Sink development and variation of yield in cultivars of field peas

Comparision of two field pea cultivars (EC 4108 and IC 4604) for the growth of pods situated on the first fruiting node has shown that the fruit walls had their maximum growth between 16 to 27 days post-anthesis while the differences in between the cultivars were rather marginal. On the other hand, the peak growth period for seeds was noticed between 27 to 38 days and cultivar differences were quite conspicuous which became apparent as the seeds started accumulating assimilates. EC 4108 produced higher seed yield as compared to IC 4604. The difference in yield of the two cultivars has been attributed to differences in the size of the sinks.