Morphological and Biometrical Characterization of Seeds of Some Algerians Lentil Accessions: Quantitative and Qualitative Characters

Abstract

The preliminaries characterization of a collection of twenty three Algerians accessions of lentil (<i>Lens culinaris</i> M.) were done before sown. Seed thickness (STH), Seed diameter (SDM), thickness/diameter ratio (T/D) and Weight of 100 seeds (WHS), are a quantitative traits measured. Altitude and Rainfall of location of origin of accessions are considered as a supplement variables. Also, qualitative characters: Grain form (GFR), Ground color of seed testa (GCT), Pattern of testa (PAT), Cotyledons color (COC), were considered. From the result of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), axis 1 explains 65.08% of the variance in the qualitative character and it showed a strange negative correlation with seed diameter (SDM), Weight of 100 seeds (WHS) and altitude (ALT).Whereas, it was positively and significantly correlated with thickness/diameter ratio (T/D) variable. The second component, accounting for 23.58 % of the total variation, was correlated positively with seed thickness (STH). Hierarchical discriminate analysis revealed major differences between accessions from different regions. Three major regional groups were apparent: 1) a Western group characterized by accessions of the <i>Macrosperma</i> type, 2) a more Northern group of the <i>Microsperma</i> type and 3) A mixture group gathered all regions and the two types. Regarding qualitative traits, the application of Multiple Correspondence Analyses (MCA) showed that seeds with globular form (<i>Microsperma</i>) are two types: 1) Brown or green tasta with dotted seed coat pattern or note and yellow cotyledons and 2) Brown tasta with orange cotyledons. In addition, seeds with flat form (<i>Macrosperma</i>) are divided into two types: 1) Brown, Beige or Green tasta with yellow cotyledons, 2) Brown tasta with dotted seed coat pattern and yellow cotyledons.