Spring pea seeds

Spring pea seeds in professional crop systems

Spring pea seeds are sown from late winter to spring and complete their cycle within the same growing season, offering a flexible legume option in many temperate regions. Our seeds are designed for early sowing, rapid emergence and efficient use of spring moisture in order to secure yields before summer stress.

By integrating spring peas into rotations that also include cereals, oilseeds and our hybrid sunflower seeds, farmers can diversify income sources and improve soil fertility. Our varieties help position the crop as a protein legume and our agronomic solutions provide technical support from sowing to harvest.

Types of spring pea seeds in our ranges

Our ranges of spring pea seeds cover several agronomic and market profiles so that each farming system can select the most appropriate combination of earliness, plant type and end use. The main distinctions concern garden peas, sugar snap and mangetout types, and spring field peas for feed and protein markets.

Garden-type spring peas

Garden-type spring peas are sown early for fresh consumption, freezing and canning, with harvest during the same season. Our varieties in this group are selected for pod and grain quality, including sweetness, visual appearance and uniformity, while still fitting agronomic requirements for spring sowing.

Sugar snap and mangetout spring peas

Sugar snap and mangetout spring peas are eaten with the pod and require tenderness, pod strength and regular shape. Our ranges include spring varieties with pod characteristics suited to these fresh channels, ensuring that agronomic performance is combined with the quality expectations of these markets.

Spring field peas for feed and protein

Spring field peas are harvested dry and used for feed or as a raw material for protein ingredients. Our varieties in this group focus on yield potential, standing ability and protein content, with cycles adapted to spring sowing and harvest under summer conditions.

Spring peas versus winter peas

Spring pea seeds differ from winter peas by their sowing period, overwintering behaviour and risk profile. Our ranges of spring peas are intended for farms where autumn sowing is limited or where spring sowing offers more flexibility, and our agronomic solutions help compare the two options at rotation level.

Why choose our spring pea seed varieties?

Our varieties of spring peas are designed to make the most of early sowing windows and to provide secure yields under variable spring and summer conditions. They have been selected with a focus on earliness, productivity and agronomic robustness.

Yield and protein performance

Yield and protein are key selection criteria in our ranges of spring pea seeds. Our products are tested in multiple environments to confirm their ability to convert spring moisture and growing degree days into protein-rich grain or biomass, while maintaining acceptable grain quality for feed and processing.

Early-cycle genetics and sowing flexibility

Our varieties are positioned in early and mid-early maturity groups that match spring sowing conditions. This allows farmers to sow as soon as field traffic is possible, to exploit cool conditions during early growth and to bring harvest forward in order to avoid the hottest part of summer where possible.

Standability, disease behaviour and uniformity

Spring pea crops must withstand variable winds, rainfall patterns and disease pressure, often within a compact development window. Our ranges consider plant architecture, standability and disease profiles so that our seeds contribute to uniform stands and efficient mechanised harvest under spring-sown conditions.

Agronomic guide to growing spring pea seeds

Spring peas require careful positioning in terms of sowing date, seedbed preparation and crop protection. Our agronomic solutions support these decisions by combining variety characteristics with local soil and climate information.

Soil and climate requirements for spring peas

Spring pea seeds are usually sown into cool soils that are workable and not waterlogged, often after winter cereals or cover crops. Our varieties are adapted to well-drained soils with moderate structure and to climates where spring temperatures allow rapid establishment followed by a normal flowering and grain-fill period.

Sowing dates, densities and depth

The main objective with spring pea seeds is to sow as early as soil conditions permit, in order to avoid high temperatures during flowering. Sowing densities are adjusted to variety type, soil potential and planned end use, while depth is chosen to ensure contact with moist soil and rapid emergence; our agronomic solutions provide indicative ranges adapted by region.

Fertilisation and nitrogen management

Spring peas rely on biological nitrogen fixation and therefore require limited mineral nitrogen inputs, with more attention paid to phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and micronutrients. Our agronomic solutions promote balanced fertilisation that supports nodulation and root development, while avoiding excess nitrogen that may favour lodging and reduce overall efficiency.

Crop protection and spring-specific risks

Early sowing exposes spring pea crops to cool and sometimes wet conditions that can favour seedling diseases, while later stages may face foliar diseases and pests during a compressed development period. Our varieties are characterised for their agronomic behaviour and our agronomic solutions integrate rotation, sowing date and monitoring in order to manage spring-specific risks.

Harvest timing and grain quality

Harvest timing for spring peas depends on whether the crop is destined for fresh market, processing or dry grain. Our ranges include profiles optimised for these different outlets, and our agronomic solutions help align harvest timing with target moisture levels and quality specifications while avoiding avoidable weather-related losses.

