Promising segments for pea breeding

Abstract

The peaacreage in the Russian Federation has is growing steadily. Varieties of 18 domestic originators and 16 foreign seed companies are listed in the State Register of the Russian Federation for admission in 2021. The share of foreign-bred varieties in 2020 was 36.8% out of 44 thousand tons of certified seeds. Leafless forms domain (49.4%) amonglisted 168 varieties. Habits witch determine the nature of resistance to lodging of pea plants do not significantly affect biological productivity.
 The global demand for vegetable protein will increase to 97 million tons worth $290 billion by 2035. The global pea protein market was estimated at $213.1 million in 2021; the market is growing by +12.7% per year due to increased demand from the food industry (the manufacture of food, vegetable substitutes for milk and meat, dietary supplements, sports nutrition, animal feed). Pea protein isolate is a more promising ingredient for the food industry than soy. The amino acid composition of pea protein is closest to the so-called "ideal" protein, and its production is more environmentally friendly than from soy, chickpeas, lupine, and other crops. Traditionally, breeding programs have focused on forage use; therefore, sufficient attention was not paid to improving the quality of peas for the food industry. The Israeli company Benson Hill, cooperating with Equinom, announced new high-protein pea varieties suitable for deep processing. Several projects have been announced for the construction of enterprises for the production of pea isolate in Russia, with a capacity of more than 0.5 million tons of raw materials. That requires the breeding of special varieties with a high content of crude protein (up to 30%), its’ easy extractability, a better ratio of globulins, the possibility of taste modification, etc.