Yellow peas

The yellow pea (Pisum Sativum) is part of the pea flower family and is characterised by its high protein content, typically approx. 22 gr per 100 gr.

As a legume, the yellow pea has the special characteristic that it is nitrogen-collecting during its growth, which means the farmer does not need to add nitrogen during cultivation.

The yellow pea actually collects so much nitrogen that it is particularly suitable as a pre-crop in the cultivation of, amongst other things, wheat and barley. The farmer can typically achieve an approx. 15% extra yield by having yellow peas as the first crop, due to both the nitrogen effect and the disease-removing effect of the cultivation of yellow peas.

Through symbiosis, the nitrogen that is collected also becomes an important part of the amino acids in the proteins.

The benefits of growing and using yellow peas as a source of protein are numerous:

• It takes significantly less energy to produce pea protein isolates than similar meat proteins
• There is no need to add fertilizer
• The cultivation of yellow peas has a high pre-crop value –– i.e. additional yield for the subsequent crop in the rotation
• No irrigation, or only a small amount of irrigation, is typically required (also compared to other crops)
• Usually only a small need for the use of pesticides