Effect of Chemical and Organic Fertilizers on the Yield and Quality Attributes and Nutrient Composition in Lentil

Abstract

The importance of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) as a crop with valuable nutritional content is expected to increase with the growing global population; therefore, this research was conducted in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 to evaluate the effects of organic (vermicompost, chicken manure, and farm manure) and inorganic (S and diammonium phosphate [DAP]) fertilizers on the yield and nutrient content of the lentil ‘Çağıl’. The study used no fertilizer control, chemical fertilizer (140 kg ha-1 DAP 18-46), sulfate fertilizer (30 kg S ha-1), and organic fertilizers such as chicken manure (2 t ha-1), farm manure (20 t ha-1), and vermicompost (2 t ha-1). The experiment was designed as a randomized block with three replicates. According to results, S fertilizer was found to significantly improve plant height, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, protein ratio, S and Fe content. It was predicted that farmyard manure significantly improves the grain nutrient properties (P, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, and Zn) of lentil compared to other treatments. The S fertilizer increased plant height (55.1 cm), thousand-grain weight (33.6 g), grain yield (2065 kg ha⁻¹), and protein ratio (33.1%); additionally, farmyard manure application was found to enhance the nutrient content of lentil grains, including P (4056.7 mg kg⁻¹), Cu (16.15 mg kg⁻¹), K (8926.3 mg kg⁻¹), Mg (985.1 mg kg⁻¹), Mn (15.3 mg kg⁻¹), and Zn (35.0 mg kg⁻¹). It is recommended to use a combination of S fertilizer and organic fertilizers such as farmyard manure to enhance environmental sustainability, maintain soil fertility, and improve yield and nutrient content in lentil production. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.