Improving Saskatchewan-based pea yields through blending of semi-leafless and leafed peasImproving Saskatchewan-based pea yields through blending of semi-leafless and leafed peas

Abstract

Western Canadian pea production for 2018 decreased by 13% from 2017, which was due to a decline in harvested area. Our previous group research found that the blend of semi-leafless (afaf TLTL) and normal leafed (AFAF TLTL) peas could create a 10% yield increase. To enhance the potential of pea blending. This project evaluated the compatibility of mixing Near-Isogenic Line (NIL) (where the inbred line is only different from the respective recurrent parent in one genomic location) pairs within blends. As well as, we evaluated different blending ratios of semi-leafless with their respective NIL leafed to receive more significant yield increases and avoid confounding variety effects. This study utilized four pea varieties: CDC Amarillo, CDC Centennial, CDC Dakota, and CDC Striker. The research conducted at the University of Saskatchewan's Kernen Research Farm in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, over two years in the 2018 and 2019 growing seasons. To evaluating the blending ratio benefits and NIL blending compatibility, data collection focused on yield as well as other field performances such as plant biomass, disease, standing ability, pea leaf development, and phenotyping Digital elevation model (DEM) variation. The ratio combined experiment designed as 50/50, 66/37, 83/17 semi-leafless/NIL leafed blending ratios with two sole leaf type monocultures. In first-year results, we found that Amarillo and Striker varieties in the 83/17 blending ratio facilitated low disease severity. Blends approached similar lodging resistance for semi-leafless types and significantly decreased the leafed peas lodging tendency. The 50/50 Dakota blend increased canopy density and had slower canopy greenness decline when compared with the rest of the Dakota treatments. However, no significant yield improvements by blending detected in the first-year. To determine the compatibility of NIL blends. The variety combined experiment compared NIL blends versus Non-NIL blends (two varieties blend having different genetic backgrounds) and found no significant difference between them in all field data. In the first-year report, despite the results did not detect a significant yield improvement, but we found enhanced pea field characteristics, which should promote a higher yield potential. The comparison between NIL blends and Non-NIL blends statistically showed that NIL blends would adapt in the pea blend, which encourages the possibility of this technology release commercially.