Effect of cultivar and environment on physicochemical and cooking characteristics of field pea (Pisum sativum)

The effects of cultivar, growing location and year on physicochemical and cooking characteristics of field pea (Pisum sativum) were investigated and the relationship between these characteristics was determined. Six diverse field pea cultivars were grown in five different growing locations for two subsequent years (2006 and 2007). Cultivar, location and year had a significant effect on the seed weight, seed size, water hydration capacity, cooking time and firmness of cooked peas. Significant cultivar and location differences in protein, starch, crude fibre, fat, ash and phytic acid contents of peas were observed. Most of the traits were significantly affected by the interactions: cultivar-by-location, cultivar-by-year and location-by-year. Both seed weight and seed size were negatively correlated with crude protein and crude fibre contents. Cooking time was negatively correlated with crude fibre, ash and phytic acid contents, but positively correlated with firmness and starch content. A significant positive correlation was observed between ash content and phytic acid level in peas.