Value of Heterogeneous Material and Bulk Breeding for Inbred Crops: A Pea Case Study

•Evolutionary breeding issued populations, inbred lines and line mixtures with high agronomic value.•This material tended to show high cold tolerance, yield stability and competitive ability.•Best-performing line mixtures, bulk-derived lines and evolutionary populations ranked in this order.•Evolutionary populations displayed quick adaption to specific environments for a low selection cost.•Bulk-derived, mass-selected lines allowed for much greater yield gain than single-seed descent lines.