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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(4)

A water deficit during pod development in lentils reduces flower and pod numbers but not seed size

R. Shrestha A B , N.C. Turner A D , K. H. M. Siddique A , D. W. Turner B and J. Speijers C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

B School of Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

C Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 4, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: ncturner@clima.uwa.edu.au

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57(4) 427-438 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR05225
Submitted: 24 June 2005  Accepted: 29 November 2005   Published: 27 April 2006

Abstract

An experiment was conducted under controlled conditions in a glasshouse to determine the sensitivity of reproductive development of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) genotypes of different origins to water deficit. The 3 genotypes were Cassab (West Asia), Simal (South Asia), and ILL 7979 a crossbred between a West Asian genotype and a South Asian genotype. Two watering treatments, a well-watered control and a water-deficit treatment, were imposed from the beginning of podding. Leaf water relations, total dry matter production, leaf area, and number of flowers, pods, and seeds were measured from podding to maturity.

In the well-watered plants the leaf water potential (ψleaf) before sunrise ranged from −0.6 to −0.8 MPa. When subjected to water deficit, ψleaf fell to about −3.0 MPa. Genotypes did not show variation in vegetative growth or seed yield under either well-watered or water-deficit conditions, but they differed significantly in the number of flowers, fruiting nodes, pods, and seeds, and harvest index (HI). Seed size in Cassab was 61% larger than ILL 7979 and 105% larger than Simal. The small-seeded genotypes produced the highest number of fruiting nodes and hence a greater number of flowers, pods, and seeds. Seed size was positively correlated with seed growth rate (r = 0.77**) and seed fill duration (r = 0.45*).

The water deficit reduced plant height by about 20%, leaf area by 48–81%, and total dry matter by about 60% compared with well-watered plants. The water deficit reduced flower number by 35–46% and increased seed abortion (empty pods) by 17–46%. The water deficit had no effect on the maximum seed growth rate, seed fill duration, or final seed size in any of the 3 genotypes. Therefore, the 70% reduction in seed yield induced by the water deficit was primarily due to a reduction in pod and seed numbers (by 59–70%) rather than individual seed growth rate and seed size.

Additional keywords: dry matter, flower drop, pod production, pod abortion, seed growth rate, seed fill duration.


Acknowledgments

R. Shrestha is grateful to ACIAR for providing a John Allwright Fellowship to undertake PhD studies in Australia. CSIRO is thanked for providing glasshouse and laboratory facilities. The technical assistance of Christiane Ludwig and Renee Buck is highly appreciated. Dr Jens Berger is thanked for his advice on statistical analysis, and Dr Senthold Asseng for his comments on the manuscript.


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