Seed peas as early as possible from late April to early May for maximum yield potential. Peas are more tolerant to spring frosts than other crops because pea cotyledons remain underground. If frost injury occurs, new shoots will emerge from axillary buds that are protected under the soil surface. The minimum soil temperatures for germination to occur in peas is 4°C, but emergence will be quicker and more even if soils are consistently at or above 5°C.
Early planting also means peas flower and pod earlier in the summer, avoiding heat blasting of flower buds and peak pea aphid populations. Fusarium and Aphanomyces root rots both prefer warm, saturated soils. Planting into soil temperatures below 10°C within one week of seeding reduced root rot severity by 17-26% and improved yield by 4-8 bu/ac compared to warmer soil temperatures in North Dakota research.
2024 research in North Dakota, looked at seeding dates and yields using newer pea varieties. In previous NDSU studies, it was noted that much of the yield loss was due to varieties not having resistance to the disease downy mildew. With new genetics for downy mildew offered in most of the new pea varieties, yield trends the past several years have been increased at the later seeding dates. Dry Pea Response to Seeding Date and Variety, 2024 NDSU Langdon Research Extension Center
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