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1. Principles and Practices of
Organic Pea Seed Production
A Publication of NOVIC:
the Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative
Written and Compiled by James Keach & Dr. Michael Mazourek
Cornell University, Dept. of Plant Breeding, Ithaca, NY
This publication made possible through a grant from the
USDA NIFA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) program

2. Table of Contents
Crop History, Lifecycle, and Basic Biology .......................................................................................... 3
Growing Pea Seed ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Climatic Requirements ............................................................................................................................. 3
Planting .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Spacing...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Isolation Requirements............................................................................................................................ 4
Genetic Maintenance................................................................................................................................ 4
Population size .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Selection Criteria ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Seedling Vigor and Color.......................................................................................................................... 5
Plant Form ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Leaf Type ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Pod Characteristics ................................................................................................................................... 6
Quality ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Harvesting and Cleaning ......................................................................................................................... 7
Harvesting and Drying Seed .................................................................................................................... 7
Seed Cleaning............................................................................................................................................ 7
Seed Storage .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Diseases....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Fungal Diseases ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Bacterial diseases....................................................................................................................................... 9
Viral Diseases ......................................................................................................................................... 10
Insect & Animal Pests ............................................................................................................................ 10
Additional Resources ............................................................................................................................. 11
References................................................................................................................................................. 11
Table of common genes affecting pea traits important to growers. .............................................. 14

3. Crop History,
Lifecycle, and Basic
Biology
The pea, Pisum sativum, is an Old
World crop native to the Middle East
and cultivated by many civilizations
throughout the ancient and modern
world. From millennia of
cultivation, several forms of peas
have emerged for different purposes,
including peas for animal forage,
shelling peas for their fresh seeds,
field peas for their dry seeds, and
edible-podded peas, such as snow
and snap peas. In genetics, peas are
famous for being the plant Gregor
Mendel, the Austrian monk, used for
discovering the rules of genetic
inheritance. As a legume, peas can
form symbiotic relationships with
bacteria in the soil, leading to the
fixing of nitrogen and reducing the
need for fertilization. This process
occurs in swollen nodules on the
roots.
Growing Pea Seed
Climatic Requirements
Although peas are native to the
Middle East, they are often grown as
a cool weather crop in the United
States. Most peas show some degree
of cold hardiness and frost resistance
and some, such as Austrian Winter
peas, are even grown as winter cover
crops under snow banks (reviewed
in Markarian & Andersen, 1966).
Extreme heat or drought can result in
poor bed establishment and may
stress the plants, making them more
susceptible to pests and disease.
However, temperatures of 70ºF
(21ºC) or above are necessary for
proper expression of the stringless
trait in lines containing it.
Generally, it takes a minimum of
ninety days from planting to dry
seed, although this is strongly
influenced by the particular cultivar.
Daylength sensitivity, while not
common in most commcercial
varieties, may be present in more
unusual lines and should be
investigated in cases of poor or no
flowering.
Planting
Planting time varies with the season
the peas are being grown for.
Early peas are often planted as soon
as the ground has thawed in the
spring. Austrian Winter Peas are
planted at the same time as winter
wheat in the Fall, and then stay
dormant over the winter.
Seed is normally treated with an
organic-approved inoculant and
direct sown in furrows. While
soaking seed is commonly practiced
by gardeners to speed germination,
this is often impractical for larger
productions and unsuitable for
mechanical planters.

