Domestic Pea Cultivation Greatly Reduced by Pests

In field peas, nanoviruses are spread by aphids and lead to significant crop losses. According to the Chamber of Agriculture (LKÖ), this has led to a significant reduction in the cultivation area for field peas since 2000. Around the turn of the millennium, Austrian farmers cultivated field peas on about 40,000 hectares. This area has now shrunk to 6,000 to 7,000 hectares. The reasons for this are drought stress and pests that transmit the "Pea necrotic yellow dwarf virus (PNYDV)" and other viruses. According to Ferdinand Lembacher, Secretary General of the LKÖ, cultivation is no longer worthwhile for many farms.

Complex Development of Resistant Varieties for Domestic Pea Cultivation

Most farmers who had to give up field pea cultivation have switched to soy. The soybean does not serve as a host for the virus, and varieties have been developed that are well adapted to changing conditions - including increasing heat. The situation is more difficult with peas: for example, there are still no resistant varieties against nanoviruses, whose development is "complex" and takes years, according to expert Sabine Grausgruber-Gröger from the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). From the perspective of plant breeding, there is still potential. Field peas are used in human nutrition, for example in meat alternatives or protein-rich drinks, as well as in animal feed. As so-called legumes, the plants bind nitrogen in the soil and therefore do not need to be fertilized, which promotes the development of high-quality protein. Compared to soy, field peas also have the advantage of not being allergenic.

Crop Failures in Domestic Pea Cultivation Due to Pests

If the plants are infected by PNYDV, they usually wither and remain stunted. They then form little to no peas. Not only field peas are affected by the virus, but also fava beans, lentils, or green peas, which are popular in Austrian cuisine in soups, salads, or as a side dish. In green peas, as in field peas, the virus regularly leads to crop losses. According to the chamber, it is difficult to quantify the economic damage caused by pests, including the green pea aphid and the black bean aphid, annually. The fact is that farms repeatedly suffer total losses.

Chamber of Agriculture: Plant Protection Necessary for the Preservation of Domestic Pea Cultivation

For the preservation of domestic pea cultivation, the Chamber of Agriculture sees plant protection options as particularly important. "Since the virus is neither transmitted mechanically nor through seeds, but only through aphids, the only remedy is indirect and consists of the preventive control of these sucking insects. If the pest pressure is already very high and viruses have been detected, then the precise use of selective insecticides remains the only measure to slow down the development of aphids and protect the plants," says LKÖ crop expert Andreas Pfaller. Without protection and with a further decline in cultivation, only imports from countries where substances are used that are banned here would be opened up, argues Lembacher.

(APA/Red)

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