Study of Pea Accessions for Development of an Oilseed Pea

Global interest in stable energy resources coupled with growing demand for bio-oils in various conventional and arising industries has renewed the importance of vegetable oil production. To address this global interest, oilseed production has been increased in recent decades by different approaches, such as extending the cultivation area of oil crops, or breeding and growing genetically modified plants. In this study, pea (<em>Pisum sativum</em> L.) accessions were screened for lipid content using a rapid extraction method. This method quantifies lipid concentration in pea seeds and was developed by assessing and comparing the results of existing extraction methods used for canola and soybean, the top two Canadian oilseeds. Seeds of 151 field pea accessions were grown to maturity in 2009 and 2010 at McGill University (Quebec, Canada). Overall, lipid concentration in pea seeds ranged from 0.9 to 5.0%. Among several seed characteristics, only seed shape (wrinkled verses round) had a significant effect on the total lipid production in the seeds. Peas are a valuable source of protein and starch, but the lipid concentration in their seeds has been undervalued. This research supports the idea of developing a novel dual-purpose oilseed pea that emulates the protein and oil production in soybean seeds while being conveniently adapted to a colder climate.