New Vining Pea Trials To Deliver Modern, Resilient Production Guidance

Fen Peas has come together with the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) and Dyson Farming Research to launch a farmer-led research project to test and update plant population recommendations for vining peas destined for the frozen food market.

Image: PGRO

Supported by Defra’s ADOPT fund, the initiative will work directly with growers to reevaluate optimum plant populations for vining peas under real-world farm conditions. 

The aim is to bring outdated crop management guidance in line with modern-day varieties and drilling systems, PGRO said in a press release.

Findings from the research will be shared progressively with growers and industry partners, ensuring that new recommendations can be rapidly adopted across the UK vining pea sector.

“By bringing together modern varieties, precision drilling systems and commercial-scale trial work, the project aims to refine plant population guidance so that growers can achieve more uniform crops, stronger margins and improved resilience in vining pea production,” revealed Erin Matlock, research agronomist at PGRO.

What The Trial Will Assess

The new study will run as a series of farm-scale strip trials over two seasons at Fen Peas sites in eastern England and at Dyson Farming Research. 

• Multiple current vining pea varieties from the PGRO Descriptive List will be drilled at varying plant densities to assess impacts on crop performance.

• Researchers will measure parameters including yield, maturity, seed cost, and gross margin, alongside pest, disease, and weed incidence. 

• The project will also investigate the sustainability implications of plant density decisions, analysing water and nutrient use efficiency, tissue composition, and local weather data to better understand relationships between plant population, resilience, and resource use.

Why Current Guidance Is Outdated

Vining peas remain a cornerstone of arable rotations across eastern England and Scotland, covering around 35,000 hectares annually.

Yet despite major advances in genetics, drilling precision, and crop management, UK guidance on plant populations has seen little change for nearly two decades.

“The most recent UK research into plant density dates back to 2006, and both the varieties being grown and the precision drilling technology used by farmers have moved on significantly since then,” Matlock said.

Through Defra’s ADOPT programme, which backs farmer-led trials to accelerate innovation, the project will test whether historical population benchmarks still hold true under today’s commercial conditions. 

ADOPT, part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and delivered with Innovate UK, helps producers trial new ideas on their own farms while minimising the financial risks of experimentation.

Under the scheme, projects facilitated by approved organisations such as PGRO aim to deliver practical, evidence-based results that can be readily shared across the farming community.