FIELD PEAS

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 65, Issue 6, 15 December 1942, Page 347

FIELD PEAS

The Development and Performance of a New Blue and a New White Field Pea

-By-

R. A. CALDER,

Agronomy Division, Lincoln College.

BY crossing Blue Prussian with Harrisons Glory there has been developed a new boiling pea at present designated Mammoth Blue. In comparison with Blue Prussian it tends to give higher yields and produces much larger and more 1 attractive seed of equivalent cooking quality. By crossing Blue Persian with Greenfeast there has been developed a new white splitting pea at present designated White Prolific. In comparison with White Ivory it definitely gives higher yields and the seed quality is almost as good. New Blue Pea Blue peas are used for canning or packeting and the annual consumption of such peas in Great Britain is well over 60,000 tons.' In pre-war days the majority came from Holland, Belgium, and Japan, while a few were obtained from Tasmania. The dried peas are packed for sale in cans, packets and sacks. The variety used extensively for the purpose is Blue Prussian which is classed as a field pea, and which produces small, smooth blue seed; it competes with Marrowfats for the packet trade but is definitely inferior to that variety. On cooking, blue peas are not as sweet as garden peas, but, when canned, a liquid containing sugar and salt is added; in this form they constitute a convenient substitute for green peas.

A limited acreage only is grown in this country which may be due to the fact that New Zealand Blue Prussians are not particularly popular in Great Britain owing to their variable hardness and slow absorption of water. In the packet trade these features are undesirable, for peas possessing them are difficult to prepare; for canning, lack of uniformity in hardness is a real defect as some peas reach the soft stage sooner than others, and this results in

an unsatisfactory product. . New Zealand peas tend also to be rather small and sometimes to be of an inferior colour. It has been recognised that these deficiencies do exist and although it was realised that some of them might be due to seasonal conditions and to methods of harvest, it was also considered that others might be due to the nature of the variety itself and that some improvement in quality might be effected by breeding methods. Breeding Work In an endeavour to develop K an improved blue field pea a breeding project was commenced at Palmerston North in 1932 when a considerable number of crosses were made using Blue Prussian as one of the parents. Eleven other varieties, mostly garden, were used in various crosses as the other parent. During subsequent years observations were made from selections of these hybrids with a view to retaining only those showing desirable features. Finally, after extensive trials it was decided in 1941 to retain a selection

from the Blue —Harrisons Glory cross which will be available for distribution next season under the name “Mammoth Blue.” Characteristics of Mammoth Blue Plant: Height at maturity approximately 2ft. 6in. to 3ft. Tends to be a little shorter than Blue Prussian. Stem: Fairly stout. Foliage: Medium to dark green in colour. Flowers: White. First 'flower occurs at fourteenth to sixteenth node (same as Blue Prussian). Pod: Illustrated in figure 1. Size: Longer and broader than Blue Prussian. Colour: Medium green. Shape: Straight with rounded to blunt end. Occurrence: Single and double. No. of peas per pod: 5-6. Seed: Illustrated in figure 2. Surface: Smooth. Colour of seed coat: Blue. Colour of cotyledon: Green.

No. per oz. . . . . . . Mammoth Blue =92 ] Blue Prussian = 174 [Grown under simiWeight per 100 . . .. .. Mammoth Blue 34.4 grms. [lar conditions. Blue Prussian 18.2 grms. J Seed much larger than Blue Prussian. Seed coat as %of whole seed. Mammoth Blue = 8.0 Blue Prussian = 9.3

Maturity: A little later than Blue Prussian. Yield: Mammoth Blue has been under test for five years and the following results indicate its yielding capacity in comparison with that of Blue Prussian on a percentage basis. Type. > Mammoth Blue .. .. .. Blue Prussian .. .. .. From the table it can be seen that, although there was no significant difference between the two types in the 1939-40 and the 1940-41 season, in the other years the new type was definitely superior. In all years, however, the size and appearance of the seed of Mammoth Blue showed a considerable improvement over that of Blue Prussian. Cooking Quality Cooking tests have been carried out both at the Agronomy Division and by the School of Home Science, Dunedin, these indicating that the cooking quality is at least as good as that of Blue Prussian.

