SOUTH CAROLINA: Clemson research aims to help SC farmers meet demand for more nutritious legumes
Organic farming sometimes has a bad reputation for producing legumes with lower nutritional quality. But some Clemson University researchers believe field peas and lentils can be grown organically and still have improved nutrient quality.
Thavarajah, the lead investigator for the project and a Clemson associate professor of pulse quality and organic nutritional breeding, said this research is needed because consumer demand for organically grown plant-based protein is increasing.
The researchers are Dil Thavarajah, Stephen Kresovich and Lucas Boatwright. They have received a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to establish an organic breeding pipeline for field pea and lentil cultivars with higher protein quality, digestibility, color, texture, flavor that are suitable for organic production. Their goal is to develop cultivars suitable for the Southern climate, especially South Carolina and North Carolina organic production systems.