Yield and Quality of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L. var. major) Genotypes as a Vegetable for Fresh Consumption: A Comparison between Italian Landraces and Commercial Varieties

Abstract

Legumes crops play significant roles both in human diets and agriculture, and contribute to sustainable farming. In this study, we evaluated both some quality traits and yield of four landraces (Cegliese, Iambola, San Francesco, and FV5) of faba bean (Vicia faba L. var. major Harz) for fresh consumption in order to assess and distinguish the landraces also in comparison with two commercial varieties (Aguadulce supersimonia and Extra-early purple) by using a crop system without irrigation. Independently of the genotype, we obtained the same pods yield (1794 g m−2) without affecting the seed size. All genotypes can be considered a good source of vitamin C, although Extra-early purple and San Francesco reveal the highest content (703 and 646 mg 100 g−1 fresh weight—FW, respectively). Cegliese showed the highest L-dopa content (10.14 mg 100 g−1 FW), suggesting its use as a natural rich source of L-dopa (dopamine precursor used for Parkinson’s disease treatment) instead of using synthesized L-dopa. In conclusion, this study highlight interesting quality traits of faba bean when consumed as fresh vegetables, suggesting its positive role on human health and the possibility of its production by using local horticultural systems that are skilled in optimizing resource utilization.