Peas
Genus:	Pisum
Family:	Fabaceae
Type:	Annuals
Pollination:	Insects

Pisum is a genus of the family Fabaceae, native to southwest Asia and northeast Africa. Pisum sativum, the field pea or garden pea, is the most commonly cultivated.

Description

Tendrilled vines with compound leaves. The flower has 5 sepals (fused), 5 petal, 10 anthers (9 are fused ,1 free) and 2 carpels(fused). The fruit is a legume (the pea).

Growing conditions

Sunny locations, soils should be rich but well-drained. Seeds are usually inoculated with a bacteria which fixes atmospheric nitrogen for the use of the plant.

Varieties

The genus contains one to five species, depending on taxonomic interpretation; the International Legume Database (ILDIS) accepts three species, one with two subspecies :

• Pisum abyssinicum (syn. P. sativum subsp. abyssinicum)
• Pisum fulvum
• Pisum sativum - Pea
  • Pisum sativum subsp. elatius (syn. P. elatius, P. syriacum)
  • Pisum sativum subsp. sativum

Uses

Pisum sativum is commonly grown as a food crop, but all plants in this genus can be used as cover crops.

Pests and diseases

Powdery Mildew

Leaf Spot, Pod Spot

• Ascochyta pinodes
• Ascochyta pisi

Downy Mildew

Damping Off

White Mold

• Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Root Rots

Blight

• Sclerotium rolfsii

Wilt

• Fusarium oxysporum pisi

Aphids

• Pea Aphid: Acyrthosiphon pisum
• Green Peach Aphid: Myzus persicae

Bugs

• Tarnished Plant Bug: Lygus lineolaris
• Fourlined Plant Bug: Poecilocapsus lineatus

Thrips

• Onions thrips: Thrips tabaci

Maggots

• American Serpentine Leafminer: Liriomyza trifolii
• Pea Leafminer: Liriomyza huidobrensis
• Seedcorn Maggot: Delia platura

Beetles

• Pea Weevil: Bruchus pisorum
• Pea Leaf Weevil: Sitona lineatus
• Cucumber Beetles

Caterpillars

• Turnip Moth: Agrotis segetum
• Pea Moth: Cydia nigricana
• Stalk Borer: Papaipema nebris
• Cabbage Looper: Trichoplusia ni
• Celery Looper: Anagrapha falcifera
• Speckled Green Fruitworm: Orthosia hibisci
• Beet Armyworm: Spodoptera exigua

Bucculatrix pyrivorella, w:Cabbage Moth, Common Swift, w:Ghost Moth, Hypercompe indecisa, The Nutmeg, w:Setaceous Hebrew Character and w:Turnip Moth.

References

Christopher Brickell et al. (1993). The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening. DK Publishing, inc.. pp. 339-340. 

• Staff of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium (1976). Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press. pp. 879. 
• Cranshaw, Whitney (2004). Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs. Princeton University Press. pp. 613. 
• Pippa Greenwood, Andrew Halstead, A.R. Chase, Daniel Gilrein (2000). American Horticultural Society Pests & Diseases: The Complete Guide to Preventing, Identifying, and Treating Plant Problems (First Edition ed.). Dorling Kindersley (DK) Publishing, inc.. pp. 203.