Main Factors Influencing Yellow Field Pea Protein Content in Nebraska

Feb 03, 2020

By Strahinja Stepanović, Dipak Santra

Yellow field peas (Pisum sativum L.) recently gained popularity across Nebraska due to their rotational benefits and increase in consumers' demand for plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products. Protein isolate manufacturers have a special interest in grain with high protein content as it reduces the amount of raw material being processed and increases the efficiency of the protein isolation process (Figure 1).

The objective of this project was to identify the impact that location, variety selection, irrigation, tillage and fertility programs have on yellow field pea protein content in Nebraska (Figure 2).

Figure 1. 2017 USA Pulse Growing Regions by County (left); Field peas grain processing chart from plant to grain to protein, starch and fiber isolates (right).

Figure 2. Field experiments including irrigated field pea variety evaluation (left), tillage (center) and fertility programs (right) were conducted during 2019 growing season at Grant, NE

2019 grain protein studies

Four field experiments were conducted at Henry J. Stumpf International Wheat Center near Grant, NE to evaluate yellow field pea grain yield (t/ha) and protein content (%; Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy - method):

Variety evaluation of 20 yellow field pea varieties at 3 sites:
- Grant, NE dryland – non-replicated strips
- Grant, NE irrigated – 4 reps
- Mead, NE dryland – 4 reps
Irrigated study at Grant, NE had 3 treatments using field pea variety Durwood (Pulse USA):
- Dryland (11.9 inch of rainfall)
- Deficit Irrigation (11.9 inch of rainfall + 2.2 inch irrigation)
- Full Irrigation (11.9 inch of rainfall + 4.4 inch irrigation)
Tillage study at Grant, NE had 2 treatments using field pea variety Durwood (Pulse USA):
- Tillage (conventional - disk)
- No-till
Fertility study at Grant, NE had 10 treatments including combinations of seed and in-furrow applied rhizobia inoculants and foliar products (Table 2). Salamanca (Valesco Genetics) field pea variety was used in the study.

Key findings from each study

AAC Profit had the highest grain protein content (28.1%) across three sites (Table 1). AAC Profit was also the highest yielding variety among 20 other yellow field pea varieties evaluated.
Tillage had no impact on yellow field pea protein or yield (Figure 3).
Irrigation had no impact on yellow field pea protein. Deficit irrigation increased field pea yield by 4.5 bu/ac compared to dryland treatment, while no yield increase was observed with full irrigation (Figure 3).
Fertility treatments caused no significant change in grain protein content (P-value 0.098). Grain yield ranged from 25 to 48 bu/ac depending on the treatment (Table 2). Rhizobia inoculant product selection and mixing were critical in achieving high nodulation scores and high yields (Table 2). Foliar products had a positive impact on yield when applied at reproductive stages (R1-R4).

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