Effect of Variety and Plant Protection Method on Chemical Composition and in Vitro Digestibility of Faba Bean (Vicia Faba) Seeds

The aim of the work was to determine the effect of faba bean varieties and plant protection method on their yield of seeds and protein, chemical composition, in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) and nutritive value for ruminant feeding. The study was carried out on four cultivars of faba beans grown in similar environmental conditions in a two-factorial field experiment. The variation between cultivars, modified by the plant protection method, in chemical composition and IVTD of seeds may suggest that there would be a need to estimate its real nutritive value used for diet formulation instead of one common value for faba bean species read from feed tables. It was shown that lowtannin varieties are characterized by slightly higher CP and lower NDF content and significantly (P<0.01) higher IVTD digestibility compared to traditional or terminal inflorescence varieties. Regardless of type of faba been variety, the highest seed and protein yields were found when insecticides were applied, with minor effect on chemical composition and the nutritive value of seeds.