Outdated vining pea guidance set for overhaul in farmer-led trials
Outdated guidance on vining pea plant populations is set to be put under the spotlight, as a new farmer-led trial aims to bring recommendations in line with modern farming.
Backed by Defra’s ADOPT fund, the project will test whether advice that has remained largely unchanged since 2006 is still fit for purpose — at a time when growers face mounting pressure to improve margins, efficiency and resilience.
Led by Fen Peas in partnership with the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) and Dyson Farming Research, the initiative will assess how plant density affects performance under real commercial conditions.
Vining peas continue to play a key role in arable rotations across eastern England and Scotland, covering around 35,000 hectares each year and supplying the frozen food market.
Despite this, recommended plant populations have shifted little in nearly two decades, even as advances in genetics, crop management and precision drilling have transformed how the crop is grown.
PGRO research agronomist Erin Matlock said: “The most recent UK research into plant density dates back to 2006, and both the varieties being grown and the precision drilling technology used by farmers have moved on considerably since then.”
In response, the new trials will examine whether those long-standing benchmarks still deliver the best outcomes for today’s systems.
The work will run over two seasons, using farm-scale strip trials at Fen Peas sites in eastern England and at Dyson Farming Research.
A range of current varieties from the PGRO Descriptive List will be grown at varying plant populations, allowing researchers to directly compare how density influences crop performance.
Yield and maturity will be monitored alongside key commercial factors such as seed costs, gross margins, and levels of pest, disease and weed pressure — providing growers with a clearer picture of both agronomic and financial impacts.
Alongside this, the trials will assess sustainability, including water and nutrient use efficiency, supported by tissue analysis and local weather data.
This is expected to help build a more complete understanding of how plant density affects crop resilience in changing conditions.
The project is funded through the ADOPT programme, part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme delivered with Innovate UK, which supports farmer-led trials while reducing the risks associated with on-farm innovation.
By focusing on practical, real-world conditions, the scheme aims to generate results that can be rapidly applied across the industry.
Erin Matlock added: “By bringing together modern varieties, precision drilling systems and commercial-scale trial work, the project aims to refine plant population guidance so that growers can achieve more uniform crops, stronger margins and improved resilience in vining pea production.”
Findings will be shared with growers as the trials progress, offering the potential for updated guidance that reflects the realities of modern vining pea production.
