Plant to plant variation in harvest index in lentil (Lens culinaris L.) : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Diploma of Agricultural Science in the University of Canterbury New Zealand

Abstract

A field study was carried out to assess variation in the harvest index and yield components of lentils (Lens culinaris cv. Titore). Four levels of irrigation were imposed on the lentils. One trial was sown in autumn and the other in spring. The variation in the harvest index in response to sowing date and irrigation was examined. Increased moisture stress increased mean harvest index in autumn from 0.22 to 0.43; however, in the spring sowing there was no significant change in harvest index, which varied from 0.40 to 0.42. Harvest index of individual plants varied from 0.03 to 0.61 in autumn and from 0.12 to 0.61 in spring. About 50% of the plants from the autumn and spring sowings had harvest indices between 0.40 to 0.50. In autumn-sown lentils, total dry matter production per plant increased from 3.90 to 4.90 g/plant with increased irrigation. Spring-sown plants did not show any significant response to irrigation in dry matter production. Irrigation of the autumn-sown crop had a negative effect on seed number, 1000-seed weight, pod number and pod weight per plant. This experiment showed that on an individual basis, harvest index varies considerably with irrigation from season to season.