No Till Notes: 'Field Pea Planting'

Last week I covered important considerations in getting your field pea crop off to a good start. I discussed using certified seed, planting population and how to calibrate according to the size of the seed to get the desired 350,000-375,000 final plant stand, and planting the seed at a depth of 2 to 2.5 inches deep.

There are also a couple of other important considerations to getting your field pea crop off to a good start. It is very important to do everything you can to get a good, healthy stand of field peas. A good stand will increase the yield, improve weed control, and help with harvest.

Inoculation of the field pea seed is critical to getting a healthy field pea crop established. Be sure to use the inoculant that is specific for field pea. The field pea inoculant contains the rhizobia that are specific for field pea seed.

You also want to make sure you are using the right form of field pea inoculant for the drilling equipment you intend to plant the peas with. If you are using an air seeder or a mechanical drill with a grass seed attachment you can use the granular form of field pea inoculant. You must be able to meter 5 pounds of inoculant per acre and place the inoculant with the seed in the seed furrow.

If you are using a mechanical drill you will need to use a combination of liquid and self-sticking peat to inoculate the seed properly. It is important that you coat the seed with the liquid and self-sticking peat as evenly as possible to ensure good field pea seed inoculation.

I have seen field peas that were planted without good inoculation or no inoculation at all and the inoculation makes a world of difference in plant health and final yield. A good friend of mine planted a field of field peas without proper inoculation on half of the field. They were using two air seeders and one of the air seeders did not have the inoculant tank turned on so each strip through the field had no inoculation. Having realized the mistake, the producer applied 50 lbs. of nitrogen where the field peas had not been inoculated. Even with the additional nitrogen the field peas in those strips yielded 8 bushels per acre less yield than where the field peas were properly inoculated.

Another important consideration with field pea planting is using a good pre-plant or pre-emergent herbicide. Some producers have made the mistake of not applying a good herbicide prior to emergence of the field pea crop because it didn’t appear any weeds were in the field. The field pea crop emerges early in the growing season when a lot of weeds haven’t emerged. Don’t get fooled into thinking the weeds won’t come. A good pre-plant or pre-emergent herbicide is money well spent. Consult with your local agronomist to determine which herbicide program will suit your field pea field’s needs.

Take the time to consider these planting tips for field pea production. I can’t stress enough how important it is to get a field pea crop off to a good healthy start. Once a good field pea stand has been established with proper seed inoculation along with a proper herbicide program, the field peas are in an excellent position for a successful harvest.