Amino acid composition as a function of total-N in pea seeds grown on two soils with P and K additions

Summary

In a pot experiment with field peas, applications of P increased dry matter yields more on a heath than on a loam soil. Responses to K additions were positive on the heath and negative on the loam. N concentrations generally increased, with increasing P additions and decreased with increasing K additions on the heath soil but were only slightly affected on the loam. N concentrations varied from 3.51 to 4.89 percent N and from 4.06 to 4.40 percent N on the two soils respectively. Highly significant correlation coefficients were obtained between concentrations of a number of protein amino acids (g/16 g N) and total N. Regression equations revealed that with increasing N concentration only arginine increased significantly whereas, most other amino acids, lysine included, slightly decreased. Present results support the possibility of calculating amino acid composition of seed from total N concentration.