Screening and selection of lentil (Lens Miller) germplasm resistant to seed bruchids (Bruchus spp.)

Seed weevil (Bruchus spp.) is one of the most damaging pests to lentil crop, and the current chemical treatments to control this insect present numerous disadvantages. In this work, we have searched for resistant or almost resistant lentil cultivars to be used as potential sources of genes for resistance to bruchids as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to diminish harvest loss. Thus, a lentil germplasm collection of 571 accessions from 27 different countries, and including wild species was screened for susceptibility to seed bruchids under natural field conditions in Central Spain. Infestation was evaluated in comparison with a check (lentil cultivar ‘Lyda’) according to the number of eggs per pod and the infestation rate in seeds (IR). A large variation of IR (0–70 %) was observed among accessions although, in general, wild species were consistently less affected by bruchids than the check. A total of 32 accessions, including Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris, Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. orientalis (Boiss.) Ponert, Lens nigricans (M. Bieb.) Godr., and Lens lamottei Cezfr., showed lower infestation rates than the check and were selected as potential sources of resistance to this pest. Potential mechanisms of resistance of selected accessions and their inclusion in a breeding program are outlined.