A contribution of the project SEELEGUMES to the re-discovery of Pisum elatius subsp. elatius in Serbia and FYR of Macedonia

Abstract

European Legumes and Their Traditional Food and Feed Products SEELEGUMES) has been carried out within the EU SEE-ERA.NET Plus programme, gathering together 19 partnering organisations from 14 European countries. One of the greatest achievements of the project was a re-discovery of numerous crop wild relatives of cultivated annual legumes in local floras, with a specific emphasis on "tall" pea (Pisum sativum L. subsp. elatius Steven ex M. Bieb.) Asch. & Graebn.). During 2011 and 2012, five expeditions have been made to the upper flow of the river Pčinja and on the slopes of the mountain Kozjak, where a population of Pisum sativum L. subsp. elatius was monitored in situ, from the stages of full bloom in late May 2011, full seed maturity in late June 2011, autumn emergence in October 2011, spring revival in March 2012 and the next reproductive stage in early June 2012. A morphological and chemical analysis of the forage and grain dry matter confirmed a considerable potential of Pisum sativum L. subsp. elatius for cultivation, while a prominent resistance to low temperatures has also been assessed.