Quality of organic legumes – prediction of main ingredients and amino acids by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Summary

The analytical potential of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) for predicting the chemical composition and the amino acid contents of grain legumes was evaluated. Pea and bean samples from field trials of different organically-managed experimental locations in Germany were analysed with reference methods. The reference data were used for developing calibration equations for the main ingredients and for the estimation of the amino acids. The calibration equations were validated on a remaining sample set. The statistics of NIRS calibrations showed that the predictions were successful or satisfactory for all main ingredients. The predictions of the essential amino acids were successful and respectively, for cystine in beans satisfactory as well. The obtained results indicated that the NIRS could be successfully used for the prediction of the main ingredients and amino acids in field beans and peas and therefore to evaluate the feed quality quickly and easy. The exact calculation of feed rations seems to be possible if the samples are analysed by NIRS directly after harvesting.