Pea (Pisum sativum): Another Winter Vegetable Crop from Historical, Botanical, and Nutritional Perspectives

Introduction and Oirgion

Pea Pisum sativum?belonging to the family Fabaceae, is grown in the winter months as a vegetable crop in Pakistan, while its utilization varies in other Asian countries and non-Asian countries. Besides its use as a vegetable, it is canned, roasted, frozen etc. The interesting thing about pea is that it was a model organism for the father of genetics, “Gregor Mendel,” who chose this plant species to know the transfer of heredity. It has been cultivated for the last ten thousand years by humans in West Asia and North Africa.

Agronomic characteristics

This legume plant species is grown for its seed. Fresh seed is vegetable, while the dried seed is pulse. Its varieties vary from tall height to short height. As it is a winter crop, it grows best between 17 and 10 °C. Germination of seed speeds up as temperature rises but up to a certain limit. Plants do not like frost. It’s a crop of 65-100 days.

Botanical description

The pea plant is an annual vine. It can be nine feet or two feet long and has a waxy appearance. Leaf growth habit is pinnately compound and alternate while the stem is hollow. Tendrils are also present, which are helpful in climbing. The flowering pattern is racemes while the flower is asymmetrical and butterfly-like in appearance, pentamerous, and self-pollinating. In the whorl of the androecium, nine stamens are joined and one stamen is separate. The gynoecium consists of a carpel containing many ovules that are present in the ovary, with marginal placentation. Seeds may be round, wrinkled, or smooth; colour varies from green to brown to red-orange. The sporophyte plant body has 14 chromosomes.

Nutrition

Green peas are a nutrient-rich food, low in calories and abundant in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and protein. They contain a significant amount of the amino acid lysine, surpassing other pulses, and have the highest protein content among legumes, second only to soybeans. The protein content in peas typically ranges from 20% to 30%, while starch content varies between 34% and 50%, and fiber content reaches up to 20%. We can’t say it can replace animal-based protein because we need approximately 6 kg of plant-based protein to produce just 1 kg of animal protein. Pea protein is used in various food preparations, including egg replacement solutions, high-protein ingredients, and emulsifiers.

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