Award details

Understanding Quality Determinants in Pea Seeds to improve market opportunities that promote sustainable agriculture (QDiPS)

Reference	BBS/E/J/000CA407
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Claire Domoney
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	198,005
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	18/01/2010
End date	17/01/2014
Duration	48 months

Abstract

Seed quality traits can act as a driver for making changes to agricultural systems, such that sustainability might be increased substantially through greater use of pulse crops in rotations. Premium markets exist for pulses of high quality, which can impact on choices in rotations. This project will identify the scientific basis for seed quality parameters in the three main pea crops for human food use – vining, canning and dried pulses. The project will identify compounds that are associated with quality and provide information on how these change in seeds as they mature and under different growing conditions. The work will link genetic and metabolomic studies with industrial assessments of quality, through studies of materials harvested according to current industrial standards by the industrial partners. Genetically marked lines will be used for metabolite profiling and for industrial sensory analysis. In this way, genes and markers linked to quality will be identified. The role of candidate genes will be explored by industrial analysis of variant lines. Linking quality characters to biochemical and genetic information will facilitate the rapid identification of superior lines, through deployment of genetic markers in marker assisted selection. This will lead to greater efficiency in breeding programmes aimed at quality food markets. It will also provide opportunity to develop more robust methods for assessing maturity rapidly in the field. The identity of genes associated with quality will provide opportunities to manipulate the genes in the biochemical pathways and to identify novel sources of variation within germplasm. The impact of improvements to systems for quality assessment in pulses, and the reality of meeting current and increased market demands, on UK sustainable agriculture, will be explored. Predictive modelling of changes to rotations, and land-use efficiency data will be studied, based on socio-economic data in relation to climate change.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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