Department of Vegetable Crops, University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni-Solan - 173 230, India.
*Corresponding author.
Twelve cultivars of garden peas (Pisum sativum cv. Hortense L.) representing early and mid season group were planted in a plot size of 2.4 × 2.5m under field conditions. The nodulation status, shoot/root biomass, total soluble proteins and leghaemoglobin content in nodules were recorded periodically over the entire growth period. The total yield per plot was also recorded to elucidate the influence of nitrogen fixation on the yield of crop. Significant genotypic differences were observed in all the parameters in all the cultivars. Midseason peas were found to have better nitrogen fixing potential with rhizobium and higher green pod yield in comparison to the early peas. All the parameters pertaining to growth and nodules exhibited a decline after flowering. The nitrogen fixation efficiency of nodules gave positive correlation with the yield. Hence, selection of an efficient nitrogen fixation pea cultivar can lead to the reduction of production cost by improving yield and restricting the use of nitrogenous fertilizers.
