Nutritive value of peas for nonruminant diets

Peas, the seeds of Pisum sativum, are produced usually in temperate regions but are accepted as a food source worldwide. Traditionally, nonruminant diets utilized peas which had been rejected by the food industry but specific cultivars of feed (or field) peas also have been developed for livestock use. In view of the diversity of varieties, seeding times (spring or winter-sown) and agronomic conditions during the growing season, there is a considerable range in the composition and nutritive value of peas. The seed coat (hull) represents 70 to 140 g kg−1 of the total weight and consists mainly of non-starch polysaccharides, while the major components of the dehulled pea are starch (∼ 450 g kg−1) and protein (∼ 250 g kg−1). Published energy values for the whole seed range from 12.2 to 16.6 MJ ME kg−1 DM for pigs and 10.1 to 12.8 MJ TMEN kg−1 DM for poultry. Reported analyses for crude protein vary from 156 to 325 g kg−1 DM, while content and availability of the constituent amino acids vary also with cultivar, seed type and analytical methods. Most concerns about low digestibilities relate to the sulphur amino acids and tryptophan. Potentially detrimental constituents in raw peas include anti-proteases, haemagglutinins, phytic acid and tannins although these appear negligible in Canadian peas. When analytical data are lacking, the following limits to use of peas are suggested: 100, 200 and 350 g kg−1, respectively, in pig starter, grower and finisher diets; 200 g kg−1 in broiler, 250 g kg−1 in turkey and 300 g kg−1 in layer diets.