GREEN PEA SPROUT RESPONSE TO MICROBIAL INOCULATION AND INCREASING ATMOSPHERIC CO2 CONCENTRATION

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Central Laboratory for Agric. Climate, ARC, Giza, Egypt

2 Agric. Microbiology Dept., Fac. of Agric., Ain Shams Univ., P.O. Box 68, Hadayek Shobra 11241, Cairo, Egypt

3 Horticulture Dept., Fac. of Agric., Ain Shams Univ., P.O. Box 68, Hadayek Shobra 11241, Cairo, Egypt *

Abstract

Baby pea (pisum sativum L.) shoots is a new ready to eat baby leaf vegetable sprouts in Egypt. The overall quality change of baby pea shoots is greatly affected by surrounding environmental conditions especially increased elevation of carbon dioxide concentration in the air. This work focus on the impacts of predicted climate changes conditions on the quality of baby pea shoots by using two carbon dioxide concentrations (600 and 800 ppm) compared with ambient air (control) in interaction with three microbial inoculants and their combinations, in semi-automated growth chambers using tray sprouting method. The obtained results showed the largest yield of pea sprouts per unit area in 800 ppm CO2 concentration with increasing about 20% more than ambient air (control) followed by 600 ppm with increasing about 9.4% than ambient air. Also, it revealed that using CO2 at 800 ppm increased pea sprout crude protein content 37.8%, lipid 46.9% and energy 19.5% per unit area when compared to ambient air. While pea sprout treated by 800 ppm CO2 and inoculated by combination of  Az. chroococcum + B. megaterium + Ps. fluorescens recorded the highest significant shoot length in the second cut and highest significant chlorophyll in first and second being 13.25 cm, 57.3 and 58.9 μg Chl./cm (SPAD) and the highest significant protein, lipids, and ash content being 48.65, 4.95, 10.69% as well as the highest significant mineral values of P, Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn being 0.545, 3.535, 0.620% and 61.3 ppm respectively. Current study suggests that high CO2 concentration in the presence of Az. chroococcum + B. 
megaterium + Ps. fluorescens improve the yield and the quality of baby pea shoots.