Pea pollen viability and seed set response at high night temperatures

Field pea (Pisum sativum L.), a major pulse crop in western Canada, is sensitive to elevated temperature and possibly to high night temperature. Our objective was to examine if increasing night temperature while maintaining a constant daytime temperature affected pollen viability and seed set in two pea cultivars (CDC Golden and CDC Sage). Cultivars were exposed to 27/18, 27/22, 27/26 degrees C (day/night temperatures) for 7 d during flowering stage. Results indicated that increased night temperatures had no significant effect on pollen viability, the number of reproductive nodes and flowers, percentage of flower abortion, seed number per pod, and seed yield per plant.