Breeding Progress, Adaptation, and Stability for Grain Yield in Moroccan Lentil Improved Varieties

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is an important grain legume worldwide. It contributes to sustain farming through its ability to fix N in soils and to enhance human nutrition and health thanks to its nutritionally rich grains. In Morocco, it is consumed as staple food by a large proportion of the population. However, the country depends on importation to meet the national demand at the cost of losing valuable currencies. One of the factors limiting lentil production in Morocco is the availability and use of certified seeds of improved varieties. In this research, we aimed at evaluating genetic gain from breeding, adaptation and stability of available improved varieties to make recommendations aiming to enhance their use and adoption by farmers. We studied 9 registered varieties and two candidate lines in 14 different environments for grain yield. All the tested varieties and candidate lines had higher yield than the actual average yield of lentil in Morocco. Significant increase and higher genetic gain over the local check were observed from 1989 to 2018. Up to 35 kg ha−1 yr−1 genetic gain for grain yield was obtained. The yield advantage of improved varieties over the local check increased from 16 to 67% from 1989 to 2018. Most of varieties have wide adaptation and respond positively to the increase of environmental index. The environmental factor in terms of the amount and distribution of rainfall has a determinant effect on grain yield for all varieties and candidate lines. However, differences in the degree of adaptation and stability of these varieties were observed. These results could help draw more attention to lentil in Morocco and define efficient strategies that make the best varieties available for farmers from the perspective of enhancing national production.