Skip to main content
ResearchProjects

Nærbilde av åkerbønne med blomster. Blå himmel og bebyggelse i bakgrunnen
Åkerbønner på NMBUPhoto: Åshild Gunilla Ergon

ProMax har som mål å øke produksjonen av åkerbønner og erter gjennom bedre sorter, god frøhelse og forbedret dyrkningspraksis, noe som til sammen vil sikre god avling og produktkvalitet.

01 Jan 2026 - 31 Dec 2029
Genetics, evolution and sustainable crop production

Research funding for agriculture and the Norwegian food industry (FFL/JA)

About the project

ProMax aims to in increase the Norwegian production of faba bean and field pea by: 1) testing new varieties for their suitability under Norwegian conditions: 2) developing genetic material and efficient plant breeding methodologies; 3) developing strategies that ensures good seed health and 4) identifying cultivation practices that prevent lodging and secure optimal crop quality and yield.

Logo for ProMax: grønne erteplanter i sirkel, med teksten «ProMax» og tre ikoner for planteforedling, sykdoms- og skadedyrkontroll samt høstestrategier.

  • Background

    Cultivation of grain legumes such as faba bean and field pea has increased in Norway in the last decade and is expected to continue to do so due to several benefits. The grain legumes do not require nitrogen fertilization due to their symbiosis with N-fixing bacteria and leave behind N that can be utilized by the next crop in the rotation.

    Grain legumes can partly replace imported soybean in animal feed production and have numerous applications in human food. Increasing grain legume production will enhance food self-sufficiency, making it a strategic political goal in Norway. Currently, grain legume cultivation in Norway faces challenges such as late maturity of faba bean in relation to our relatively short growing season, lodging that reduces yield and quality, and disease and pest problems that become more prevalent as cultivation expands.

  • Objectives

    Main goal: Increase the Norwegian production of grain legumes.

    Subgoals:

    • Identify varieties of field pea and faba bean that are suitable for cultivation and use by feed producers.
    • Utilize high-throughput single seed phenotyping and improve the utilization of UAV-based phenotyping to obtain faster genetic gain in breeding for key traits of faba bean and field pea.
    • Identify genetic determinants of traits related to timely maturation, resistance to fungal diseases and seed phenotypes in faba bean.
    • Identify strategies that ensures the use of healthy seeds in the cultivation of field pea and faba bean.
    • Identify management strategies that prevent lodging and ensures the best quality and yield in field pea and faba bean under Norwegian growing conditions.
    • Construct cultivation maps for early and late faba bean now and in the future.

Project participants

NMBU employees

External participants

  • Heidi Udnes Aamot (WP leader)
    Anne Marthe Lundby (WP leader)
    NIBIO Graminor
    Norsk landbruksrådgivning
    Kimen
    Strand Unikorn
    Felleskjøpet Agri