The National Field Pea Breeding program is focussed on developing improved, high yielding varieties faster. The program deploys breeding technologies such as genomic selection and high throughput phenotyping to improve selection intensity and accuracy faster. The program is deploying “big data” to gain a better understanding of genotype by environment by management (GxExM) practices to drive selection and genetic gain.

Previous work identified significant genotype by environment interactions associated with the field pea breeding program. Drivers of these interactions have been associated with variation in resistance levels of a range of diseases including ascochyta blight, bacterial blight, downy mildew, powdery mildew, pea seed borne mosaic virus (PSbMV), bean leaf roll virus, and soil constraints such as soil salinity and boron.

This program aims to develop lines with appropriate levels of resistance/tolerance to all of these constraints. The development of technologies that enable genotypic estimates of these phenotypic traits will greatly enhance the ability to combine traits together.

Field pea is seen as an ideal candidate as a feed stock in the burgeoning plant-based protein industry. Genomic and phenomic capabilities are advancing our ability to breed for specific market driven traits such as protein content along with other characteristics such as seed size, colour and shape. Breeding to bespoke characteristics through the deployment of genomics will enable the program to develop niche varieties for a range of markets. It will also enable improvements for fit to farming systems through the incorporation of novel herbicide tolerances as well as breeding field peas better suited to fodder and hay production or brown and green manuring.