Article

1. INTRODUCTION

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is one of the oldest domesticated pulse crops and is widely cultivated in many parts of the world for its nutritional, economic, and ecological importance [2]. The crop is highly valued as a cheap source of dietary protein, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, and fiber, particularly in developing countries where animal protein is often limited [3, 7]. In addition to its nutritional value, lentil contributes to sustainable agriculture through biological nitrogen fixation, which improves soil fertility and reduces the requirement for inorganic fertilizers [4, 5]. The crop also plays an important role in crop rotation systems by improving soil health and breaking disease cycles in cereal-dominated farming systems [10].

Globally, lentil production has increased steadily over the last decades due to rising demand for plant-based protein and expansion of pulse production systems [3]. According to [3], lentil is cultivated on millions of hectares worldwide with a global average productivity of approximately 1.2 t ha⁻¹. [3]. Ethiopia is recognized as the largest lentil producer in Africa and ranks among the top ten lentil-producing countries in the world [5, 6]. The increasing global demand for lentil in international markets has also enhanced the importance of improving lentil productivity and quality in major producing countries, including Ethiopia [12].

According to the Central Statistical Agency (CSA, 2023) [2], lentil is cultivated on about 87,443 hectares of land in Ethiopia with a total production exceeding 119 thousand tons and an average productivity of approximately 1.36 t ha⁻¹. [3] similarly reported that Ethiopia achieved an average lentil productivity of about 1.46 t ha⁻¹, which is slightly above the global average. However, the current national productivity remains below the potential yield attainable under improved management conditions and improved varieties, where yields of more than 3–5 t ha⁻¹ have been recorded in experimental fields [1, 11, 14]. The low productivity of lentil in Ethiopia is attributed to several biotic and abiotic constraints, including the use of low-yielding local cultivars, moisture stress, declining soil fertility, diseases Ascochyta blight (Ascochyta lentis), rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae), and root rot complexes significantly reduce yield and grain quality [8, 13], insect pests, and limited access to improved seed and agronomic technologies [12].

The development, evaluation, and registration of improved lentil varieties are therefore essential strategies for increasing lentil productivity and ensuring sustainable pulse production in Ethiopia [9]. The development of improved lentil varieties provides farmers with access to superior genetic materials that are high yielding, disease resistant, stress tolerant, and adaptable to diverse production environments [2]. Improved lentil varieties contribute significantly to increased agricultural productivity, enhanced food and nutritional security, improved income generation, and strengthened export competitiveness [10]. Furthermore, the use of improved varieties supports climate-resilient agriculture by enhancing adaptation to variable environmental conditions and production stresses [5].

Therefore, the objective of this study was to register stable, high-yielding, and disease resistant/tolerant Lentil variety for highlands Bale and other similar agro-ecologies in Ethiopia. Research on the registration of lentil varieties in Ethiopia is important for identifying and recommending adaptable and high-performing varieties that can address existing production constraints and improve national productivity.

2. Varietal Origin and Evaluation

The lentil genotype EC837891, later released as Mersimoy, together with 13 additional genotypes, was obtained from the Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center under the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research. These genotypes were evaluated alongside the standard check varieties, Asano and Alemaya, across two representative lentil-growing locations, Sinana and Agarfa, over three consecutive cropping seasons from 2017 to 2019.

Combined analysis of variance and mean performance comparisons identified two superior genotypes, EC837891 and EC837840, as promising candidate varieties based on their agronomic performance, yield potential, and adaptability across environments. Subsequently, the selected candidate genotypes were advanced to variety verification trials and evaluated together with previously released and recently commercialized standard check varieties, namely Debine, Furi, Asano, and Alemaya.

The variety verification trial was conducted during the 2021/22 main cropping season under both on-station and farmers’ field conditions at two representative locations. The candidate and check varieties were planted in 10 m × 10 m plots and evaluated by the National Variety Release Technical Committee for their yield performance, stability, adaptability, and disease reaction under farmers’ management conditions. Based on its consistent superior performance, wider adaptability, and desirable agronomic traits, genotype EC837891 was officially recommended for commercial production and subsequently released under the variety name Mersimoy.