4. Spacing
will not cross pollinate with sweet
peas (Lathyrus sp.).
For optimal production, no more
than 18-20 plants per yard are
recommended, with some leeway
given depending on seed and plant
size. This is particularly appropriate
for plants grown on a trellis; plants
grown in a bed may be spaced closer,
but may be more susceptible to
disease.
Genetic Maintenance
Population size
As peas naturally inbreed, relatively
small populations can be maintained
and remain true to type. While it is
possible to save seed from just a
single plant, it can be difficult to
obtain sufficient seed for future
plantings, and variation within a
variety which is invisible to the
naked eye may be lost. A minimum
population of 10-20 plants will better
preserve existing diversity (OSA,
2010).
Isolation Requirements
Peas are predominately inbreeders,
due to their naturally closed flowers.
For this reason, limited isolation is
normally practiced. Some
commercial operations separate
different varieties by as much as 350
feet (100m). However for most
growers 20 feet between varieties,
enough to ensure that they do not
actually overlap and mix seeds, is
generally considered enough (OSA,
2010). Insects have been known to
eat and open pea flowers in some
locations, leading to cross-pollination
(including pea weevil: Clement,
1992). If the pea flowers appear to be
heavily frequented by the local insect
population, increased isolation
distances may be necessary. Another
approach is to physically separate
the varieties with a different,
preferably taller, crop which can act
as a barrier and distraction for the
insects. Despite similarity in name
and shape, true peas (Pisum sativum)
Selection Criteria
In order to keep a variety true to its
type, it will sometimes be necessary
to go through the field and take out
or separate plants that do not
resemble the others, or do not match
the common description of the
variety; this is commonly known as
‘rogueing’. While variants can be
interesting and potentially useful,
seed from them must be saved
separately from seed of the ‘normal’
variety.
Many traits can vary between
varieties, some invisible to the naked
eye, and some general traits to look
for are discussed in the following
sections. These sections are by no
4

5. means comprehensive, and other
forms of variation should be noted
and evaluated according to the
variety.
taller and vining, more dwarfed
bushy varieties have become
common in the last century or two.
Generally, being tall is dominant to
being short or dwarfed, and so
outcrosses in a dwarf variety will be
easy to detect. Attention should also
be given to getting rid of plants
which are late or low-yielding, as
these can be more subtle forms of a
change in growth habit through
unfavorable mutations, crosses with
different varieties, or shifting within
the variety.
Seedling Vigor and Color
Some growers prefer to plant at high
densities (i.e. every inch) and later
thin to a more manageable density
(i.e. every three inches) to help select
for good emergence and rapid
growth, which may lead to better
early establishment of a variety.
Likewise, this will help select against
seed dormancy and lateness.
Coloration on the plant can also
sometimes be selected at the seedling
stage, to remove off-types. Presence
of pigment on the stem or at the base
of the axil leaves roughly translates
to color in the flowers and sometimes
the seed or pod, depending on the
variety (i.e. purple marks  purple
flowers, red marks  red or pink
flowers, no marks  white flowers).
Pigmentation, especially of the seeds,
is generally considered unfavorable,
as it can result in a bitter flavor and
unattractive cooked color. Most
edible-podded peas will have white
flowers, green seeds, and no pigment
on the stems or leaves.
Leaf Type
In peas, there are a number of
different mutations that produce
different combinations of leaves and
tendrils. While many varieties have
several leaflets followed by tendrils
at the end of each branch, the afila
peas have all of the leaflets replaced
with tendrils, giving them a better
ability to remain standing by
supporting themselves against their
neighbors. This is particularly
common in modern field or winter
pea cultivars, but is also being
introduced into edible-podded pea
types. It is important to know what
the normal growth habit of a cultivar
is, so that off-types can be recognized
and removed, and trellising options
can be chosen accordingly.
Plant Form
A wide range of heights and growth
habits exist in cultivated peas. While
traditional pea cultivars tended to be
5

6. the parchment and thickening the
pod walls. Thus, any outcrosses
between types will result in the
dominant form (eg. anything crossed
with shelling will result in a shelling
type, crossing a snow and a snap will
result in a snow type). Mutations
sometimes occur spontaneously in
the V gene, and so it is important to
occasionally check snow and snap
peas to make sure they have not
developed parchment.
Stringlessness is a recessive trait, and
can have variable expression in a
plant. It is especially sensitive to
temperature variation and, as
mentioned above, may not be
present when the plant grows in a
cool environment under 70ºF (21ºC).
For this reason, it is important to
look at pods several times
throughout the season, even on the
same plant.
A normal pea leaf with leaflets and tendrils (L),
compared to an afila type (R) with only tendrils.
Pod Characteristics
Minor details in the shape of the pod
can help differentiate between
similar-looking cultivars. A blunt tip
of the flower end is dominant to a
pointed tip in the mature pod. The
number of flowers or pods at a node
is also variable, normally ranging
from one to two, but with higher
numbers occasionally manifesting.
There is also a wide range in the
number of seeds in a pod, with some
varieties like ‘Green Arrow’ having
ten or more and others normally
varying from four to seven.
Pod type, such as shelling, snow, or
snap, is the result of three genes that
affect pod parchment (the fibrous
tissue inside) and thickness. Shelling
is PPVVNN, with all three genes
dominant, producing parchment in
thin pods. Snow is ppvvNN, with p
and v recessive, removing the
parchment, but N dominant, leaving
the pods thin. Snap is ppvvnn, with
all three genes recessive, removing
Three main types of pea pods: shelling, snow, and
snap (L-R). The arrow points to the thin, fibrous
parchment layer which is absent in snow and snap
pods. Notice how much thicker the snap pod walls
are than either the shelling or snow.
6

