Funded by Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR)
Forage peas are similar to traditional field peas in many agronomic aspects but breeding efforts have prioritized increased biomass, lodging resistance and small seed size rather than grain yield. They are grown for their biomass yield, digestibility, protein and relative feeding values. With the release of several new forage pea varieties in the past years, assessing these varieties and other forage-type pulse crops such as faba beans for their forage potential under the agroecology conditions of the Peace Region will provide useful information to producers currently using them or having interest in them. Due to their high nutritive value, peas are an important feed grain legume for animal production operations. Reductions in forage and seed yield have been attributed to lodging in forage peas. When forage peas are grown as a monoculture, they exhibit severe lodging after flowering. The newer forage varieties produce as much or more biomass as older forage peas, but are easier to manage and have better lodging resistance.
What we did
The trial was conducted at the PCBFA’s Research Farm (NW-5-82-3W6M) on RR 35, MD of Fairview, AB. The site was summer fallowed the previous year. Before seeding the site was disced and harrowed and later pre-pass sprayed with glyphosate at 0.67L/acre.
The trial was set up as a randomized complete block design with 4 replications of the following 3 faba bean and 12 pea varieties (including forage and maple peas):
Snowbird Faba Bean seeded at 221 lbs/acre
Fabelle Faba Bean seeded at 225 lbs/acre
CDC 219-16 Faba Bean seeded at 166 lbs/acre
40-10 Peas- forage peas, an older forage variety, seeded at 1.63 bu/ac
CDC Blazer Peas- maple field pea variety, seeded at 2.30 bu/ac
AAC Liscard Peas- semi-leafless maple pea, seeded at 2.53 bu/ac
Goldeneye Peas- yellow, leafy-type new forage pea, seeded at 2.32 bu/ac
DL Delicious Peas- semi-leafless new forage pea, seeded at 2.86 bu/ac
AAC Profit Peas- semi-leafless leaf new yellow pea, seeded at 3.63 bu/ac
DL Lacross Peas- semi-leafless new forage pea, seeded at 2.53 bu/ac
CDC Leroy Peas- semi-leafless leaf type, forage-type, seeded at 1.80 bu/ac
CDC Horizon Peas- semi-leafless leaf yellow pea, forage-type, seeded at 2.16 bu/ac
CDC Meadow Peas- semi-leafless yellow pea, seeded at 3.28 bu/ac
AAC Aberdeen Peas - semi-leafless yellow pea, seeded at 3.23 bu/ac
CDC Amarillo peas- semi-leafless yellow pea, seeded at 3.210 bu/ac
The following cultural practices were carried out:
Seeding date was on May 26, 2022 with a Fabro plot drill equipped with disc-type openers on 9” row spacing and a mid row bander for fertilizer.
Six rows that were 8 m long were sown per plot.
Seeding depth was ¾ - 1". Fertility was 60 lbs/acre of 11-52-0.
Peas were seeded at a full seeding rate of 90 seeds per sq. m., while faba beans were at 44 seeds per sq. m.
Peas were inoculated with granular Pea Rhizobium Inoculant before seeding.
In-crop weed control measure was done with Basagran Forte herbicide at 0.81 L/acre on June 24, 2023
Results and Implications
Total dry matter yields, plant height and NDVI did not vary significantly between pulse crop species and varieties.
Plant height ranged from 81 to 108 cm.
Results for pulse crop varieties for forage and seed production are provided in Table 9.
Forage DM yield ranged between 2500 - 5500 lbs/acre. Amarillo and DL Lacross peas produced more than 2.5 tonnes/acre of DM forage. Pea varieties produced, on average, more forage DM than faba bean varieties.
Forage crude protein content was high (>15.0% CP) and indicated the excellent protein nature of pulse forages. The pulse-type crop species and varieties had >60% TDN.
Macro and micro minerals varied significantly between pulse crop species and varieties only for Mg, K, and Zn. Ca levels in the forage-type pulse crop varieties were relatively high and ranged from 0.7 – 1.2% while the following ranges were obtained for P (0.17 – 0.22%); Mg (0.33 – 0.57%); K (1.1 – 1.6 %); Fe (286 – 1681 ppm); Zn (23 – 57 ppm); Cu (4 – 20 ppm) and Mn (37 – 113 ppm). CDC Blazer pea had a relatively high Cu content (20 ppm).
Seed yield and seed yield attributes varied significantly (p<0.05) between forage-type pulse crop varieties and species. The results ranged between 16 – 46 bu/acre for seed yield, 23 – 27% for seed protein, 173 – 509 g/1,000 kernels for thousand kernel weight (TKW) and 56 – 60 lbs/bu for bushel weight (Figure 3).
Comparing the results obtained over 3 years (2020, 2021 and 2022) of this trial, forage DM yield varied between years with the following yield trend observed 2020 > 2022 > 2021. This trend also coincides with the trend in the amount of precipitation received. No variety distinguished itself consistently over the years as DL Delicious, 40-10 forage pea and Horizon pea did exceptionally well in 2020, all underperformed in 2021 (the drought year with just about a quarter of 2020 yields obtained) and almost all produced > 4,000 lbs/acre in the near normal year of 2022. The drought conditions appeared to have positively affected the micro-mineral content of the forages, potentially leading to an increase in their overall quality.
In conclusion, the results obtained from some of the pulse crop varieties, indicate that some peas can constitute good forage material (high forage DM yield and quality) with very little need for mineral supplementation.
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