Tony's Talk - Problematic Prospects for Peas

July 1, 2020 Robert Fernandes

Whilst the glorious unremitting sunshine enjoyed during April and May helped us to endure the strictures of ‘lockdown’, it has impacted prospects for good crop harvests.

The seemingly constant rainfall experienced during January, February and into March put paid to many Winter crops and delayed Spring plantings. In spite of the fact that February’s precipitation was the highest ever recorded, farmers had to wait until soil temperatures had warmed sufficiently to allow successful seed sowing. This delay caused the surface of the soil to dry out and seeds require moisture to germinate.

Whilst the glorious unremitting sunshine enjoyed during April and May helped us to endure the strictures of ‘lockdown’, it has impacted prospects for good crop harvests.

Fortunately the moderate rains we have seen in June have allowed the pea plants to produce flowers in good numbers. It is from the flowers that the pea pods form. However growth in the pea fields is ‘patchy’ with variable quality across even the one field and the plants that are fully mature are very short or ‘stunted’. Stunted plants produce less ‘trusses’ of pods than taller plants and trusses equals yield!

Many of the seeds that failed to germinate in May due to absence of moisture have now germinated with the precipitation in June but they are too far behind the main crop and cannot now produce viable pods. It is estimated that 10-15% of the crop planted has been lost. As well as coping with the vagaries of the weather Pea Farmers have to contend with the effects of bureaucratic interference. Agro-chemical aids for promoting good pea crops have been recently banned for use in 2020 by the E.U. (Thiram seed treatment and Reglone dessicant ). In addition the drilling of peas treated with WAKIL XL was only allowed after April 1st which undoubtedly has led to the patchiness described earlier. It is fortunate that although there are fewer trusses on the stunted plants recent pod samples have disclosed 6-7 peas developing which is on the high side of pod count. As there is minimal carry over from last year’s crop we do need a good harvest to occur. However as the Reglone dessicant treatment has been banned there could be more variability and bleaching in the crop. We need sun and dry weather for harvesting at the end of July and through August.

What is a certainty is that growing peas without the proven aids is going to be more risky and difficult and Farmers will require greater rewards to maintain their interest. Whatever the outcome we will ensure that we get the best available peas for your ‘Supergreens’ !

N.B. - The problems described above are also affecting the production of wheat in the UK. It is estimated that 2020 will only produce between 9.6mln. tonnes to 11.9mt which will be a reduction of 25%-40% on the excellent 16.3mt crop harvested last year. As European countries are also anticipating reductions in their wheat production imports from Australia and Canada will be required which will doubtless impact flour pricing for 2020-21. FINGERS CROSSED FOR A GOOD POTATO CROP!

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Tony's Talk - Problematic Prospects for Peas

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