Polstead

Pea

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Lumina'

Summary: 'Polstead' is a semi-leafless, yellow cotyledon, field pea variety that has shorter plants and a shorter petiole than 'Lumina'. The base of the flower standard of 'Polstead' is level, whereas 'Lumina' has a slightly arched base. 'Polstead' matures approximately one week earlier than 'Lumina' in Westlock, Alberta. 'Polstead' differs from the other yellow cotyledon candidate field pea variety 'Fusion' in plant height. Plants of 'Polstead' are significantly shorter than plants of 'Fusion'.

Description:

'Polstead' is a yellow cotyledon, semi-leafless, field pea with no stem fasciation. At flowering the plants are green to blue or dark green in colour. There is no anthocyanin colouration in the plant. The vines of 'Polstead' are medium in length and there is no anthocyanin in the axil. 'Polstead' has no leaflets. The stipules are moderately waxy on the upper surface and have weak to medium dentation along the margins. Stipule development is normal and the rabbit-eared characteristic is absent. Stipule flecking is sparse in density.

'Polstead' flowers mid-season and produces a moderate number of flowering nodes per stem. There are a maximum of two flowers per node. The standard of the flower is white and the base is level. The apex of the upper calyx lobe is acuminate. The peduncle, from stem to first flower, is medium in length. The pods of 'Polstead' have no thickened wall, no parchment and very weak concave curvature. The distal part of the pod is pointed. When fully swollen, the pods of 'Polstead' are yellow-green, with no strings of suture or anthocyanin colouration on the suture or outer wall. The immature seeds are light green in colour.

'Polstead' has yellow cotyledons and a simple starch grain. There is no anthocyanin colouration on the testa, and no black hilum. The seeds are medium sized and spherical, with no wrinkling or dimpling of the cotyledon. 'Polstead' matures mid-season.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Polstead' resulted from the crossing of the varieties 97605 × 'Lumina' in 1998. In 1999 a single plant was selected from the progeny of this cross, followed by line selection and replicated yield trials. The breeding process was carried out at the Cebeco Seeds B.V. breeding station in Lelystad in the centre of the Netherlands. In breeding 'Polstead' the selection criteria were yield, resistance to mildew, resistance to lodging and plant height.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Polstead' were conducted at Westlock, Alberta, during the summers of 2004 and 2005. The candidate and reference varieties were seeded in a 4 replicate randomized complete block design. Each plot consisted of 4 rows, spaced at 20 cm. The plots were seeded to 6 metres and trimmed to 4 metres. Measured observations were based on 20 measurements.

Comparison tables for 'Polstead' with reference variety 'Lumina'

Plant height (cm)

Petiole length (cm)

Seed weight (per 1000 seeds)