CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE STRATEGY IN BREEDING GRASSPEA (LATHYRUS-SATIVUS)

Efforts in grasspea (Lathyrus sativus) improvement have increased sinc e the development of lines that are very low in the neurotoxin Beta-N- oxalyl-L-alpha-beta-diamino propionic acid (ODAP); also referred to as Beta-N oxalyl-amino-L-alanine (BOAA). Many programs now address sever al related aspects of improvement simultaneously. These include reduce d ODAP concentrations, insect and disease resistance, nitrogen fixatio n, agronomic practices, fodder and forage production, and components f or increased yielding ability. The coordinated, multidisciplinary appr oach now being applied to the genetic improvement of grasspea should a llow the potential of this largely neglected grain legume to be fully realized.