• Peas
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
• Pulse Science Cluster
• Variety Development

Objective

To improve the yield and general productivity of field pea varieties of the market classes of yellow, green, marrowfat, maple and orange pea; to develop varieties or breeding materials adapted to different arable regions for Canadian pulse industry; to improve protein content of yellow and green pea cultivars by conventional breeding based on the breeding materials developed in the AAFC breeding program with the ultimate goal to develop field pea varieties with improved protein content; to investigate amino acid and starch profiles of the high protein breeding materials developed early, and to improve resistant starch; to characterize the genetic basis, metabolic pathways of pea protein and starch syntheses in field peas; to examine the physicochemical composition, protein quality and digestibility, and amino acid composition of new highprotein (HP) pea cultivars; to evaluate potential correlations with perceived tastes and flavours identified by a trained sensory panel and chemical analysis using GC-MS; to develop and evaluate prototype products containing HP pea fractions and to promote commercialization of HP pea cultivars.