QUALITY, YIELD, AND SEED WEIGHT OF GREEN FIELD PEAS UNDER CONDITIONS OF APPLIED SHADE

Abstract

Field studies were conducted in 1973 and 1974 to evaluate the effects of light intensity on the quality and yield of the green field pea (Pisum sativum L.) ’Triumph’. The treatments included a control with no shading (80 klx) and shading with one (31 klx) or two (9 klx) layers of screen material for a 3-wk period before maturity. Shading resulted in a significant decrease in seed weight and yield and a significant increase in protein content of the seed. The effect of shading on viscosity of the cooked samples was quadratic, implying that viscosity only decreased at very high levels of shading. Shading also tended to reduce loss of green color in the seed cotyledons.