Improving the competitiveness of protein crops

Root rot is the most damaging disease on spring peas, with yield losses of up to 100% when the plot is heavily infected and weather conditions are favorable. There is no control method. Until now, risk management has been based on a biological test performed on a soil sample in order to know the infectious potential of the plot. Despite the interest it presents, this test was very little used by farmers.

This is why Terres Inovia has developed a new tool, called Eva. Based on a certain amount of information (department, pea history, soil type, irrigation), it indicates the risk level of the plot (low or high) and guides the farmer in his choices, in order to preserve the pea yield and the sanitary state of this plot. Eva, which can be used in most pea-producing regions, is now available online on the Terres Inovia website.

The PeaMUST project, initiated in 2012 as part of the first "Investissement d'avenir" program, came to an end in 2020. Its objective was to help regulate pea and faba bean production levels by working on the main limiting factors identified, including cold tolerance.
It has thus confirmed the areas of the genome contributing to frost resistance and verified the interest of each of them. The identification of genes and markers for this resistance continued.

In parallel, work on faba bean aimed to study whether the determinants of frost resistance were conserved between pea and this phylogenetically related species.

Although winter pea and faba bean continue to progress, it is still necessary to adapt their management and to continue selection efforts with respect to different limiting factors. This is the objective of partnership projects that began in 2020. They focus on the response of different legume species, including pea and faba bean, to limiting water conditions.

The faba bean is a species which has multiple agronomic, environmental and economic advantages, but which is subject to a certain number of aerial diseases, in particular ascochyta blight, botrytis and rust. In order to bring more resistant varieties to the market, Terres Inovia has developed a first test under controlled conditions to assess the resistance of field beans to ascochytosis.

This test, the results of which are correlated with those obtained in the field, made it possible to classify winter bean varieties according to their level of resistance to the disease, and thus to demonstrate significant genetic progress. This genetic progress would explain at least in part that this disease is much less frequent and damaging in recent years.

Since 2014, the myVar® tool, which allows Terres Inovia to disseminate all varietal results, has been regularly enriched with new crops. Since October 2019, it is now possible to use it to choose pea and faba bean varieties (spring or winter). Available free of charge, accessible on smartphone, tablet or computer as an app or web version, it allows you to optimize your varietal choice by offering quick access to all the variety information from the technical institute.

To contribute to the varietal renewal, Terres Inovia proposes, within the framework of the Cap Protéines program, a new tool to help in the choice: lists of recommended pea and winter bean varieties. These recommendations take into account, in addition to yield, the risk of frost and, for winter peas, the type of soil, particularly the presence of limestone. It is also important to remember that the use of certified seed contributes to a quality production and allows the maintenance of a dynamic varietal creation. 10 winter pea varieties and 6 winter faba bean varieties have been positioned in different geographical areas. These lists can be consulted on myVar®, by choosing the crop "Winter pea" or "Faba bean", then "Evaluation results and recommendations of Terres Inovia" and finally "Regionalized recommendations".