Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 October 2008
Nodulated plants of three USA cultivars of lentil (Lens culinaris) were grown in controlled environment cabinets. They were given either 20 or 80 ppm inorganic nitrogen and experienced a mean temperature of 12.3° C during the vegetative period, i.e. until 73–77 days after sowing. Factorial combinations of above- (29°/11° C) and below-average (23°/8° C) day/night temperatures were then imposed, to give four mean temperatures within the range of 16.6° to 21.1° C until reproductive maturity. Post-flowering vegetative dry-matter production and seed yields were dominated by treatment effects on the initiation and growth of branches. Warmer temperatures accelerated progress towards maturity, limited branching and restricted dry-matter production; at a mean temperature of 20° C plants were almost barren. The implications of these and previous data to lentil crop production and to the use of controlled environments in lentil breeding programmes are discussed.