Grass pea (Lathyrus sativusL.) is a promising source of calories and protein for dryland farming systems. Nowadays underused in Europe, grass pea was in the past widespread in the Mediterranean region. The superior atmospheric nitrogen fixation rate, allied to the ability to tolerate salinity, drought and flood, make this species highly potential for sustainable agriculture. Despite its tolerance to some important diseases, its resistance is however limited to some legume pests such as weevils, causing severe quality losses. Under the scope of the EU LEGATO project, we evaluated a worldwide collection of 150 different grass pea accessions under Mediterranean field conditions. Our objective was to identify sources of resistance to the main biotic stresses, associated with relevant agronomic performance. The collection was tested during two growing seasons in an α-lattice design, with two replications, in double-row plots. The establishment and evaluation of the field trials were done in a participatory approach in a traditional Portuguese grass pea production area –Alvaiázere. Seven quantitative traits (plant growth rate –stage II, plant height, plant yield, 100 seeds weight, number of seeds, number of pods and percentage of weevils infestation) and nine qualitative traits (flower and seed colour, seed shape, growth habit, plant type, stem colour, leaflet shape, leaf tendrils and leaf senescence) were measured. Analysis of variance and multivariate principal component analysis allowed us to perform a comparative assessment of the accessions performance in this region and discriminate outstanding pre-breeding materials to be incorporated in future quality-oriented grass pea breeding programs.

Trabajo presentado en la International Conference Advances in grain legume breeding, cultivations and uses for a more competitive value-chain, celebrada en Novi Sad (Serbia) el 27 y 28 de septiembre de 2017.

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