Suggested field pea varieties for Western Australian growers are PBA Wharton, PBA Gunyah, PBA Twilight and Kaspa. The features listed below should be taken into account when choosing a variety for an area with particular priority being paid to the range of disease resistance they offer and the risk profile in particular environments. Results from National Variety Trials should also be considered.
PBA Wharton
- Early to mid season flowering (similar to PBA Gunyah), early maturing Kaspa type field pea with high yield potential.
- Combines disease resistance to powdery mildew and the viruses PSbMV and BLRV with higher soil boron toxicity tolerance.
- Widely adapted across southern cropping regions of Australia and is best suited to regions with a short to medium growing season.
- Yields similarly to PBA Twilight in short to medium growing season climates. However its virus and powdery mildew resistance gives PBA Wharton a decisive advantage.
- Semi-leafless erect growth habit, pink flowers and shatter resistant pods. Its grain colour and size is similar to Kaspa but more spherical and smoother.
PBA Wharton (tested as OZP0805) was identified by the Pulse Breeders Australia (PBA) field pea team and is derived from a line bred at Horsham Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) Victoria, from a targeted crossing selection program to improve yield reliability in low rainfall cropping regions with virus and disease resistance. PBA Wharton is named after Wharton Beach on the south coast of Western Australia near Esperance.
PBA Gunyah
- Early to mid season flowering, early maturing Kaspa type field pea with high yield potential. Commences flowering at least two weeks earlier than Kaspa in most cropping regions and is better adapted and higher yielding in low and medium rainfall regions than Kaspa.
- More broadly adapted than PBA Twilight (tested as OZP0601) with a relative yield advantage over PBA Twilight in the more favourable lower rainfall areas.
- Semi-leafless erect growth habit, pink flowers shatter resistant pods and a similar disease resistance profile as Kaspa.
- Produces spherical grain with a yellow split and a tan seed coat similar to Kaspa.
- Growers in low rainfall regions have the option of growing both PBA Gunyah and PBA Twilight to manage the risk of low seasonal rainfall or paddock variability and still market grain from either variety as ‘Kaspa type’. Both varieties are better suited than Kaspa to the practices of delayed sowing for disease management and crop topping to control annual ryegrass.
PBA Gunyah (tested as OZP0602) was identified by the PBA field pea team and is derived from a line bred at Horsham DEPI Victoria, from a targeted crossing selection program to improve yield reliability in low rainfall cropping regions. PBA Gunyah is named after Gunyah Beach on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia (SA).
PBA Twilight
- Early flowering, early maturing Kaspa type field pea with high yield potential. PBA Twilight commences flowering at least two weeks earlier than Kaspa in most cropping regions and has a shorter flowering duration than PBA Gunyah.
- Better adapted and higher yielding in low rainfall regions characterised by short season climates with a rapid finish to the season than Kaspa and PBA Gunyah.
- Semi-leafless erect growth habit, pink flowers and shatter resistant pods and a similar disease resistance profile as Kaspa.
- PBA Twilight produces spherical grain with a yellow split and a tan seed coat similar to Kaspa.
- Growers in low rainfall regions have the option of growing both PBA Gunyah and PBA Twilight to manage the risk of low seasonal rainfall or paddock variability and still market grain from either variety as ‘Kaspa type’. Both varieties are better suited than Kaspa to the practices of delayed sowing for disease management and crop topping to control annual ryegrass.
PBA Twilight (tested as OZP0601) was identified by the PBA field pea team and is derived from a line bred at Horsham DEPI Victoria, from a targeted crossing selection program to improve yield reliability in low rainfall cropping regions. PBA Twilight is named after Twilight Beach on the south coast of Western Australia near Esperance.
Kaspa
- Semi-dwarf, semi-leafless high yielding variety, broadly adapted to most field pea growing areas of southern and western Australia.
- Particularly well adapted to the high rainfall high yielding environments. It does however have to be considered carefully against alternatives in low rainfall areas, in areas prone to early high temperatures and drought stress.
- Excellent early season vigour and an erect growth habit, medium plant height and unique pink flowers.
- Flowering is approximately five days later (late) than Parafield, but is of short duration, but maturation date is similar to Parafield (mid).
- Kaspa was the first variety to have pod shatter resistance (from the sugar pod trait) that helps reduce grain loss if harvest is delayed or poor conditions exist at maturity.
- Produces unique cream/brown dun type grain that is uniform in size and spherical (not dimpled) making it different from the traditional dun type field peas and better suited to milling.
Kaspa (tested as PSL4) was developed by the Australian Coordinated Field Pea Improvement Program, (now Pulse Breeding Australia) and was released in 2004. It was bred and subsequently developed at what is now DPI Victoria, Horsham, and released after evaluations in VIC, SA, WA and New South Wales.