Determining of optimal temperature for germination of lentil cultivars (Lens culinaris Medik) for autumn cultivation in Khuzestan province

Successful germination is the main factor in proper establishment and seedling yield. Information on seed germination, in the face of temperature changes at the time of planting, is a way to identify more suitable cultivars for cultivation at the planting site. For this purpose, a factorial experiment was performed based on completely randomized design with 3 replications. This experiment was conducted to investigate the temperature changes on the germination and growth indicators of lentil cultivars at Khatam Al-Anbia University of Behbahan. The studied treatments included five lentil cultivars of Gachsaran, Kimia, Robat, Ziba and Bilehsevar, and the temperature levels were 20, 25 and 30 °C, similar to the autumn conditions of Khuzestan Province. The results showed that all the seedlings of investigated cultivars cultivated at temperatures of 20 and 30 °C had a significant decrease in all the investigated traits, i.e., germination percent, germination rate, germination vigor, seed vigor index, endosperm consumption, plumule length, radicle length, seedling length, plumule dry weight and radicle dry weight, in comparison with those seedlings cultivated in 25 °C. The study of the interaction of cultivar-temperature effects showed that Bilehsevar cultivar had the highest germination and growth indices at 25°C compared to other investigated cultivars. This increase in traits such as germination rate, germination vigor, seed vigor index, plumule dry weight and radicle length was more significant in Bilehsevar cultivar compared to other cultivars. The second rank of the highest germination and growth indices was assigned to Gachsaran cultivar under 25°C conditions, which had a significant increase compared to other cultivars (Kimia, Robat and Ziba). Considering the autumn cultivation of lentils and the changes of temperature in that season (temperature range of 20 to 30 °C) in the studied area, the use of Bilehsevar and Gachsaran cultivars under the temperature of 25 °C, due to their higher germination indicators compared to the other cultivars, i.e., Ziba, Kimia and Robat, could be recommended.