Contributions to the development of a lentil cultivation technology between the Caras and Nera rivers.

The goal of the present research was to expand lentil crops in the area between the rivers Caras and Nera, an area where they cultivate only beans and peas among legumes. The soil and climate conditions in the area are favourable to lentil cultivation provided the cultivation technology is proper. The paper presents data concerning the behaviour of some lentil cultivars and populations, in different conditions of fertilisation, as well as results concerning sowing technology. Research was carried out in South- Western Romania, at Oraviţa-Răcăsdia, in a moderate continental temperate climate, the sub- Banat type with Mediterranean influences, on a vertic, luvic, brown soil, moderately gleyeid, strongly decarbonated. The biological material we studied was the Oana lentil cultivar and the De Szeged, Voivodina and De Vinga lentil populations. Fertilisation was done with variable rates of nitrogen (N0, N20, N40, and N60) on a constant fund P40K40. We took into account different row distances and strip sowing (12.5 cm; 25 cm; 37.5 cm; 12.5/40 cm). The authors also present data concerning the impact of the studied factors on protein and protein content. Thus, protein content increased from 25.5% in the control variant (N0P40K40) to 27.2% in the variant fertilised with N60P40K40. Protein yield was favourably influenced by nitrogen fertilisation increasing compared to the variant N0 up to 28% in the variant fertilised with N60, on a constant agri-fund of P40K40. The paper is financially supported by the CNCSIS research project entitled "Developing lentil and chickpea cultivation technology in the soil and climate conditions of the Timis-Caras-Nera area".