Impact of the semi-leafless field pea on dry matter yield

The field pea breeding at the Agricultural Institute Osijek has primarily been aimed at continued development of new cultivar types with high yield, potential early group maturity and resistance to lodging. Letin is a new semi-leafless -winter field pea (Pisum sativum) with purple flowers and a mottled light brown seed coat. Semi- leafless and leafed genotypes were evaluated for plant height, lodging, maturity, forage yield and quality in two locations. The forage yield of pea genotypes has an average of 32.21 t*ha-1. Higher yield was obtained from semi-leafless genotype (34.48 t*ha-1 ). The leafed genotype has achieved better nutritive characteristics. The obtained results point to a need for new tests and the possible introduction of semi- leafless cultivars in the production as a pea-cereal mixture or as pure crops to be utilized by cutting.