Field Pea / Garden Pea (Pisum sativum L.)
Importance
- One of the oldest cultivated food legumes.
- In India → grown as rabi pulse (field pea) and vegetable crop (garden pea).
- Protein-rich diet + important in crop diversification.
- Enhances soil fertility (N fixation: ~40–60 kg N/ha).
- Quick-growing → fits well in rice-fallows and utera (paira) cropping systems.
Origin; Southwest Asia / Mediterranean region (Ethiopia, Afghanistan).
Nutritional Value
- Protein: 20–22%
- Carbohydrates: ~55–60%
- Fat: 1.5%
- Minerals: Ca, Fe, P
- Vitamins: Rich in Vitamin A, B1, C, and riboflavin.
- High lysine content → complements cereal-based diet.
Area & Production (India)
- Area: ~1.0–1.2 million ha
- Production: ~0.8–1.0 million tonnes
- Yield: ~1000–1200 kg/ha
Major States; Uttar Pradesh > Madhya Pradesh > Bihar > Jharkhand > West Bengal > Assam
Botanical Description
- Family: Leguminosae (Papilionaceae)
- Type: Cool season, C3, long-day plant
- Root: Tap root with nodules
- Stem: Weak, hollow, climbing (with tendrils)
- Leaf: Compound, leaflets modified to tendrils
- Flower: Zygomorphic, papilionaceous, self-pollinated
- Pod: 4–10 cm, 4–9 seeds
- Seed: Spherical, wrinkled or smooth
Classification
- Field pea (dry pea) – Grown for grain, protein, fodder.
- Garden pea (vegetable pea) – Grown for green tender seeds, wrinkled type preferred.
Agronomic Practices
Aspect | Details |
Season | Rabi (Nov–March) |
Seedbed | Fine tilth, friable soil, 2–3 ploughings |
Optimum Sowing Time | Mid-Oct to mid-Nov (after rice harvest) |
Seed Rate | 70–80 kg/ha (grain purpose) |
Spacing | 30 × 10 cm (line sowing) |
Depth | 3–5 cm |
Fertilizer | 20 kg N + 40–60 kg P₂O₅ + 20 kg K₂O + 20 kg S /ha |
Biofertilizer | Rhizobium + PSB |
Irrigation | Mostly rainfed; one irrigation at flowering–pod filling is critical |
Duration | 90–120 days |
Yield | 15–20 q/ha (grain) |
Cropping Systems
- Intercropping: Pea + Mustard, Pea + Linseed, Pea + Wheat.
- Relay cropping (Utera/Paira): Pea in standing rice (Eastern India).
- Rotation: Rice–Pea, Maize–Pea, Sorghum–Pea.
Weed Management
- Slow initial growth → susceptible to weeds.
- Critical period: 20–40 DAS.
- Pendimethalin (1.0 kg a.i./ha PE) + 1 hand weeding (30 DAS).
Varieties
Field pea (dry pea)
- Rachna, Pant P-13, Pant P-14 (Wilt resistant).
- Aparna, HFP-4, HFP-715 (Powdery mildew resistant).
- KPMR-400, KPMR-144-1.
Garden pea (vegetable)
- Arkel, Bonneville, Azad P-1, Pant P-25, VL-7.
Physiology & Key Points
- Pollination: Self-pollinated, cleistogamous.
- Chromosome number: 2n = 14.
- Origin: Mediterranean/Southwest Asia.
- Photoperiod: Long-day.
- Nitrogen fixation: 40–60 kg N/ha.
- Critical irrigation: Flowering–pod filling.
- Limitation: Highly susceptible to powdery mildew.
- Wrinkled-seeded types = sweeter (higher sugar content).
Quick Facts (Revision Points)
- Origin: Mediterranean / SW Asia
- Chromosome No.: 2n = 14
- Pollination: Self
- Protein: 20–22%
- Seed rate: 70–80 kg/ha (grain)
- Duration: 90–120 days
- Critical irrigation: Flowering–pod filling
- Major disease: Powdery mildew
- India: UP = largest producer
