Variation in physico-chemical properties of field peas (Pisum sativum)

A collection of 61 diverse field peas representing four major categories of white, blue, dun and mottled grain types was grown at Horsham, Victoria, A ustralia. Grain samples, collected for analysis over two seasons, were anal ysed for their proximate composition, hydration capacity, cooking quality a nd dehulling quality. The peas varied widely among genotypes for most of th ese traits but the values differed little between the two years. Good cooki ng quality was often associated with poor dehulling quality and with seed s ize. None of the four grain types was superior in all properties studied. T he results obtained from an objective compression test for cooking quality, developed specifically for the study, showed good correlation with results from the cooking time test. The findings of this study are directly applic able to the genetic improvement of peas. (C) 1999 Canadian Institute of Foo d Science and Technology Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights rese rved.