Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Increased consumption and cultivation of legumes are important for both health and environmental aspects. Faba bean is a legume crop that is on the rise again since 2020 in the field of plant breeding in Sweden after a long pause since 1990, therefore increased knowledge of its properties in cultivation and seed quality is important. Cookability is a seed quality parameter of importance for using legume seeds in food. However, very little knowledge is available on which factors determine cookability in faba beans. In this study, a diversity panel of 14 accessions with and without bean weevil damage were assessed for seed size, seed-coat hardness, cookability and starch quality. Examples of the most important instruments and methods used are Marvin seed-analyser, penetrometer analysis, Mattson Cooker and enzymatic starch assay. We found a variation in median cooking time from 20 to 62 minutes in the different accessions and seeds with bean weevil damage tended to cook slightly quicker than seeds without damage. There were not any large differences in starch content or quality (with regards to amylose/amylopectin) between accessions, or between seeds with and without bean weevil damage. Further, correlations between the different seed parameters assessed indicated that the best predictor for cooking time was seed size.