Abstract
In the current study, influences of chitosan solutions on morphological characteristics, growth and yield components of lentil (Lens culinaris Med.) under rainfed conditions have been investigated. A field experiment was conducted in the Northwest of Iran using a split-plot experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The response of twelve genotypes with different origins to chitosan application at the sowing (seed soaking), vegetative and reproductive stage (spraying chitosan onto leaves) was evaluated. Results revealed that chitosan application could significantly improve the number of pods per plant, 100-seed weight, grain yield per plant and harvest index in comparison to control plants. The comparison of yield components between chitosan treatments showed that spraying chitosan during the reproductive stage was more efficient than in other stages. However, the responses of the number of pods per plants and grain yield per plants to chitosan treatments were significantly different among the genotypes. Although the highest grain yield was recorded in the 78S 26013 genotype (from Jordan), its response to chitosan treatments was different from the other genotypes and showed the best performance in plants obtained from seed soaked in chitosan solutions. We suggest that the application of chitosan as an agronomic management strategy be further investigated for an efficient technique to induce resistance in lentil plants against biotic and drought stress in semi-arid regions.