Evaluating Field Pea and Cereal Mixtures For High Protein Organic Feed Production

Dr. Derek Lynch, Claude Berthélémé, and Dr. Hans Nass

Meeting the farm's requirement for high protein feeds continues to be one of the biggest challenges for organic livestock production. Peas are an option as a protein source on organic farms, and when grown for livestock feed can be grown alone or in combination with cereal crops. Growing field peas in mixtures may have certain agronomic advantages such as improved pest and weed control, improved use of nutrients, light, and water, and reduced lodging in comparison to peas grown in monocrop.

However, in Atlantic Canada there are currently no recommended pea varieties, since peas have largely been replaced by soybeans, which remain difficult to produce organically.

In 2003 and 2004, oats (Nova), barley (Westech), two pea varieties (Carrera, Miami) and a line (746-3) selected at NSAC, were grown in small plot trials in monocrop or in two- or three-way intercrop mixtures at the OACC/NSAC site in Brookside, NS and the AAFC site in Harrington, PEI. In mixed crop treatments, peas represented an average of 12%, 22% and 42% of the seeds present at seeding. A subset of the mixtures and two additional pea varieties (Mozart, Lenca) were evaluated on six Maritime farms in both years.

At Brookside and Harrington, barley and oat monocrops yielded between 2 to 3 t ha-1, whereas the yields of peas alone or in mixtures ranged from 3-4 t ha-1. Weeds were effectively managed through pre- or post emergent finger weeding.

Among pea monocrops, there was a trend for greater protein content (~25%) and lower lodging for line 746-3 compared to Miami and Carrera. While oats or barley moncrops contained less than 12% protein, mixed crops protein content ranged from 15% (3-way mixture, 12% as peas at seeding) to over 20% (2-way mixture; 22-40% as peas at seeding). However, lodging was consistently severe when peas were present at 22% or greater at seeding.

In on-farm trials, protein benefits from pea mixtures (>15% protein) were obtained when the target pea content of stand (15%) was achieved. Failures to consistently achieve this target, however, was linked to challenges related to seedbed preparation and seeding.


Researchers
Derek Lynch, OACC, Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, NSAC, Email dlynch@nsac.ca
Hans Nass, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Charlottetown, PEI
Claude Berthélémé, NB Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture


Collaborators
F.Jopp, Franks Agricultural Ltd., Sussex, NB; B. Martin, Anbar Farms, Rexton; NB D. Bunnett, Bunnett Family Farms, Havelock, NB; S. Fleishaker, Woodstock, NB; C. Gillis, Melville, PEI; T. Boyle, Antigonish, NS.


Funding Sources
Funding for this project was provided by the NB Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, the PEI Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the NS Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.


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