Abstract:
Red lentils (Lens culinaris) are the most commonly consumed legume, with
a daily per capita consumption of around 770 grams per month. However,
overall consumption depends heavily onlentil imports due to challenges in
growing the crop in the country. The aim of this study is to identify the
barriers to lentil cultivation in Sri Lanka using edible seeds from market
stocks. The selected unbroken seeds from the market were tested for their
germination percentage under different potting media and their growth
performance was examined on the same media. The results showed
differences in germination percentage (ranging from 60% to 90%) between
different starting materials and survival rate differed between seeds and
growth medium. Challenges were observed during growth to flowering due
to high susceptibility to fungal diseasesand climatic conditions. The number
of leaves per plant 9 days after transplantation showed significant differences
(F = 40401, p = 0.017) between the tested media, although no significant
differences were observed after 20 days of transplantation (F = 2.326, p =
0.115). The use of sandmedia with liquid fertilizer (Albert solution) proved
successful and resulted in a significantly higher plant survival rate compared
to other media tested. Plant height showed significantdifferences between the
three media tested 9 days after transplantation (F = 5.970, p = 0.005), while
no significant differences were observed 20 days after transplantation (F =
0.987, p = 0.385).These preliminary studies suggest that germinating tiny
seedlings is challenging in local conditions, but subsequent cultivation is not
too difficult. However, further studies are needed to provide comprehensive
cultivation practices for growing red lentils under local conditions.
