Indication of Tolerance to Broomrapes (Orobanche crenata Forsk.) in Wild Lentil Collected from Jordan

The broomrape, Orobanche crenata is one of the most serious threats to grain legumes around the world. Cultivated lentil varieties are susceptible to Orobanche spp. and can be severely infected by O. crenata. Resistance breeding is hampered by scarcity of proper sources of resistance in cultivated lentil. A germplasm collection of 22 wild lentil accessions was screened for resistance to O. crenata under laboratory and greenhouse conditions over two seasons (2007 and 2008). A wide range of responses was observed, from high tolerance to susceptibility. The higher levels of tolerance were observed in accessions of Lens ervoides and Lens culinaris subsp. orientalis that were collected from Al Mansourah, Al-sofsafeh, Ain Al Tais and Irbid. Tolerance of these accessions proved to be mainly because of failure to induce germination in Orobanche seeds (accessions 3, 6, 22), and to develop tubercle on lentil roots in accession 3,5, 6 and 22. These results could be of significantimportance, but need further verifications by testing them under naturally infested field and if needed to be confirmed by DNA analysis. If the results were confirmed further, these accessions could be used as a source for crossing with cultivated lentils aiming at the development of lentil cultivars tolerant to Orobanche