentil seeds contain 19.5% and 35.5% protein and between 35% and 55% carbohydrates. Compared with carbohydrate sources from cereals, tubers and pulses, lentil carbohydrates have a low glycemic index, thus contributing positively to the health of people suffering from diabetes. Potassium and phosphorus with concentrations up to 8.6 g/kg and 29 g/kg, respectively, are the major minerals present in lentil. Due to low levels of galactooligosccharides compared with other pulses, lentil does not cause flatulence and intestinal discomfort in humans. Biofortification with high Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn) in lentil seed became a major researchable issue at national and international breeding programs. Screening a total of 1645 landraces, breeding lines and released cultivars, lentil displayed great variation for both Fe (41-132 mg/kg) and Zn (22-78 mg/kg) concentrations. Released varieties from Nepal, Ethiopia, Syria, Turkey, Portugal, Bangladesh and Syria showed high concentration of Fe and Zn and are in ‘Fast-tracking’. Hybridization among high Fe and Zn progenitors is underway to develop transgressive segregants with Fe and Zn levels above their parents. A total of 38 lines with high micronutrient content have been included into international nurseries and made available to national programs.