Conclusion It is considered that Mammoth Blue is a definite improvement on Blue Prussian in that it tends to give higher yields and produces larger and more attractive seed of equivalent cooking quality.

\ New White Pea . J White peas are used for splitting for - soup purposes and it has been estiT mated that, prior to the war, Great 5 Britain imported over 15,000 tons annually; these came either from the Conti- * nent or from India. White peas are not grown to any large extent in New. Zealand but it is possible that the acreage devoted to t them could be increased if more satisr factory types were available. The two varieties most commonly 5 grown are White Ivory and Victoria Danzig which have white seed coats - and yellow cotyledons. Victoria is a taller and larger seeded variety than White Ivory and, on account of its size, commands a correspondingly higher i price. Both are used commercially in the production of split peas but the yields are so far below that of Partridge that farmers are disinclined to grow them to any extent; particularly 1 is this so in the case of Victoria Danzig.

It was the recognition of this position that prompted an attempt being made to develop improved types and as a result of hybridisation and subsequent selection several promising lines have been isolated. Breeding Work The breeding work was initiated in Palmerston North in 1932 when a wide range of crosses was made between about 12 varieties of garden and field peas. The procedure adopted subsequent to the initial crossing was to make single plant selections each season from the most promising lines By 1941 sufficient information was available to make a decision to retain only a Blue Prussian-Greenfeast cross which will be distributed under the name of ‘White Prolific.” Characteristics of White Prolific Plant:. Height at maturity approximately 3ft. to 3ft. 6in. Tends to be taller than White Ivory. Stem: Medium thickness. Foliage: Medium green. Flower: White. First flower occurs at 14th-16th node (similar to White Ivory). x Pods: Illustrated in figure 3. Size: Longer and broader than White Ivory. Colour: Medium green. Shape: Curved with pointed end. Occurrence: Single and double. No. of peas per pod: 6-7. Pod tends to resemble that of Greenfeast.

Concrete has many uses on the farm. Instruction in the mixing of concrete and guidance as to its use is contained in “Concrete on the Farm” (bulletin 184) issue free by the Department of Agriculture.

Seed: Illustrated in figure 4. Surface: Smooth, some pitted. . Colour of seed coat: White or greenish white. Colour of cotyledon: Yellow. White Prolific tends to be a little larger in seed size than White Ivory. Number per oz. .. .. White White ] Weight per 100 . . .. White I White I Maturity: A little later than White Ivory. Yield: White Prolific has been under test for five years and the following results indicate its yielding capacity , in comparison with that of White Ivory on a percentage basis. Type. White Prolific .. White Ivory .. .. ... From these results it is apparent that White Prolific invariably gives a considerably greater yield than White Ivory. • Quality To determine the quality of the seed for soup purposes small samples have been split and made into soup. In respect of consistency and flavour that made from White Prolific was little different from that made from White Ivory, but the colour was a little paler.

Conclusion It is considered that, as far as yield is concerned, White Prolific is a definite improvement on White Ivory, but that the quality of the seed, though Prolific = 113 j Ivory . = 124 | Grown under simiProlific 24.5 grms. f lar conditions. Ivory 22.3 grms. J probably quite acceptable, is possibly a little inferior. Acknowledgments These breeding projects were proYear.

posed by Mr. J. W. Hadfield, the present Director of the Linen Flax Section, Department of Industries and Commerce, Christchurch, initiated by him and the author and ultimately taken over by Mr. C. M. Driver, at present overseas. Thanks are due to Messrs. Kirkpatrick and Co., Ltd., to Cawthron Institute and to the School of Home Science, Dunedin, for their helpful cooperation.

Year. 37-38 38-39 39-40 40-41 41-42 154.8 111.5 98.7 103.9 176.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Diff. Diff. Diff. Diff. Diff. Sig. Sig. Non Sig. Non Sig. Sig.

37-38 38-39 39-40 40-41 41-42 143.5 133.2 109.1 149.1 157.3 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Diff. Diff. Diff. . Diff. Diff. Sig. .Sig. Not sig. Sig. Sig.