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The Dry Field Pea in Agricultural Science Directory

Field pea Pisum sativum L., a native of Southwest Asia, was among the first crops cultivated by man. Wild field pea can still be found in Afghanistan, Iran and Ethiopia. This crop has been long grown in the United States and historically, field pea was one of Wisconsins best paying cash crops. In 1909, 78,000 acres were planted and part of eastern and northeastern Wisconsin led the country in field pea production. As market prices declined, partly the result of less costly imported field pea, production declined. Today, the countries leading in field pea production include the Soviet Union, China, India, Canada, and the United States. In the United States the largest acreages of field pea are in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Minnesota and North Dakota. Plantings of dry field pea in 1989 in the United States was estimated to be over 30,000 acres and in Canada over 450,000 acres. Cultivation of field pea has lead to a gradual separation of types: those grown for vegetable use, those grown for seed and fodder, and the edible podded types which have evolved most recently. Over half the domestic field pea production goes to the dry pea market or for planting seed used by growers of fresh garden, frozen or canning field pea. The smooth, green and yellowseeded varieties are used for human consumption as dry split field pea. Field pea have high levels of the essential amino acids, lysine and tryptophan, which are usually low in cereal grains. Consequently, field pea can supplement the low amount of protein present in food and feed processed from cereal grains. Field pea are used as protein concentrates for livestock and are popular pigeon feeds. Field pea flour is valued not only as a vegetable protein source but also, in part, due to its unique functional properties. The use of vegetable proteins as functional ingredients in the food industry is increasing and special attention has been given to the use of field pea because they are already an accepted part of the human diet throughout the world. The viscosity of slurried pea flours makes them useful in aqueous food systems. Field pea also contain proteases, tannins, and lectins, etc. which may reduce livestock feed gain when present at too high a concentration in a diet. However, it has been shown that partial or complete replacement of soybean meal with pea screenings in a barley diet for hogs did not reduce growth rate or efficiency of feed conversion. Field pea may be grown as a forage crop, for hay, pasturage or silage. Field pea grown in a mixture with oat, barley or triticale yields more dry matter per acre than a straight pea culture and the field pea stand more erect which makes the crop easier to harvest. Protein content and feeding value of the forage is increasedby the addition of peas to the seeding mixture. A mixture of 23 field pea and 13 oat can be seeded with alfalfa or clover as a companion crop. The highly populated stand reduces weed competition, allows for one or two alfalfa cuttings following the pealage harvest. Harvest is recommended when field pea is in full bloom and oat is beginning to head. In southern states, field pea is grown as a fallsown cover and green manure crop. As a green manure crop, field pea returns approximately 25 lbacre of nitrogen N to the soil. The creamcolored varieties commonly grown in Minnesota and Wisconsin are used for feed or as seed for forage production. The tender shoots of field pea may be cut and used as salad greens. A considerable proportion of field pea is exported, primarily to Europe.

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