Evaluation of Introduced Grass Pea Entries and Effect of Increased Levels of Nitrogen Fertilization on Productivity under Irrigated Conditions in Egypt

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a legume that has recently gained attention in many countries for its good protein content and its tolerance to harsh conditions. The idea of using stored grass pea winter produced seeds and hay to compensate for the low protein feed from grasses in the summer season in Egypt has been suggested decades ago. However, production of the crop under local conditions needs to be evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate performance of introduced grass pea entries under local conditions and to investigate the effect of increased levels of nitrogen fertilization on growth and productivity of a selected set of entries. Ten entries were grown in a randomized complete block design with three replicates to evaluate their production under irrigated conditions in two successive growing seasons in Alexandria, Egypt. The highest recorded seed yield and biological yield values were 0.65 and 2.69 t/ha, respectively. A second field trial was also set using the same statistical design to investigate the effect of nitrogen fertilization (96, 144 and 192 kg N/ha) on growth and productivity of five check entries. Results indicated an average increase in biological yield from 5.2 to 6.3 t/ha and in seed yield from 0.77 to 0.98 t/ha with increasing nitrogen fertilization from 96 to 192 kg N/ha. It could be concluded that grass pea responded positively to the increase in nitrogen fertilization levels, however, the studied entries were not best suited to our local conditions. Productivity of the screened entries was modest compared with that of other countries with much lower inputs. Thus, screening a larger number of entries under varying environments is necessary if higher production levels under less favorable conditions are to be achieved.