Evaluation of Pisum sativum landraces from the northwest of the Iberian peninsula and their breeding value

Abstract

Seventy two landraces of green and sugar pea (Pisum sativum), plus four elite commercial cultivars as controls, were evaluated in 1989–1990 for 19 quantitative traits. The landraces show a broad diversity in most of the traits studied. There are significant positive correlations of flowering date with node of first flower, shoot height and number of days to maturity, which could be relevant parameters for evaluating plant precocity. The analysis of means over each population in some important morpho-biological and quality traits in pod and seed show that there are seven landraces which deserve special attention for having promising breeding value.