7. Quality
cultivars the mature pods may
‘shatter’ and scatter the seeds.
The eating quality of the pods and
peas is a subjective trait, which will
vary greatly depending on the pod
type and person tasting it.
Generally, traits worth noting are
texture of the chewed pod (for
edible-podded types), sweetness,
tenderness, and flavor, including any
off-flavors and the strength of the
traditional pea flavor. As mentioned
previously, purple-flowered and
other pigmented plants tend to have
a different, less-agreeable flavor than
the more common, white-flowered
cultivars (Taurick & McLellan, 1986).
Preparing a small number of pods or
peas the way they are intended to be
eaten can also be a good way to
select superior lines or maintain
preferred cultivars, but may not be
feasible for larger populations.
Three pods at increasing maturity (L-R). All are at
acceptable stages for harvest, if provided with
additional drying time. The middle pod is ideal as
the seeds inside are completely mature (which may
not be true for the pod on the left), but the pod has
not become brittle and prone to shattering (as may
be the case for the pod on the right).
Additional drying indoors for a week
or more, using low heat (85ºF [30ºC]
or below) and lots of air movement,
is recommended especially in moist
areas. However, it is important to
not over-dry seeds, as they may
harden and then not germinate
unless they are scarified (abraded
with a file, sandpaper, etc.). In
excessively rainy or moist areas,
where drying in the field is not
feasible, the plants may be cut early:
when the foliage has begun to dry
and the seeds have a starchy taste
and can easily be disconnected from
the pod. These plants should then be
dried indoors.
Harvesting and
Cleaning
Harvesting and Drying Seed
Peas can be harvested for seed
approximately four weeks past the
stage for eating, or when parchment
has formed within the pod and the
seeds rattle inside. It is also possible
to harvest seeds when the pods are
completely dry, as long as the local
climate is amenable, but in some
Seed Cleaning
7

8. Diseases
A ten minute soak in 1% bleach,
followed by a water rinse and
drying, may reduce the presence of
seedborne bacteria and fungi;
however, it is important to check
with your certifier to check on
whether this is permitted under local
organic regulations (limited chlorine
use is permitted under NOP
Regulation §205.601(a)2, but
interpretation of its role may vary; it
has been recommended for dealing
with the same pathogen in organic
nightshades:
http://web.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/
resourceguide/cmp/solanaceous.ph
p#d1).
In addition to the cultural
management practices and resistant
cultivars described below, a number
of organic-approved solutions and
biological controls for pea diseases
have been approved. A good review
of them and their target diseases can
be found in the relevant section of:
http://nysipm.cornell.edu/organic_
guide/pea.pdf
Fungal Diseases
Fusarium Root Rot (Fusarium solani) is
a common soilborne disease that can
lead to the damping off of pea
seedlings (Kraft & Pfleger, 2001).
Brown or red streaks at the base of
the seedling or plant are common,
and will eventually come together to
girdle the stem. This fungus thrives
in standing water in compacted soils,
and so drainage from improved soil
structure can act as a preventative.
Rotation will also help to prevent
disease buildup. Resistance is
present in varying degrees across a
number of varieties, but is not well
described or publicized (Grunwald et
al., 2003; Infantino et al., 2006).
A related disease, Fusarium Wilt
(Fusarium oxysporum), tends to infect
older plants and result in them
collapsing from fungi infesting their
stems; it can be recognized by the
presence of reddish streaks when the
stem is cut open. Control is similar
Seed Storage
Dry seed will generally remain viable
for three or more years, as long as it
is kept in a dry, cool, and dark place;
germination can drop below 50%
after approximately eight years in
storage, but is greatly dependent on
the condition of the seed when
stored and the cultivar (Nozzolillo &
Lorenzetti, 1998). For longer, more
secure storage it can be placed into a
mason jar with a desiccant such as
DriRite or silica gel, sealed, and
stored in a refrigerator or freezer.
Naturally occurring chemicals in the
pea seed coat can help deter feeding
by rodents and insects, but should
not be relied upon as the only
method of preventing infestation.
8

