MANAGEMENT FOR YIELD AND PROTEIN OF FIELD PEAS IN SASKATCHEWAN

Abstract

In experimental plots, the yields of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivars averaged 25 q/ha and the protein contents varied between 25 and 31% over a wide range of management conditions. These values greatly exceeded the Saskatchewan provincial average yield of 13.5 q/ha and a protein range of 16–27% among farm samples in 1970. In the plot experiments, the commercial cultivars showed little variation in protein content but one strain from the world collection was high in protein content and seed yield. Seed inoculation, early planting, intermediate seeding rates and narrow row spacings favored high seed yields and did not adversely affect the protein content of field peas. Phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers increased protein content, and irrigation did not decrease the protein level when these fertilizers were applied.