ICARDA annual report 2004

ICARDA Annual Report 2004
28
NARS. Of these, line 715 has
already been released in Lebanon,
Jordan, and Iraq under the name
‘Baraka,’ and line 2541 has been
recommended for release in Syria.
Grass pea research at
ICARDA: current status
and future strategies
The food and feed legume grass
pea (Lathyrus sativus) requires low
levels of inputs and is resistant to
drought, flooding, and moderate
levels of salinity. These traits have
made it popular in certain Asian
and African countries, including
Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India,
and Pakistan.
Because it is so hardy, grass pea
is often the only food available to the
poor when climatic conditions, such
as drought and heat, cause other
crops to fail. However, although its
seeds are tasty and protein-rich, they
also contain the neurotoxin 3-(Noxalyl)-L-2,3-diaminopropionic
acid
($-ODAP). As a result, eating too
much grass pea can cause irreversible
paralysis of the lower limbs,
known as neurolathyrism.
ICARDA is working to make it
safer for people and livestock in the
dry areas to eat grass pea by reducing
the amount of neurotoxin in the
seeds while simultaneously improving
yields. Through conventional
breeding methods and the development
of somaclonal variants,
ICARDA researchers have now
developed low-neurotoxin lines
with $-ODAP contents of less than
0.07% (Table 5). Human consumption
is considered to be safe at levels
below 0.2%. Seeds from these lines
have already been multiplied for
distribution to national programs.
Seed multiplication
of lowneurotoxin
lines
of grass pea at
Tel Hadya, Syria
for distribution
to national programs.
Table 5. Performance of grass pea
lines selected for low neurotoxin ($-
ODAP) content at Breda, Syria, 2004
(average annual rainfall of 253 mm).
Line Yield (t/ha) $-ODAP
number content (%)
190 1.4 0.07
288 1.6 0.07
289 1.4 0.06
290 1.6 0.07
299 1.5 0.03
387 1.6 0.06
390 1.4 0.07
499 1.3 0.06
111 1.1 0.02
222 1.4 0.02
Using both conventional techniques
and new biotechnological
methods, researchers will continue
to develop high-yielding, adapted
lines containing very little or no $-
ODAP. One aspect of this will
involve determining if the low-neurotoxin
character of closely related
species, such as underground chickling
(Lathyrus ciliolatus), can feasibly
be introgressed into grass pea.
Researchers will continue to analyze
somoclonal variation in grass
pea landraces from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India,
Nepal, and Pakistan to identify new
genotypes with zero or near-zero
levels of the neurotoxin. The impact
on meat and milk production of
diets based on grass pea seed and
fodder will also be evaluated.