9. to Fusarium Root Rot, with good soil
health and long rotations (including
leguminous cover crops) being the
best forms of control, but many
cultivars with known resistance to
the main races have also been
released, although they are not
always documented as being so (Bani
et al., 2012; Kraft & Pfleger, 2001;
McPhee et al., 1999).
Powdery Mildew (Erysiphe pisi) is a
foliar disease of peas (Kraft &
Pfleger, 2001). Unlike many fungi,
this disease is more of a problem in
drier areas. Fuzzy white patches
form on older leaves and then slowly
spread to the rest of plant, lowering
yields and quality of the pods and
seeds. Debris from infected plants
can also carry the disease. Removing
this debris will help reduce disease
pressure in future years, as will crop
rotation. Resistance is present in
quite a few commercial cultivars,
including Oregon Sugar Pod II, and
can help prevent or reduce the
infestation. Early-maturing varieties
are often also able to escape some or
all infection.
Top: Cultivars resistant (L) and susceptible (R) to
Powdery Mildew.
Bottom: Close-up of infected (L) and uninfected (R)
leaves.
Bacterial diseases
The main bacterial disease of peas is
bacterial blight (Pseudomonas syringae
pv. pisi). Plants may not show any
sign of the disease until water sits on
the leaves or pods for a while, at
which point sunken, brown circles
can appear. These lesions are
particularly problematic on the pods,
as they can transmit the bacteria to
the seed. Unfortunately, the bacteria
is very easy to spread, and debris,
infected seed, and even
contaminated machinery can all act
as inoculum. Prevention is the best
control: removing debris and
cleaning machinery coming from
other fields will prevent spreading
the bacteria. It may be possible to
9

10. reduce the amount of the bacteria in
the soil using solarization, raising the
temperature by covering it in clear
plastic to trap the heat of the sun,
(reviewed by Bashan, 1997). As a last
resort and method to clean up a seed
lot, the seeds can be soaked in dilute
bleach, as described above (and
when permitted by your certifier).
Resistance to some strains of the
bacteria is also present in many
cultivars, including ‘Lincoln’ and
‘Fortune’, although not all of them
are documented as possessing it
(Taylor et al., 1989; Bevan et al.,
1995); there is some evidence that
cultivars resistant to Fusarium may
be more resistant to bacterial blight
(Daniels et al., 1987).
in a number of commercial cultivars,
controlled by single, recessive genes.
Insect & Animal Pests
Just as many people enjoy eating pea
sprouts, many animals also enjoy
feasting upon the pea plant and its
tender shoots. Exclusion by an
electric fence is generally effective for
larger animals, and hot pepper
sprays may deter smaller herbivores.
Some farmers also recommend
scattering hot pepper flakes in with
the pea seed, to discourage rodents
from digging up and eating the seeds
and young seedlings.
One insect pest which can wreak
havoc, either on the plant or seed, is
the pea weevil. Feeding on the plant
results in cut leaves and fewer
nitrogen-fixing nodules, while seed
infestation manifests as holes
penetrating throughout the seeds;
both types of damage can provide
entryways for other pathogens and
diseases.
A range of biological controls are
available commercially to control
various insects and pests, including
predatory insects, parasitic
nematodes, and fungi such as
Beauveria bassiana which has been
found effective against pea aphids
(Andarge, 2001). Alternatively, hot
pepper wax sprays can serve dual
purposes at preventing mammals
and weevils. Covering emerging
seedlings with floating row cover
Viral Diseases
Pea seedborne mosaic virus is perhaps
the most important pea virus for
seed production as, like the name
suggests, it is seedborne. Symptoms
can be mild to severe, with unusual
leaf patterns and mosaic-like
patterns, as well as curled leaves,
and sometimes severe dwarfing with
an inability to set flowers or pods,
and crackling of the seed surface.
Other legumes may be susceptible,
and can spread the disease via a
variety of aphids, including the
potato aphid. Eliminating infected
plants is the best form of control, as
well controlling the aphids that
spread it. Good resistance is present
10

