It is one of the most important protein rich pulse crop. It is mostly eaten as dal by splitting into 2 cotyledons, deep orange red or orange yellow in color. Whole grain is also used in various dishes. Lentil also provides a source of starch for textiles and printing. It is mixed with wheat flour in bread and cake production. India is the highest producer of lentil in the world.
In Himachal Pradesh in year 2002-2003, lentil farming is done in 364 acres of land and gives an average yield of 1495quintal.
 

Lentil can be grown on all type of soil. Saline, Alkaline or waterlogged soils should be avoided. Soil should be friable and weed free so that seed could be placed at uniform depth.

Vipasha (H.P.L.-5): Its leaves are light green in color. It has bold  grains which is light brown shiny color from outside and light orange from inside. The seeds of this variety are not hard. The variety is resistant to wilting. It gets mature in 175-180 days and gives an average yield of 5-6quintal/acre.

Markandey (E.C.-1): New variety which is approved for cultivation in sub-mountainous and lower hilly areas of sub-tropical mountainous regions. It has 40-45cm of plant height and bold grains which are light brown in color. The variety is resistant to anthracnose, wilt, root rot and yellow rust. The variety gives an average yield of 4-5quintal/acre and gets mature in 160-170 days.

Other state varieties:

Pant Lentil-4 (PL 81-17): Released in 1993. It gives an average yield of 6.5quintal/acre and gets mature within 140-145 days. The variety is resistant to rust and is tolerant to wilt.

IPL 406 (Angoori): Released by IIPR in 2007. Suitable for North Rajasthan. It gives an average yield of 7quintal/acre. The variety gets mature in 120-155 days. The variety is resistant to rust and wilt.

Pant Lentil 8 (PL 063): Released in 2010. It gives an average yield of 5quintal/acre. The variety gets mature in 135 days. The variety is moderately resistant to rust and wilt and resistant to pod borer.

Haryana Masur 1: Suitable for growing in whole Haryana. It is resistant to pest and disease. The crop is ready to harvest in 140 days. Gives average yield of 6.5-7 quintal/acre.

Sapna: Medium duration variety suitable for irrigated areas of Haryana. The crop is ready to harvest in 140 days. Grains are bold, flat, grey color with dark black spots on it. It is resistant to pod borer. Gives average yield of 6 quintal/acre.

Garima: Suitable for irrigated as well as unirrigated areas. Leaves are broad which are having dark green color. Grains are bigger compared to SAPNA variety. It is ready to harvest in 135 days. Gives average yield of 6 quintal/acre.

Bombay 18: Ready to harvest in 130-140 days. Gives average yield of 4-4.8 quintal/acre.

DPL 15:  Ready to harvest in 130-140 days. Gives average yield of 5.6-6.4 quintal/acre.

DPL 62:  Ready to harvest in 130-140 days. Gives average yield of 6-8 quintal/acre.

L 4632

K 75: Ready to harvest in 120-125 days. Gives average yield of 5.6-6.4 quintal/acre.

Pusa 4076: Ready to harvest in 130-135 days. Gives average yield of 10-11 quintal/acre.

Lens 4076 (Shivalik): Ready to harvest in 130-135 days. Gives average yield of 5.6 quintal/acre.

Pusa Vaibhav: Ready to harvest in 130-135 days. Gives average yield of 8-9.6 quintal/acre.

Pant Lentil 7: Ready to harvest in 147 days. Gives average yield of 6 quintal/acre.

In case of light soils, less tillage or soil manipulation is required to prepare seed-bed. One deep ploughing followed by 3-4 cross harrowing should be given in case of heavy soils. 2-3 ploughings are sufficient for proper pulverization of land. Leveling of field should also be done for proper distribution of water. Proper moisture should be present in the field at the time of sowing seeds.

Time of sowing
Seed should be sown in the end of October to mid-November. If drought occurs then sowing can be done upto first week of December.

Spacing
Line spacing of 25-30cm is used. 
 
Sowing Depth
Sow seeds at depth of 3-4 cm.

Method of sowing
For Sowing use pora method or seed cum fertilizer drill. Seed can also be sown by broadcasted manually.
 

Seed Rate
Seed rate of 10-12kg/acre is optimum.

Seed Treatment
Seed should be treated with Captan or Thiram @3gm/kg of seed before sowing.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

4kg of Nitrogen (9 kg of Urea), 16kg of P2O5 (100 kg of Superphosphate) should be applied per acre at time of sowing when seeds are inoculated with rhizobium culture. In case, seeds are not inoculated with rhizobium than double the dose of P2O5.
 

Main weeds found in lentil are Chenopodium album (Bathua), Vicia sativa (ankari), Lathyrus spp (chatrimatri) etc. They can be controlled by 2 hoeings at 30 and 60 days interval. 45-60 days of weed free period should be maintained for proper crops stand and yield. Pre-emergence application of Stomp 30EC @ 550ml/acre with one hoeing at 50 days after sowing, helps in effective weed control.

Lentil is mainly grown as a rainfed crop. It requires 2-3 irrigations in case of irrigated conditions depending upon the climatic conditions. first irrigation should be provided 4 weeks after sowing and second at flowering stage. Pod formation and flower initiation are critical stages of water requirement.

• Pest and their control:
  

Pod borer: It mainly fed upon green plant leaves, flowers, pod-grains. It is a serious pest of lentil which cause excessive yield loss. It can be controlled by spraying of 900 gm Hexavin 50WP in 90 litres of water per acre at the time of flowering. Spray should be repeated after 3 weeks if necessary.

• Disease and their control:
  

Rust: Yellowish white pustules develop on stem branches, pods and leaves of plants. They may appear singly or in groups. Small pustules may grow into large postules slowly. In severe cases, affected plants may dry up and give burnt appearance. Growing of tolerant varieties can help to prevent rust. To control spray of 400 gm M-45 @200 ltr water per acre.

Blight: Dark brown spots are formed on stem, leaves and pods. These lesions slowly elongates. Sometimes spots are formed in the form of concentric rings. Use of Disease free seed, destroy diseased plant debris after harvest to reduce the chances of blight. To control spray of 400 gm Bavastin @200 ltr water per acre.

Harvesting should be done at proper time when plant dry up and pods mature. Over-ripening of pods should be avoided as produce may be lost due to shattering. Plants should be beaten by sticks to thresh. After threshing, seed is cleaned and dried up in the sunshine. Moisture content should be 12% at the time of storage.