Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Snap peas (convar.
axiphium
)
HARVEST
Harvest pods when completely ripe; be sure that they are completely dry (brittle). Since they
ripen so early in the summer, they can stay on the plant until completely dry. Winter peas are ready for
harvest about one month earlier than spring-planted peas. Remove peas from pods by hand or thresh
on a soft underlay. Caution: since peas are relatively large, they can be damaged relatively easily by
threshing. It is important to check for pea weevils after threshing (and do not let them get away!). In-
fested seeds are recognized by a small dark spot or a small circular hole, which should be sorted out.
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
First, check seed for general trueness-to-type (color, etc.). Other se-
lection criteria:
• entire plant: early ripening, plant height, resistance to fungal and viral disease, strong root system,
stability, synchronous ripening of pods, long harvest period
• pod: good flavor, number of pods, length and width of pods, number of peas per pod, size of peas
• shell peas: suitability for freezing or canning (e.g., maintaining green color after preserving)
DISEASES AND PESTS
To help prevent all the diseases treated here, it is important to practice good
crop rotation. We recommend not growing peas in the same plot for five years.
In prolonged cold and wet periods, peas can experience reduced vigor in growth and become more
susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases. Stagnant water and poor soil aeration as a result of hard-
pan can also contribute to crop damage. Any measures that encourage rapid vertical growth of the pea
plant plus a good crop rotation discourage disease proliferation: open, sunny beds; weeding; no nitro-
gen fertilizer.
Downy mildew (
Peronospora pisi
) and powdery mildew (
Erysiphe pisi
) are probably not seed-
borne. Even viruses (pea early browning virus, pea seed-borne mosaic virus) are usually not transmit-
ted by seed but rather by aphids. Downy mildew affects yield only when it infects young plants; it ap-
pears especially in cold, wet weather. Symptoms: yellow spots on the tops of leaves, a carpet of spores
on leaf bottoms. Treatment: five-year crop rotation. Powdery mildew thrives in warm, dry weather and
usually makes its first appearance in late summer, meaning that it rarely affects yield. Symptoms:
white, powdery layer on leaves. Pea rust (
Uromyces pisi
) can also appear in late summer. This, too, is
not seed-borne.