3. Varietal Characteristics

The newly released lentil variety Mersimoy is characterized by an indeterminate growth habit. It produces light pink flowers, with seeds exhibiting a light brown seed coat and light red cotyledons. Phenologically, the variety reaches 50% flowering at an average of 59 days after emergence and attains physiological maturity at approximately 128 days. Morphologically, Mersimoy has an average plant height of about 45 cm and produces an average of 24 pods per plant, indicating its favorable yield component attributes. The detailed agronomic and phenological characteristics of the variety are presented in Tables 1 and 3.

4. Yield and Quality Performance

The newly released lentil variety, Mersimoy, demonstrated superior yield performance across the testing environments over three consecutive production years at the two experimental locations. The variety produced seed yields ranging from 1,352 to 3,883 kg ha⁻¹, whereas the standard check variety, Asano, recorded seed yields ranging from 1,091 to 2,361 kg ha⁻¹ (Table 2). On average, Mersimoy attained a mean seed yield of 2,321 kg ha⁻¹, representing a yield advantage of approximately 39.99% over the standard check variety, Asano.

Under research field conditions, Mersimoy achieved seed yields ranging from 2,100 to 3,800 kg ha⁻¹, while under farmers’ field conditions, the variety yielded between 1,300 and 2,100 kg ha⁻¹ (Table 1). The consistent yield superiority of Mersimoy across both research-managed and farmers’ field conditions indicates its wide adaptability, yield stability, and potential for enhancing lentil productivity in the target production areas.

5. Reaction to Major Diseases

Among the major biotic constraints affecting lentil production in the testing environments, Ascochyta blight, rust, and root rot were the most prevalent and economically important diseases. Disease reactions were assessed using the standard 1–9 severity rating scale, where lower scores indicate greater resistance. The candidate variety, Mersimoy, exhibited a mean disease severity score of 3 for both Ascochyta blight and rust, and a score of 4 for root rot. These ratings indicate that the variety possesses a moderately resistant reaction against the major lentil diseases across the experimental locations. The comparative disease response of Mersimoy and the standard check varieties is summarized in Table 4.

6. Performance Stability and Adaptation Domain

Mersimoy was released for high altitude agro-ecologies of the country receiving 750-to-1000 mm average annual rainfall. It is well adapted to an altitude range of 1800 – 2600 meters above sea level such as Sinana, Goba, Agarfa, Gassera, Goro (Meliyu), Adaba, Dodola and other similar agro-ecologies (Table 1). Based on most stability parameters, ‘Mersimoy’ showed relatively comparable performance stability across a range of environments (Table 3).

7. Variety Maintenance

The breeder and foundation seed will be maintained by Sinana Agricultural Research Center/ Oromia Agricultural Research Institute.

8. CONCLUSION

Mersimoy was the best-yielding lentil variety. It is stable in seed yield performance over locations and years. It was resistant to major diseases of Lentil that prevailed in the growing areas. The new variety, ’Mersimoy’ has a mean seed yield of 2321 kg ha^-1 which was higher by about 39.99% than the seed yields obtained from Asano (the check variety). Farmers also preferred the variety for its overall superior performance over the existing variety, which is manifested by high uniformity, good plant height, better pods load and number of branches per plant. Therefore, wide cultivation of the Mersimoy variety will boost productivity and marketability of the crop and improve farmers’ income.

9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We sincerely acknowledge the staff members of the Pulse and Oil Crops Technology Generation Research Team at Sinana Agricultural Research Center for their dedicated efforts in field trial management and meticulous data collection throughout the experimental period. We also express our gratitude to the Oromia Agricultural Research Institute for providing financial support that enabled the successful implementation of the varietal development process. Special appreciation is extended to the Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center for supplying the germplasm used in this study, which was fundamental to the development of the improved lentil variety.

10. REFERENCES

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