The new field pea variety Kaspa has the highest splitting yield of all recent varieties according to latest research by the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia and Premium Grain Handlers.

Department pulse researcher Peter White said Kaspa was a clear winner in the splitting trial which measured splitting yields of five recently released varieties.

“This is an encouraging result and means that Kaspa will be welcomed not only by growers because of its, ease of harvest, but also by field pea processors,” Dr White said.

Half a tonne of grain was harvested from a large-scale trial at Mt Ridley and delivered to Premium Grain Handlers to put through their commercial splitting mill. Samples of the grain were also processed at the Department of Agriculture’s Pulse Grain Quality Laboratory.

“Both tests showed Kaspa came out on top, producing a splitting yield of 78.5 per cent in the Department of Agriculture’s tests and 78.8 per cent in the commercial tests at Premium Grain Handlers,” Dr White said.

“The next best variety was Dunwa which produced a splitting yield of 73.4% per cent in the Department’s tests and 76.4 per cent in the commercial tests.”

Premium Grain Handlers manager John Orr said the splitting trial had highlighted a substantial difference between Kaspa and the other varieties, and would potentially increase the profitability of splitting peas in an average size splitting plant by about $100,000.

“In addition, the seed of Kaspa is nice and round with few dimples.  This means the quality of the splits are also good,” Mr Orr said.

“The tests showed the brightness and yellowness of the Kaspa splits was slightly lower than average, and is unlikely to be a problem.

“Importantly, the proportion of green or greenish cotyledons in the sample was much lower than average which was also a very positive result.”

However, Mr Orr said the seed coat colour of Kaspa was not ideal. It had a uniform, light brown colour and traders preferred a uniform green colour.

“I suspect that some Indian importers who are importing field pea to be milled for human consumption, may not like the colour of Kaspa when they first see it and could try to bargain the price down,” Mr Orr said.

Dr White said while the reaction of Indian importers to the seed coat colour would be a concern in the short term, he was confident the high splitting yields and the good quality of the splits would make Kaspa a sought after variety.

He said growers were advised to expect some uncertainty in the price for Kaspa as it was introduced into the market.