Research on intercropping peas and beans is ongoing in Teagasc Oak Park. Sheila Alves aims to find a way for peas to find support from the beans and therefore make harvesting easier. However, different harvest dates and other issues mean more research is needed.

Research has shown that at 100 seeds/m² the peas became competitive and tall. This meant that the beans were underneath the large pea canopy. The bean crops flowered but produced minimal pods. The seeding ratio was the recommended 70:30 (peas:beans).

Overall, they found that intercropping increases the harvest window by three weeks and reduces crop loss due to lodging.

Turning Irish protein crops into value added products

Protein crops are needed as alternative crops for diverse crop rotations. At present, most protein crops grown are used in animal feeds in Ireland. Research at Teagasc is looking at alternative uses for these crops.

One use was as a high-value feed ingredient for ruminant rations such as finisher, weanling or calf rations, where high protein is needed. The crop can be flaked and roasted, and coated in molasses to create an ideal, high-quality feed ingredient.

Another use was as a high-quality food ingredient. The beans can be dried and hulled. The hulls can be used as an animal feed ingredient as they contain 12-14% protein.

The remaining hulled beans can be salted or roasted to create a high-end food product or can be milled down into a flour. The flour can be used as an alternative to wheat flour to produce breads and other food items. The flour contains 25-30% protein and is gluten free.

Growing early, fast-growing faba beans

The late harvesting of beans in Ireland is a disadvantage and one of the reasons which puts farmers off growing the crop.

Research by Sheila Alves at Teagasc has shown that fast-growing faba beans sown at the same time as standard faba beans will be harvested three to four weeks earlier.

In a recent trial at Oak Park, beans were planted on 17 April. The fast-growing varieties were harvested on 28 August, where the standard varieties were harvested on 19 September.

The early varieties have a shorter life cycle, smaller canopy and smaller seed size. They have a recommended seed rate of 60 seeds/m2 versus standard varieties at 40 seeds/m2.

The research trials at Oakpark showed that the standard variety will yield better in optimal conditions, but optimal conditions are not always present during the growing season, and the early varieties are competitive.

at Crops and Technology brought by Teagasc and the Irish Farmers Journal at Teagasc Oakpark, Co Carlow. \ Philip Doyle