Research
Development of new pea varieties for both the processing industry and the fresh market business is undertaken through an exclusive breeding programme at Plant & Food Research, a Crown Research Institute located in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Further variety evaluations are conducted at PGG Wrightson Seeds’ Kimihia Research Centre, located in Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand.
Key traits are sought in our breeding and evaluation programme following consultation with numerous customers and these include: pod type, pea size, flavour, maturity and colour, as well as the robustness of the pea seed to climatic and disease pressure. With new varieties released annually, PGG Wrightson Seeds specialises in tailoring varieties to our customers’ market requirements.
At our research centre our Agronomists are responsible for variety maintenance which sees each variety (new and old) in our portfolio maintained to breeder-type standards. This involves single plant selection and a monitored multiplication programme that ensures the agronomic quality of each cultivar is maintained to the breeder’s original description, and is distinct, uniform and stable.
