EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF COLD AND DROUGHT RESISTANT LENTIL GENOTYPES FOR HIGHLANDS OF BALOCHISTAN

Five selected lentil genotypes from ICARDA ()nursery of previous year were evaluated along with some advanced lines and local checks for combining high yield with cold and drought tolerance. Experiment was conducted at Arid Zone Research Centre, Quetta, Pakistan during the winter season 2009-10. Data were recorded on parameters which play important role in selecting high yielding genotypes such as days to 50% flowering, days to 90% maturity, plant height (cm), number of pods per plant, 100 seed weight (g), yield per hectare (kg) and total dry matter (kg). Performance of the genotypes was evaluated under the prevailing natural cold (1.8 - 31.7 °C) and artificially imposed drought (135 days) stress conditions. Significant differences were observed for all the parameters except for total dry matter. Entry FLIP 2004-13L gave maximum grain yield of 1688 kg ha^-1, closely followed by entry ILL-8081 and Quetta local which produced 1508 and 1342 kg ha^-1,respectively. Lowest yield (724 kg ha^-1) was recorded for MPT-1. Entries FLIP 2004- 13L, FLIP 2005-19L and FLIP 2004-7L which not only produced highest yield but also showed tolerance to abiotic stresses (cold and drought) and were therefore promoted in advanced yield trials for further evaluation.