EN--Lentil

The lentil is angiosperm, dikotylon plant that belongs to the family of Kyamoeidon and class Kyamodon. Not grown for its small edible seeds of the same name, which is one of the most important legumes. He was known to the ancient Greeks as esthiomenos lens.It is one of the first plants began to systematically cultivate man.The lentil is a legume plant in terms of family and herbaceous, annual and dicot. Belongs to the class of legumes. There are several varieties with different sized and colored seeds, such as blond, green and brown. The fruit marketed as dried beans. Cultivated since ancient times (around 2,000 BC). Lentil cultivation was known in ancient Egypt, while Jews, Greeks and Romans cultivated and consumed.In Greece, the lentil is widely cultivated in almost all districts of the country since adapted to many climatic types. The spores are legume with high nutritional value rich in iron, phosphorus, carbohydrates, protein and B vitamins are eaten mostly boiled as soup which called lentils, used in salads and meat dishes as a garnish. In feed used the shoots, leaves and fruits after harvesting the seed.The stem of branches and reaches a height of half a meter. The branches are long and creepers and leaves alternating composite. Each of the leaves of lentil consists of 6 pairs of long leaflets resulting in thorn. The length of these leaflets exceeds 10 cm. The fruit or pod is small, no more than 3 centimeters wide and are not bearing 2-3 small seeds known lentils trade. Lentils have a diameter of 3-10 mm. Grown with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in fields that are rich in calcium. Sowing takes place the autumn or spring months, although the autumn months are characterized by very low temperatures. The plant is harvested in the summer and then place the sun drying and threshing, to give seeds. It is worth noting that the second sorting seeds are used for animal feed.The lentil affected much by insects, such as Vrouchos. This occurs mainly during storage. For this reason it is necessary to make a good disinfection of warehouses stored before the seeds of the plant.Lentils are sold as dried beans in bags. Eaten cooked and made soup. Cooked by adding onion, garlic and herbs. They contain many nutrients and especially iron. But it should not be abused, because they cause damage to the eyes.There are many variations which differ in the size of the plant, the color of leaves, the shape and color of seeds and flowers. Lentils are divided into two major categories of varieties. The megalospermes with older plakoutsota spores reach the 10 mm diameter and popcorn whose spores reach 6 mm.
It is durable and resistant plant to drought, heat and cold to 15 degrees below zero. In Greece planted in mid-November and the multiplication is by seeds.