Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
• taste, palatability, appearance of the seeds
• good, vigorous growth
• rapid ripening
• setting lots of pods
• stability
• high yield
DISEASES AND PESTS
Lentils have a poorly developed root system that is highly susceptible to fungal
diseases in cool, wet weather. Rotate crops such that lentils, or for that matter any legume, are not
grown more than once in five to six years in the same plot.
CULTIVATION HISTORY
The lentil was among the first domesticated plants in the Old World, one that
contributed to people choosing a settled versus a nomadic life. It was domesticated in the Middle East,
where its wild ancestor,
Lens culinaris
ssp.
orientalis
, can still be found. Lentils have been grown in
Europe since the Neolithic period, traditionally in drier areas, as evidenced by variety names like
'Steinfelder Tellerlinse' (stony-field eating lentil) from Austria or Germany's 'Kyffhäuser Linse' and
'Mährische Linse', both named after specific regions. In India, where large amounts of lentils are pro-
duced, ripe seeds are used whole or split for flour, soups, and other dishes; young pods are eaten as ve-
getables; and whole seeds are salted and deep-fried.
Lentils are not without their ornamental qualities.
PEANUT
Arachis hypogaea
We call peanuts “nuts,” but this is a misnomer. It is an edible seed that grows in pods like all other
legume seeds. The pods grow on stalks, first above ground; but then the stalks elongate and push pods