11. may allow the plants to get
sufficiently established to survive
attacks as adults.
Production Guide for Organic Peas
for Processing
http://nysipm.cornell.edu/organic_
guide/pea.pdf
Additional Resources
Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties by
Carol Deppe
‘A Seed Saving Guide’
by the Organic Seed Alliance
http://www.seedalliance.org/Public
ations/#SeedSavingGuide
The Seed Savers Handbook by Jeremy
Cherfas, and Michel and Jude
Fanton.
References
Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
and Kent Whealy.
The Pathology of Food and Pasture
Legumes by D.J. Allen and J.M.
Lenne. 1998.
Pea and Bean Weevil Organic
Gardening Practices
http://www.organicgardeningpracti
ces.com/peaandbeanweevil.php
‘Aspects of bio-intensive pea aphid,
Acyrthospihon pisum (Harris)
management on lentil, Lens culinaris
(Medikus)’.
by Alemtaye Andarge.
in a thesis from Free State, South
Africa. 2001.
Summary at:
http://bit.ly/R2cdvV
'Pea Breeding'
by Earl T. Gritton
in: Breeding Vegetable Crops,
edited by: M. J. Bassett
1986. AVI Publishing Co.
PDF:
http://www.agron.iastate.edu/facul
ty/fehr/BVC/08BVC.PDF
'A detailed evaluation method to
identify sources of quantitative
resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f.
sp. pisi race 2 within a Pisum spp.
germplasm collection'.
by M. Bani, D. Rubiales, and N.
Rispail.
in: Plant Pathology. Vol 61, 2012. pp.
532–542.
Pea Diseases and their Control
http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/g
po21087/CAT87208312.pdf
Handbook of Pea Diseases by D.J.
Hagedorn
http://learningstore.uwex.edu/asset
s/pdfs/A1167.pdf
11

12. 'Alternative Strategies for
Controlling Plant Diseases
Caused by Pseudomonas syringae'.
by Y. Bashan
in: Developments in Plant Pathology:
Pseudomonas syringae Pathovars and
Related Pathogens, Vol 9., 1997.
edited by K. Rudolph, T.J. Burr, J.W.
Mansfield, D. Stead, A. Vivian and J.
von Kietzell
http://bashanfoundation.org/gmaw
eb/pdfs/alternative.pdf
by N.J. Grunwald, V. A. Coffman, &
J. M. Kraft
in: Plant Disease, Vol. 87, No. 10,
2003. pp. 1197-1200.
http://web.science.oregonstate.edu/
bpp/labs/grunwald/publications/P
D-2003.pdf
'Screening techniques and sources of
resistance to root diseases in cool
season food legumes'.
by Alessandro Infantino, Mohamed
Kharrat, Luca Riccioni, Clarice J.
Coyne, Kevin E. McPhee and Niklaus
J. Grünwald.
in: Euphytica. Vol. 147, No. 1-2, 2006.
pp. 201-221.
http://www.science.oregonstate.edu
/bpp/labs/grunwald/publications/
Euphytica-2006.pdf
‘Genetics of specific resistance in pea
(Pisum sativum) cultivars to seven
races of Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi'
by J. R. Bevan, J. D. Taylor, I. R.
Crute, P. J. Hunter, and A. Vivian.
in: Plant Pathology, Vol. 44, 1995. pp.
98–108.
Compendium of Pea Diseases and Pests
by John M. Kraft and Francis L.
Pfleger. 2001.
'On the function of pea flower
feeding by Bruchus pisorum'
by S. L. Clement.
in: Entomologia Experimentalis et
Applicata. Vol 63, No. 2, 1992. pp.
115-121.
'The Inheritance of Winter Hardiness
in Pisum'.
by Deran Markarian and R. L .
Andersen
in: Euphytica, Vol. 15. 1966. pp. 102110.
'Pea genes associated with non-host
disease resistance to Fusarium are
also active in race-specific disease
resistance to Pseudomonas'
by C. H. Daniels, B. Fristensky, W.
Wagoner and L. A. Hadwiger
in: Plant Molecular Biology, Vol. 8,
No. 4, 1987. pp. 309-316
'Resistance to Fusarium Wilt Race 2
in the Pisum Core Collection'.
by Kevin E. McPhee, Abebe Tullu,
John M. Kraft, and Fred J.
Muehlbauer
in: Journal of the American Society of
Horticultural Scientists. Vol 124,
1999. pp. 28-31.
'Sources of Partial Resistance to
Fusarium Root Rot in the Pisum Core
Collection.'
12

