Effect of NutriPak Fertilizer on Yield of 'California' Black-eyed Peas

M.A. Wilson1, C. Stevens2, D. Harp1, and V.A. Khan1
1Department of Agriculture, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
2George Washington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station, Tuskegee, University, Tuskegee, AL, 36088

Introduction

Beans and peas are members of the Leguminoseae, a family of plants with worldwide distribution. There are nearly 30 legumes species used as vegetables, most of which are important in countries other than the United States. A few grown for tubers or tuberous roots, most are valued for seeds and/or pods. Black-eyed peas are valued for their seeds. Most of the black-eyed peas in the United States are grown and consumed in the southern United States. In the United States, those with commercial significance include garden pea, cowpea, snap-bean, and dry bean, mung bean, lima bean, soybean, and small amount of chickpea, lentil, scarlet runner bean, and fava bean (broad bean).

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of three levels of NutriPak fertilizer on the yield of black-eyed peas.

Materials and Methods

All plots were prepared with a mould-board plow and rotavator in early spring and 30 lbs. or triple 12-12-12 fertilizer added prior to planting the peas. Peas were planted on June 5, 2002 with a drip irrigation system. Row spacing was 3 ft wide x seven ft long with seeds approximately 3 in apart within rows. NutriPak fertilizer was applied when plants were 3 inches tall and two weeks apart with second and third application. Plots were drip irrigated as needed. Data collected were number of pods per plot and weight of pods per plot. All data was analyzed by Duncan's multiple range test.

Results and Discussion

Black-eyed peas responded similarly at all treatment levels, with no significant differences found in the number and weight of pods per plot (Table 1). There was no response to any nitrogen treatment; the roman farmer recognized that clover would enhance soil productivity, although the basis for this effect, the biochemical reduction of the atmospheric nitrogen to NH4 in the latter root nodules by the symbiotic bacterium Rhizobium, was not understood until the nineteenth century. To some degree, however, this symbiotic relationship limits economic yields of legumes, since energy (carbohydrates) must be diverted from dry matter accumulation to drive the reduction of nitrogen. Our results did not show a response to nitrogen.

Literature Cited

1. Perice, Lincoln. Vegetables Characteristics, Production, and Marketing. 1987. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N. Y.
2. Steel, D.G.R. and J.R.Torrie. 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, N.Y.