ProMax - Maximizing the production of Norwegian grain legumes

Cultivation of grain legumes (faba bean and field pea) in Norway has increased in the last decade and is expected to continue to do so due to several benefits. The grain legumes do not require nitrogen fertilization due to their symbiosis with N-fixing bacteria and leave behind N that can be utilized by the next crop in the rotation. Legume grains can partly replace imported soybean in animal feed production and have numerous applications in human food. Increasing grain legume production will enhance food self-sufficiency, making it a strategic political goal in Norway. At present, cultivation of grain legumes in Norway are limited by late maturity relative to our growing season (faba bean), problems with lodging and thus less optimal yield and quality of the harvested product (faba bean and field pea), and disease and pest problems that are expected to increase as cultivation increases product (faba bean and field pea). ProMax aims to increase the Norwegian production of faba bean and field pea by: 1) testing new varieties for their suitability under Norwegian conditions; 2) developing genetic material, high throughput field- and seed phenotyping methods, genomic information and prediction models to aid future plant breeding; 3) develop strategies that ensures the use of healthy seeds in the cultivation; 4) identify management strategies that prevent lodging and secure optimal quality and yield.