A VIGOUR SURVEY OF SEED PEAS AVAILABLE IN THE U.K. FOR 1977

As part of a project to examine the causes of low vigour in early sown wrinkle-seeded vining pea seed (Pisum sativum), a survey to include a large proportion of "by-passed" peas, seeded down in the U.K. in 1976 and also seed lots submitted by seed companies in the U.K. and abroad, was carried out, to assess the overall vigour of seed lots which would be available for sowing in the 1977 season.
Electrical conductivity and the proportion of seedlings affected by hollow heart disorder were assessed on 201 seed lots of five early sown cultivars commonly grown in the U.K. The results showed that there were varietal differences in both the amount of leachates as measured by the electrical conductivity and the amounts of hollow heart disorder in the seed, but that there were no significant differences in quality between seed from the "by-passed" source and the "intended" sources of three of the varieties examined.
Fifty selected seed lots of all five cultivars were sown at three drilling dates in 1977 and emergence was recorded.
The results showed that all the cultivars exhibited a similar relationship between electrical conductivity and emergence and that the vigour grades suggested by the Official Seed Testing Station for England & Wales, could be equally applied to all five cultivars tested.

Increasing levels of hollow heart also adversely affected emergence of all cultivars.

Symposium on Seed Problems in Horticulture

A.J. Biddle, S. Matthews

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1978.83.16