Black-eyed pea

Black-eyed pea

The black-eyed pea is a legume grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean. It is a subspecies of the cowpea, an Old World plant domesticated in Africa. The common commercial variety is called the California Blackeye; it is pale-colored with a prominent black spot.

About Black-eyed pea in brief

Summary Black-eyed peaThe black-eyed pea is a legume grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean. It is a subspecies of the cowpea, an Old World plant domesticated in Africa. The common commercial variety is called the California Blackeye; it is pale-colored with a prominent black spot. Other beans of somewhat similar appearance, such as the frijol ojo de cabra of northern Mexico, are sometimes incorrectly called black- eyed peas, and vice versa. Black-eyed peas contain calcium, folate, protein, fiber and vitamin A, among other nutrients, with less than 840 kilojoules of food energy in a 171-gram serving. In the Southern United States, eating black-eye peas or Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year. The peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring and diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar. The traditional meal also includes Cabbage, collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham.

The color of the eye may be black, brown, red, pink, or green. All the peas are green when freshly shelled and brown or buff when dried. The plant is relatively free of pests and disease. The heat-loving crop should be sown after all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. Seeds sown too early will rot before germination. Because the bloom attracts a variety of pollinators, care must be taken in the application of insecticides to avoid label violations. After planting the pea, it should start to grow after 2–5 days. The crop is extremely drought tolerant, so excessive watering should be avoided. Root-knot nematodes can be a problem, especially if crops are not rotated. As a nitrogen-fixing legume, fertilization can exclude nitrogen three weeks after germination, and large areas can be source of honey.