Leguminous Vegetable Cultivation and Seed Production S ...

Seed Production Technology of Garden Peas
S.
Shanrnugasundaram
Garden peas are one of the four most important seed legumes. It occupies an important
place among the winter vegetables in India. In the North Indian hills, it is the most important offseason
vegetable grown both as a summer and autumn crop. It is cultivated in states like
Bihar, TYL9 ' , Aauonn.MoburobLru,Delhi, West Bengal, Punjab, uodHinoaoboJPradesh. The most
important garden pea growing state iu}3.P.which accounts for more than 60 % of production.
In self-pollinated crops like garden pea, hybrid vigor is commonly found when different
purelines are crossed. Since self-polliooUioo is the general rule, inbreeding is necessary to obtain
pozeIiueoin this group of plants.
Whether or not it is economically feasible to use hybrid vigor depends upon the cost of
producing the hybrid seed in relation to the value of the increased yields. Since most self-pollinated
crops produce urclativeln small amount of pollen, which is not transferred by the wind or by
insects to any significant degree, hand pollination is most likely necessary to bring about u1rans{er
of pollen between plants. If many seeds are produced by each hand pollination then the increased
yield justifies hybridization for greenhouse and early market use. With a crop like garden peas, it is
very unlikely that hybrids will ever be used because of difficulty of hand pollination and the small
number of seeds produced per pollination.
The production of quality seeds not only involves the selection of the best and true to type
plants in varieties of different vegetables but also the adoption of specific techniques suited to each
kind. For the production of good quality seeds such information as whether a particular crop is
self-pollinated or cross-polliootcd is absolutely oeceaary,as the technique to be used will depend
on it.
Seed Production
Seeds of garden peas of almost all varieties can be quite efficiently produced in the North
Indian plains. Therefore, there seems to be no real advantage in producing pea seed in the hills for
supplying to the vegetable growers in the plains.
The agronomic practices to be followed for crops raised for seed production are the same as
for those raised for commercial green pod purposes. Some of the important aspects of cultivation
are:
Soil and Climatic Requirements:
Peas can be
in a variety of soils, from light sandy loam to clay though the best
results are achieved on well drained loose, friable loamy soils, and not in acidic soils. The most
favorablepH range is between 6.0 uod7.5.
Peas prefer cool weather; they do not grow well during the intense heat of summer. The
blossoms and pod are more susceptible to frost than the leaves uods1e000.Tbe seeds can germinate
at nroinicunzo temperature of 50C; the optimum temperature for germination is about 220C. At
higher temperatures, germination is rapid but loss of stand may result from various decaying
organiazom.
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