Pea Problem

[OakR]

Hello

Some of my pea plants are gong yellow. Ones next to them are fully green. All planted at the same time, all still producing but assume the yellow leaved ones will now die, does anyone know what this is - should I pull them out, or anyting I can do to stop the others going this way?

Photo to show difference.

Thanks

[ameno]

Pea wilt.
It's caused by certain fungi in the soil attacking and killing the roots, causing the plant to subsequently die.
You can't really do anything to outright prevent it, but proper crop rotation helps to stop it building up to too high levels in the soil. Also, be very careful when planting out or weeding around them not to damage the stems, as damaged stems allow easier access for the fungus.
If you have it, it's best to grow short, early varieties (90cm max), as they mature quicker. I get pea wilt bad where I am, but I can still get a good crop (very good this year; I've picked several kilos already) by growing short varieties, and planting densely (I have two 180cm rows of 50 plants each, just 25cm between rows). I can't grow tall varieties, though, By the time they get big enough to crop I've already lost half of them.
I would leave the plants in until they are almost completely dead, as that way they will be easier to pull out and you will be less likely to damage the others in the process. I have not found leaving the affected plants in place to increase the infection rate of the others any.

The same wilt fungi can also affect broad beans (although they tend to be less severely affected and usually just end up stunted rather than drying), and other Eurasian legumes like the vetches you get in green manure mixes. This should be taken into account for crop rotation. It does not affect French or runner beans at all in my experience.

[OakR]

Thanks very much ameno - I'll leave them be and see what happens. Are the peas from affected plants still ok to eat do you know?

With typical timing, half the healthy ones got blown over in the wind!

[ameno]

Thanks very much ameno - I'll leave them be and see what happens. Are the peas from affected plants still ok to eat do you know?

With typical timing, half the healthy ones got blown over in the wind!

The peas are still perfectly edible, although if you leave them too long after the plant starts to die then they'll dry out.