Spring peas in rotations and markets

Spring pea seeds can be integrated into many different crop sequences and can be directed to various markets depending on variety type and local demand. Our ranges are structured so that each variety’s main use is clear for growers and buyers.

Role of spring peas in crop rotations

Spring peas are often placed after winter cereals and before oilseeds or summer crops in order to break disease cycles and introduce a legume phase. The use of our varieties alongside other legumes and our oilseed varieties helps build rotations that combine agronomic resilience with diversified income streams.

Fresh market and food industry outlets

Garden-type and certain green spring pea varieties serve fresh, frozen and canned channels. Our seeds for these outlets are selected for uniformity and concentrated harvest windows that make it easier to coordinate with processing capacity and local fresh markets.

Feed and protein markets for spring peas

Spring field peas enter rations as a source of both protein and energy, or are processed into protein ingredients and starch products. Our varieties for these markets are characterised by their grain yield, protein percentage and storage performance so that they can reliably supply feed mills and ingredient plants.

Comparison with winter peas at system level

The choice between spring pea seeds and winter types depends on climate, workload distribution and risk acceptance. Our ranges allow farms to combine both options or to specialise, and our agronomic solutions help compare these strategies based on soil, water availability and existing crop choices.

Research, varietal creation and agronomic support

The performance of spring pea seeds is closely linked to genetic progress and adaptation to local environments. Our varieties are the result of varietal creation and multi-site evaluations aimed at delivering stable behaviour under different spring sowing conditions.

Varietal creation for spring pea seeds

Our work on spring peas focuses on earliness, yield stability, protein potential and agronomic behaviour under early sowing. Candidate lines are selected and crossed within breeding programmes and then screened for these characteristics before entry into our ranges.

Multi-year and multi-site field trials

Our seeds are tested in multiple regions and over several seasons to cover a range of spring sowing dates and climatic scenarios. This allows us to document how each of our varieties behaves in different soils and weather patterns and to propose positioning tailored to each context.

Our agronomic solutions for spring peas

In addition to our seeds, we provide agronomic solutions that address sowing date choice, seedbed preparation, density settings and integration with other crops. These technical references are built from trial data and field experience and are used to support farmers in extracting the full potential of our ranges in both legume and oilseed based rotations.

Spring pea seeds: questions from the field

Farmers who are considering spring peas often raise similar technical questions related to sowing timing, risks and market positioning. The answers below provide general indications and are intended to be combined with local advice and the specific descriptions of our varieties and our ranges.

How do spring pea seeds differ from winter pea seeds?

Spring pea seeds are intended for sowing from late winter to spring and do not overwinter, whereas winter pea seeds are sown in autumn and must survive the cold season. Our spring pea ranges emphasise early sowing flexibility and warm-season development, while winter peas focus on winter hardiness and early spring growth.

When is the best time to sow spring peas?

Spring peas are generally sown as soon as the soil can be worked without causing compaction and when conditions allow rapid emergence. In practice this often means late winter or early spring, and our agronomic solutions offer regional benchmarks to avoid prolonged exposure to cold while still capturing early-season moisture.

What soil conditions are required for spring pea seeds?

Spring peas prefer well-drained soils that are not waterlogged at sowing and that allow good root penetration. Our varieties perform best in seedbeds where surface residues, structure and moisture are compatible with uniform seed placement and prompt emergence.

What are the main agronomic risks for spring pea crops?

Key risks for spring pea crops include difficulties with early field access, seedling diseases in cold and wet conditions, drought or heat around flowering, and lodging or disease near harvest. Our agronomic solutions address these points through variety choice, sowing strategy and rotation design.

Can spring peas be combined with other spring crops in the rotation?

Spring peas fit well alongside other spring crops such as certain oilseeds or spring cereals. By combining our spring pea ranges with our oilseed varieties and our hybrid sunflower seeds, farmers can structure rotations that distribute workloads and reduce agronomic risk.

Which spring pea varieties are most suited to feed and protein uses?

Spring field pea varieties with high yield and protein content are generally preferred for feed and protein uses. Within our ranges, the varieties oriented toward these outlets are described according to their grain protein, yield level and agronomic behaviour in spring sowing conditions.

Do spring pea seeds require inoculation?

In fields where peas or related legumes have not been grown recently, inoculation may improve nodulation and nitrogen fixation. Our agronomic solutions incorporate this dimension and help define whether inoculation is relevant for each field where our seeds are used.

How long can spring pea seed lots be stored before sowing?

When stored under cool, dry and stable conditions, spring pea seed lots maintain viability in line with standard storage durations for peas. Our products are delivered with storage recommendations so that the qualities of our seeds are preserved until the targeted sowing period.