VRPE-115 (Pea Variety)

Technology Background:

Early maturing pea genotypes are highly preferred by farmers and consumers due to their economic value and quality traits. Farmers aim to sow peas from late September to mid-October for premium early-season prices. However, available early varieties are limited, often low-yielding and single pod-bearing. There’s a critical need for high-yielding, short-duration (60 days) varieties ready for picking by early December. Such varieties would also allow timely sowing of succeeding crops like wheat. Hence, breeding efforts must focus on developing improved early pea cultivars to replace existing ones and overcome current yield limitations. 

Technology Details:

VRPE-115 is an early maturing vegetable pea genotype characterized by a short duration to harvest (65-75 days after sowing) with 2-3 pickings, making it harvestable by the first week of December. It produces 12-14 long pods per plant (8.8 cm) with a 10-pod weight of 72-80 g and 8.7 seeds per pod. The genotype requires 100-120 days for seed maturity. Under station trials at ICAR- IIVR, Varanasi, it recorded the highest green pod yield (135.9 q/ha), outperforming the standard checks Kashi Ageti and Kashi Purvi by 26.07% and 23.88%, respectively. VRPE-115 also exhibited the highest shelling percentage (52.6%), a critical trait for both fresh market consumption and processing suitability, and maintained desirable sweetness levels (13.5°Brix). Its early maturity enables the crop to escape diseases such as powdery mildew and rust, enhancing its adaptability and performance under field conditions.