Field phenotyping and quality traits of grass pea genotypes in South Italy

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Grass pea (Laithyrus sativus L.) is a rustic plant whose seeds are rich in polyphenols and antioxidants, and it has been consumed as food by human beings since ancient times. This study was conducted in Italy between 2017and 2019 to evaluate, under field conditions, the stability of seed yield, biomass and 1000-seed weight (THS) and to assess the antioxidant composition and activity of 11 grass pea accessions.RESULTS: Analysis of variance revealed significant effects of the environment, accession and accession × environment (A × E) on the yield, above-ground biomass and THS. We found that the environment (year) and A × E explained 52.61% and 23.76% of the total seed yield variation, respectively. No relationship was observed between the yield and the total protein of seeds. Most grass pea accessions showed sensitivity to frost conditions that occurred in the third growing season. The total phenolic content ranged from 50.51 to 112.78 mg 100 g −1 seeds and antioxidant activity ranged from 0.576 to 0.898 mmol Trolox equivalents 100 g −1 seeds and from 0.91 to 1.6 mmol Fe 2+ 100 g −1 seeds in 2,20-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid and ferric-reducing antioxidant power, respectively. Among the accessions, the 'Campi Flegrei' and 'di Castelcività' showed the best performance with the highest yield and stability, phenolic content and superior antioxidant activity.CONCLUSION: The results showed that the yield of grass pea was mainly influenced by different climate conditions. This variability in yield, phenolic content and antioxidant activity among different accessions could help breeders and farmers select high-performance accessions for cultivation.

Phenotypic and Quality Traits of Chickpea Genotypes under Rainfed Conditions in South Italy

“…Frimpong et al [47] found the same result for the Kabuli variety (r = −0.06, ns). The relationship between SY and protein content for Kabuli chickpea is similar to that reported in the case of fava beans and grass pea by several studies [49][50][51]. The absence of correlation in the Kabuli chickpea accession could probably be attributed to the capacity of some chickpea accession, due to the fixation of biological nitrogen.…”

“…Zaccardelli et al [48] reported very similar results. The protein content values were lower for chickpea than the other leguminous species, such as grass peas, with values up to 24% [49]. In our study, the absence of the correlation between SY and protein content in Kabuli chickpea was demonstrated.…”

Grass Pea (Lathyrus sativus L.)—A Sustainable and Resilient Answer to Climate Challenges

“…Taking the above in consideration, grass pea breeding has focused mainly on enhancing yield and yield stability as well as on producing seeds with high nutritional value, meaning high protein and reduced β-ODAP content [29,90,91]. Both yield and quality are complex traits [30,92].…”

“…Additionally, Grela et al [99] found that grass pea seeds are rich in potassium (9.8 g kg −1 DM) and several minerals such as copper, zinc, iron, and manganese for which average levels were 5.1, 44.1, 62.1, and 23.7 mg kg −1 DM, respectively. Furthermore, grass pea is an interesting source of health-beneficial dietary lipids, with a high polyunsaturated fatty acid proportion (58%) and phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity, such as an average value of 68 mg/100 g of Gallic acid [8,90,99,103].…”

“…Sellami et al [90] described a significant G × E interaction for some quality-related traits such as phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. A significant G × E interaction for β-ODAP content was reported in some studies [46,93,94,106].…”