13. 'Viability of pea seeds in storage'.
by C. Nozzolillo and F. Lorenzetti
in: Pisum Genetics, Vol. 30, 1998. pp.
15-21
http://pisum.narod.ru/pg/30/stora
ge.htm
'Use of Sensory Analysis for the
Observation of Single Gene Effects
on the Quality of Canned Peas
(Pisum sativumL.)'
by G. R. Taurick & M. R. McLellan.
in: Journal of Food Science, Vol 51,
No. 6, 1986. pp. 1565-1566.
'Genetic relationship between races
of Pseudomonas syringae pv.pisi and
cultivars of Pisum sativum.'
by J. D. Taylor, J. R. Bevan, I. R.
Crute, and S. L. Reader.
in: Plant Pathology, Vol. 38, 1989. pp.
364–375
13

14. Gene
gp
le
lm
n
Effect
Anthocyanin present throughout plant (purple
flowers), a is white-flowered
Most leaves replaced with tendrils
With A: pink/salmon flowers, with Pu & Pur: red
pods
With A: red flowers, With A & b: rose flowers,
often linked to gp
Darker bluish-green pods and more intensely
pigmented flowers, with gp: darker yellow pods
Resistance to Powdery Mildew
Resistance to Pea enation mosaic virus
Two flowers per node, with fna: more flowers
Two flowers per node, with fn: more flowers
Resistance to Fusarium wilts or near-wilts, various
forms of this gene exist with different resistance
to different forms of the fungus
Yellow pods and young shoots
Dwarf plants (not ‘pole’ types)
‘Micro’ dwarf plants
With v & p: snap pods
p
With v: snow pods
A
af
b
cr
dp
er1
En
fn
fna
Fw
Pu
With A & Pur: purple pods
Pur
With A & Pu: purple pods
r
rb
sin2
smb
v
Wrinkled, sweeter seeds, can combine with rb for
stronger effect
Wrinkled, sweeter seeds, can combine with r for
stronger effect
Stringless pods under warm temperatures, less
vigorous plants, poor pollen inheritance
Resistance to Pea seedborne mosaic virus, various
forms of this gene exist with differing resistances
to different strains of the virus
Commercial Source
Dwarf Grey Sugar
Sugar Lace II
Pink Flowered, Mummy Pea
Apple Blossom
Miragreen
Oregon Sugar Pod II
Oregon Sugar Pod II
many available
many available
Dark Skin Perfection, various
Golden Snow
many available
Tom Thumb
many available, Sugar Snap
many available, Oregon
Sugar Pod II
Caruther’s Purple Podded,
Blauschokker
Caruther’s Purple Podded ,
Blauschokker
many available
many available
Sugar Daddy, Sugar Lace II
Avon, Dark Skin Perfection,
Quincy
many available, Oregon
Sugar Pod II
With p: snow pods
Table of common genes affecting pea traits important to growers. Lower-case gene letters signify it is
inherited recessively, while upper-case letters signify it is dominant over the recessive form (masks it when
present). Additional gene information can be found at http://data.jic.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pgene/default.asp
Commercial sources listed are only a fraction of cultivars known to carry those genes, and do not denote an
endorsement. Varieties with these genes which are publicly available from the USDA can also be found at
http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/desclist.pl?173
14