Project start date

01/12/2022

Project end date

30/11/2025

Summary

The overarching goal of the project is to evaluate the genetic resources of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) for their suitability for cultivation in Germany, thereby expanding the range of crop species available to both conventional and organic farmers with two largely underutilized legumes. Chickpeas are already a major food crop globally, especially in Africa, South Asia, and the Mediterranean region, but have not yet been grown on a large scale in Germany. Grass pea is a genetic resource that has been minimally used in Europe (with cultivation mainly in Asia and Africa) and has no current role in Germany. Both species are well-adapted to dry and warm climates, making them promising alternatives to commonly grown legumes such as peas or faba beans, which are exhibiting increasingly lower yield stability due to climate change. As part of the project, genetic resources for both crops will be identified, tested for suitability for domestic cultivation, and selected to provide interested farmers with appropriate genotypes. The selection of chickpeas will focus on regions with higher temperatures (e.g., the Rhine Valley, Southern Palatinate, parts of Brandenburg and Saxony), while grass peas will also be suitable for cooler regions with sandy soils in Northern and Eastern Germany, where future drought stress is expected to be more frequent due to climate change.