Ascochyta blight induced by Ascochyta fabae f.sp . lentis is a major foliar disease affecting lentil . Screening 241 accessions of the ICARDA wild lentil germplasm collection for resistance to a Syrian isolate of this fungus was conducted under artificial inoculation in a plastic house . The reaction of resistant accessions was confirmed in a second trial . Twenty-four out of 16 accessions of Lens culinaris ssp . orientalis were resistant, as were 12 of 35 accessions of L . culinaris ssp . odemensis, 3 of 35 accessions of L . nigricans ssp . nigricans, 36 of 11 accessions of L . nigricans ssp . ervoides, and all 3 accessions of Vicia montbretii. Sixty-four per cent of resistant sources were from Syria and southeastern Turkey . Disease reaction was uncorrelated both to the altitude of collection and its annual average rainfall . A significant correlation (r = 0 .21 1) between leaflet width and disease reaction was due more to the frequency of the resistant reaction within the narrow-leaved L . nigricans ssp . ervoides than as a function of small leaf area. Disease reaction was uncorrelated with a range of other morphological traits .

Vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lentis Vasud. & Srin. is the major disease of the cultivated lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus). Host plant resistance is the most practical method of disease management. Wild lentils .represent an unexplored potential source for disease resistance and other characters. Screening 219 accessions of wild Lens Miller and 2 accessions of Vicia montbretii Fisch. & Mey. (syn. Lens montbretii (Fisch et Mey) Davis et Plitm.) for resistance to a Syrian isolate of this fungus at the seedling stage was conducted under artificial inoculation in a plastic house. Resistance at the reproductive growth stage was confirmed in pots in a plastic house and in a wilt-sick plot. Three accessions each of Lens culinaris ssp. orientatis (Boiss.) Ponert and L. nigricans M.B. Godr. ssp. nigricans Godr. and 2 ofL. nigricans ssp. ervoides (Brign.) Lad. maintained their resistance at the reproductive growth stage in the plastic house. All accessions of L. culinaris ssp. odemensis Lad. and V. montbretii were susceptible. However, in the sick-plot only three accessions (ILWL 79 & ILWL 113 of L. culinaris ssp. orientalis and ILWL 138 ofL. nigricans ssp. ervoides) maintained a good level of resistance. Resistance at the seedling stage was often found in accessions collected from northern and western sites of the distribution of the genus at low elevations. The most resistant accessions in the field at the reproductive growth stage were from Syria and Turkey.

There are several reports of the association among lentil characters based on a few, relatively similar lines grown in single environments. Their results have often been inconsistent because of inadequate sampling of genotypes and environments. This study examined associations between economic characters in lentil over a wide range of genetic material and environments in West Asia. The first part of the study concerned correlations within large samples from the world lentil collection grown in two seasons, and the second part covered a smaller sample of genetic material from the collection sown over a wider range of conditions.The results showed similar phenotypic correlations over two seasons, contrasting in rainfall, in the world lentil collection. Similar genetic and phenotypic correlations were also shown by the smaller sample of germplasm over 10 environments. These results indicated low importance of covariance due to environmental and genotype-environment interaction effects. Seed yield was positively correlated with straw yield, indicating selection for either character will increase the other trait. The correlation between seed protein content and seed yield was small and negative, while the correlation of protein with straw yield was positive in sign. This suggests that the current ICARDA goals of selection for high seed and straw yield will not have a major correlated effect on seed protein content. There was a strong positive correlation between seed size and cooking time (r = 0.96), therefore seed size can be used to predict cooking time.

In high altitude areas (> c. 850 m elevation) in west Asia and north Africa, lentil (Lens culinaris) is grown as a spring crop to avoid severe winter cold. But late fall-sown lentil with winter hardiness has higher yield potential in these areas. In this study a total of 245 accessions of wild lentil, 10 of cultivated lentil and three accessions of Vicia montbretii (syn. L. montbretii) were evaluated for winter hardiness in Syria and Turkey during the 1991/92 season. The absolute minimum temperatures were -16 °C in Syria and -18.9 °C in Turkey and the susceptible indicators were killed at both locations showing that the cold was sufficient for screening. Although winter hardiness was assessed as percentage of survived plants in Syria and as a visual damage rating on a 1-9 scale in Turkey, there was agreement between the winter hardiness ratings with a correlation of r = -0.56, P < 0.001. Accessions of L. culinaris ssp. orientalis exhibited the highest level of winter hardiness, on average; whereas accessions of L. nigricans ssp. ervoides were the most susceptible. Correlations revealed that winter hardiness was concentrated among accessions originating from high elevation areas_

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) is an important component of ralnfed farming systems in West Asia and North Africa; it is also grown under irrigation in Egypt and Sudan. Our objectives were to determine the adaptation of a range of lentil genotypes to a wide spectrum of moisture regimes. Thirty‐four diverse genotypes were grown for two seasons (1984–1985 and 1985–1986) at three locations varying in water supply, in northern Syria and Lebanon. At one location (Tel Hadya, Syria), the crop was given two supplementary irrigation regimes. Variation in mean seed yield per plant was largely explained (R2 = 0.833**) by the variation in water supply. Two supplementary irrigations (50 mm each) resulted in a 20% increase in seed yield per plant. Genotypic performance was adequately summarized by genotype means and their linear responses to different levels of moisture supply, allowing selection of genotypes for either wet or dry conditions.