~ 1611 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2017; 6(5): 1611-1615 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2017; 6(5): 1611-1615 Received: 04-07-2017 Accepted: 05-08-2017 Rakesh Choudhary Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar UK, India SK Verma Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, UK, India RK Panwar Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, UK, India VK Chourasiya Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, UK, India Deepankar Pandey Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar UK, India Correspondence Rakesh Choudhary Dept. of Genetics and Plant Breeding G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, UK, India Morphological characterization of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus.) Varieties based on six qualitative traits Rakesh Choudhary, SK Verma, RK Panwar, VK Chourasiya and Deepankar Pandey Abstract The distinctiveness of candidate variety from already released varieties is an important criterion for granting the plant breeders right in the present era of intellectual property rights. A total of 48 lentil genotypes were grouped into distinct groups for each character based on different forms of morphological characters. Almost all the genotypes have orange cotyledon except PL 6 which has yellow cotyledon and only local accession IC 201738 had black testa colour. For plant type 29%, 65% and 6% genotypes were classified into erect, semi-spreading and spreading, respectively. Based on rust scoring 67% genotypes were resistant type and only 33% genotypes were susceptible type. Three different groups i.e., light green, medium green and dark green were formed and 15%, 69% and 17% genotypes were present in different groups, respectively. 79% genotypes were mottled type and 21% were non- mottled type. Keywords: Testa, Candidate variety, lentil, cotyledon, rust 1. Introduction Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris) is a diploid (2x=2n= 14 chromosomes) autogamous annual species with a haploid genome size of an estimated 4063 Mbp (Arumuganathan and Earle, 1991) [1] . In India, lentil is locally known as “Masoor” and either whole grain or split seeds of lentil are used as “dhal” (dry, dehulled, split seed used for cooking). Globally, it is grown in about 4.52 million hectares area with an annual production of 4.83 million tonnes and with an average productivity around 1067 kg/ha. In India, lentil is the second most important rabi legume crop after chickpea. In India, it is cultivated on 1.47 million hectares area with an annual production of 1.04 million tonnes to with productivity around 705 kg/ha during 2014 (Agricultural Statistics Division, 2014-2015). Although, it is not a major crop but it is consumed for its high levels of protein, fibers, antioxidants and micronutrients including iron, zinc, selenium and vitamin (A and B complex), folate and β- carotene (Erskine and Sarker 2004) [6] . The crop has great significance in cereal-based cropping systems because of its nitrogen-fixing ability, early maturing and tolerance to drought. It is mainly grown as rainfed crop in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattishgarh, Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and some north eastern states. Lentil is a slender, softly pubescent, annual herbaceous plant which had considerable range of morphological variations among its germplasm. Considerable variations among the characters for use in breeding and selection programmes have been reported (Malik et al. 1984, Ramgiry et al. 1989, Sarker and Erskine 2001, Tullu et al. 2001) [11, 14, 16, 22] . Barulina (1930) [3] first recorded detailed morphological descriptions of lentil landraces and species from Asia. Morphological markers like colour of stem, flower and foliage colour, plant habit, cotyledon and testa colour and testa pattern are important for testing hybridity and keeping genetic purity to be used in marker assisted selection. Targeted and more efficient utilization of germplasm by plant breeders can be achieved if the trait characteristics of accessions are known. In recent decades, India has witnessed the emergence of large and' highly competitive variety development programmes. However, morphological descriptors of many cultivars are imprecise. Being signatory to the GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariff), Government of India has enacted its Sui genesis system called as "Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer's Right act (PPV & FR) 2001". Under the act new varieties will be registered on DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability) testing for which documentation of diagnostic characters of the varieties are required. Moreover for maintenance of genetic purity of varieties during seed production and certification programme there is an urgent need of identification