The History and Pedigree of Australian Lentil Cultivars

Lentils are an ancient, edible grain legume, consumed worldwide in an array of dishes as either whole or split seed. While India and Canada are the largest modern-day producers, Australia is a close third and the second largest exporter of lentil globally. An overview of lentil introduction cultivar development and production in Australia since the 1960s is presented. This commenced with obtaining international germplasm, and in the 1970s, Australia participated in the ICARDA-led Food Legume Improvement Program (FLIP), which saw the release of nine varieties in the span of a decade. The first local breeding efforts in Australia commenced in the 1990s through the Coordinated Improvement Program for Australian Lentils (CIPAL), which transitioned into Pulse Breeding Australia (PBA) in the 2000s, and saw the first Australian-bred varieties released in 2008. Currently, Agriculture Victoria's National Lentil Breeding Program and Grains Innovation Australia (GIA) breed and release varieties for Australian lentil growers, and future perspectives for their programmes are presented. One of the main diseases of lentil is Ascochyta blight, which is caused by the fungus Ascochyta lentis. The discovery of a major avirulence gene within Australian A. lentis populations which determines pathotype has allowed recent categorisation of a collection of isolates, and their response to Australian varieties is discussed. The narrowing gene pool and viability of interspecific hybridisation of Australian lentil is additionally explained. Taken together, this review summarises the history and pedigree of Australian varieties and lentil breeding, the impact of major disease pathotypes on cultivar utility and the pursuits of public and private lentil breeding initiatives.