Problems With Peas
| Pea Problems | |
|---|---|
| Symptoms | Probable Cause |
| Plants Die for No Apparent Reason | High temperatures (see below) |
| Poor Production in Fall Crop | Too Much Heat and Light (see below) |
| Peas grow poorly or even die mysteriously | Too near a Black Walnut Tree |
| Brownish or yellow blotches form on leaves and pods; stems may turn purplish; leaves eventually yellow | Bacterial Blight, a Bacterial Disease; pull the plants and dispose of them. |
| Stems, leaves, and pods dusted with white powdery mold; black specks appear later in the season; plants are stunted and vines shriveled | Powdery Mildew, Fungal Disease |
| Gray patches on lower leaves spread upward | Downy Mildew, Fungal Diseasee |
| Yellowing of foliage and gradual defoliation; plants may become stunted | Fusarium Wilt, Fungal Disease |
| Mottled, crinkled foliage; brown specks appear on fruit, and plants may droop and die prematurely | Mosaic Virus, Viral Disease, pull the plants and dispose of them |
| Leaves wrinkled or curled; discolored, stunted, tend to fall off | Controlling Aphids |
| Leaves, stems and buds eaten | Armyworms, see Controlling Armyworms |
| Holes in leaves | Cabbage Loopers |
| Holes in leaves | Corn Earworms |
| Holes chewed in leaves, leaf stalk, stems; plant wilts, dies. | Cucumber Beetles |
| Leaves riddled with shotholes; plant weakens | Flea Beetles |
| Tip of leaves brown, internal larvae trails visible. | Leaf Miners |
| Plant stunted, leaves yellowed, lesions on roots | Nematodes, see Controlling Nematodes |
| Leaves stippled, yellowing or bronze; dry out and drop may be webbing visible; sometimes galls form on leaves | Spider Mites, see Controlling Mites |
| Pod split and peas gone; young seedling pulled and partly eaten | Birds, often Cardinals, Catbirds |
| Plants disappear all or in part | Deer, Rabbits, or Woodchucks |
Plants Die In Spring For No Apparent Reason
If your peas showed no signs of disease, but die before pods form, hot weather may have killed the plants before they could produce a full crop. Try a fall crop or planting earlier next year will solve the problem.
Poor Production In Fall Crop
Peas and other cool-loving crops will not grow well in high temperatures. Peas planted for a fall harvest benefit from the protection of shade netting and a thick organic mulch for the first month or so. See the Care section for more details about shade cloth.
Birds
Birds love peas because the pea crop is one of the earliest available to feed their young. The best control against birds is a covering of netting.