Cultivating Garden pea in Punjab

Abstract

Pea (Pisum sativum) is a rich source of digestible proteins, vitamins and minerals like iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc. Its green beans are very common in Indian cuisine. Pea has a global value as food source for millions of people and is extensively cultivated as pulse and vegetable crop. Being leguminous crop, it fixes the atmospheric nitrogen through a symbiotic relation with root nodule bacteria. In India, during 2019-2020, garden pea is grown over an area of 5,63,000 ha with the annual production of 57,03,000 metric tonnes. However, in Punjab, pea is cultivated in about 43,860 ha area with the production of 4,60,450 tonnes mainly in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts. Besides Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar are major pea growing states. We can also preserve the green pods/ tender seeds for a long time by drying, canning or freezing in order to fetch higher prices during the offseason. Pea is easy to grow, but have a very limited growing season. Therefore, its cultivation as per recommendation of Punjab Agricultural University is of utmost importance.