Pea is a plant grown chiefly for its round edible seeds, which are also called peas. Cooked peas are a popular food. People add them to soups, salads, and casseroles. Farmers use the plants as feed for livestock. Peas provide a good source of protein and vitamins A and C.
Pea plants have vines with soft stems that measure 6 inches to 6 feet (15 to 182 centimeters) long. Each leaf consists of one to three pairs of leaflets, and it ends in a curly thread called a tendril. Most pea plants have white flowers. Some have reddish-purple blossoms. Pea plants bear pods that contain four to nine or more seeds.
Peas belong to a large family of plants called legumes, which produce pods. Other legumes include beans, peanuts, and alfalfa. See Legume .
Kinds of peas.
There are two main types of peas, field peas and garden peas. Field peas have smooth, hard seeds that may be green, yellow, white, gray, blue, brown, or spotted. Some varieties of yellow and green field peas are marketed as split peas for making soup. Other varieties are used as fresh pasture for livestock, or are made into hay or silage. Garden peas generally have green, wrinkled seeds, though some varieties have smooth seeds. Garden peas are sweeter and softer than field peas and are popular with home gardeners. Varieties known as edible-podded peas are eaten with the pods and are often used in Asian cooking.
Growing peas.
The pea plant is an annual–that is, it must be replanted each year. Peas require rich soil, constant moisture, and a cool growing season to develop well. They are planted in early spring and are harvested 60 to 70 days later.
Field peas usually are planted with a grain drill, a machine that drops the seeds and covers them with soil. They are harvested with a combine. Most garden peas are planted and harvested by hand. They are planted 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) deep in rows 20 to 30 inches (51 to 76 centimeters) apart.
Diseases and pests.
The most common diseases of pea plants are leaf spot, stem blight, bacterial blight, and fusarium wilt. Leaf spot, stem blight, and bacterial blight produce spots on the plants. Fusarium wilt restricts the growth of pea plants and makes them yellow. Scientists have developed varieties of peas that can resist these diseases. Leaf spot, stem blight, and bacterial blight can also be controlled with pesticides.
Pea plants are also attacked by such insect pests as pea weevils, pea moths, and pea aphids. Pea weevils and pea moths produce young that burrow into the pods and eat the seeds. Pea aphids damage a plant by sucking its juices and spreading virus diseases. Farmers control most of these pests with insecticides.
