VL Ageti
An early, dwarf ICAR-VPKAS garden pea (VL-7) for the Himalayan hills. Early maturity helps it escape powdery mildew, but it is not proven resistant.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Peas
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Rabi
- Maturity period
- About 120–125 days to first picking (hill sowing)
- Expected yield
- High
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Early maturity helps it escape powdery mildew; resistance reports are mixed
- Release
- ICAR-VPKAS, Almora, Uttarakhand — released 1995, also designated VL-7
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
VL Ageti Matar, also designated VL-7, is an early-maturing garden pea variety developed at ICAR-VPKAS (Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan), Almora, Uttarakhand, released in 1995. Plants are dwarf with dark-green foliage; pods are light green, well filled, borne two per bunch with 6–7 seeds each, giving a 42% shelling percentage and an average yield of 80–90 q/ha.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose VL Ageti if you farm the hills of Himachal Pradesh or Uttarakhand. It is the one pea here bred for that ground, by ICAR-VPKAS at Almora, and its dwarf habit suits hill terraces. Read its duration against hill sowing only: the 120–125 days to first picking is counted in the hills, where cold slows everything, and it cannot be set against the 60 days a plains crop of Arkel takes — the same seed in the plains is a different calendar. Its mildew cover comes mainly from being early: GBPUAT's seed catalogue says it resists powdery mildew because it matures early, which is escape and not a built-in gene. A screening also lists VL-7 among genotypes with relatively high resistance, and one description calls it susceptible. Sow on time and keep a mildew watch. The other trade is shelled weight: its 42% shelling is the lowest of the three peas here that publish one. Choose Pusa Prabhal for dual wilt and mildew resistance. Choose Kashi Nandini for a notified pea with a wider state list.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- Its mildew cover comes mainly from early maturity. GBPUAT Pantnagar's seed catalogue says VL-7 resists powdery mildew because it matures early. That is escape, not a built-in gene, so a late sowing or a wet year can still bring the disease. A Legume Research screening lists VL-7 among genotypes with relatively high resistance, and one variety description calls it susceptible. Sow on time, check the leaves from flowering, and ask VPKAS or your horticulture office about mildew in your district. Descriptions also differ on seeds per pod: 6–7 in the VPKAS description and 7–8 in the Pantnagar catalogue.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Himachal Pradesh
- Uttarakhand
Hill sowing: sow early, then test the mildew claim on a few rows
VL Ageti's mildew cover comes mainly from being early, and its record is mixed. GBPUAT's catalogue says early maturity is why it resists mildew, a screening lists it as relatively resistant, and one description says susceptible. A hill farm has little room for a failed pea crop.
Sow a few rows of VL Ageti next to your usual variety. Look at the leaves every week from flowering, and note the date the first white powder appears on each.
If VL Ageti stays clean longer, sow more of it next season. If it does not, you have your answer for the price of a few rows.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Peas variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkel | The earliest common garden pea, for the early-season price, sown in time to dodge late-crop powdery mildew | 60–65 days | 80–100 q/ha (green pods) | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar |
| Azad Matar | A sweet, tender, long dark-green-pod garden pea from CSAUAT Kanpur (Azad P-1), for Uttar Pradesh fresh sale with a mildew plan | About 53 days to first picking in one Prayagraj plains trial; about 120 days in hill trials | High | Uttar Pradesh |
| Bonneville | A main-season, taller garden pea for the mid-season market, also suited to dehydration | 75–80 days | 65–110 q/ha (green pods; sources differ) | Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh |
| Kashi Nandini | An early-maturing, ICAR-IIVR garden pea with good pod set, notified for nine states from Jammu & Kashmir to Kerala | 70–80 days | 75–120 q/ha (sources differ) | Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
| Pant Matar | An early GBPUAT Pantnagar garden pea (Pant Matar 2) that matches Arkel's days and gives about 10% more pods, for the northern hills and plains | About 60 days to first picking | About 100 q/ha (green pods; some reports lower) | Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand |
| Pusa Prabhal | A wilt-and-mildew-resistant, double-podded garden pea for land with Fusarium wilt or powdery mildew trouble | 80–100 days | ~138 q/ha | Himachal Pradesh |
| Pusa Pragati (Early Badger) | An early, powdery-mildew-resistant IARI garden pea with long 10 cm pods and 9 seeds per pod, recommended for all of India | 60–65 days to first picking | About 70 q/ha (green pods) | Punjab |
| Rachna | A powdery-mildew-resistant mid-season pea bred at CSAUAT Kanpur, for green pods or dry seed | 85–90 days | 100–120 q/ha (green pods) | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh |
| VL Agetithis page | An early, dwarf ICAR-VPKAS garden pea (VL-7) for the hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand | About 120–125 days to first picking (hill sowing) | High | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Peas is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Peas plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Peas variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Peas into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Peas in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Peas rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Peas seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Who released VL Ageti Matar and when?
ICAR-VPKAS, Almora, Uttarakhand, released it in 1995, also designated VL-7.
Is VL Ageti Matar actually resistant to powdery mildew?
Not in the sense of a built-in gene. GBPUAT Pantnagar's seed catalogue says VL-7 resists powdery mildew because it matures early, so it escapes the disease. A screening of pea genotypes also lists it among those with relatively high resistance, and one variety description calls it susceptible. Sow on time and watch the leaves.
What do VL Ageti Matar pods look like?
Light green, well filled, borne two per bunch with 6–7 seeds each, giving a 42% shelling percentage.
What yield can VL Ageti Matar give?
VPKAS gives an average of 80–90 q/ha, in line with the "High" yield rating. One university text gives a much higher 23–25 t/ha, which looks like a different basis, so plan on the VPKAS figure until you weigh your own crop.
Where is VPKAS, the institute that released VL Ageti Matar, located?
In Almora, Uttarakhand. The state list here shows Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, because ICAR's hill agriculture institute works across the Himalayan hill states.
Is VL Ageti an early pea?
It is classed as an early-season dwarf variety, and the Pantnagar catalogue says early maturity is how it escapes mildew. But a TNAU text gives first picking at 120–125 days after sowing in the hills, so early here means early for the hills, not a quick 60-day pea. Count the days in your own field, because hill altitude and cold change them a lot.
VL Ageti or Kashi Nandini for a hill farm?
VL Ageti is bred for the hills at ICAR-VPKAS, Almora, and yields 80–90 q/ha. Kashi Nandini yields 110–120 q/ha and is notified for Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand among its nine states. If hill adaptation matters most, VL Ageti. If a higher yield matters, test Kashi Nandini beside it.
What does a VL Ageti pod look like?
The plants are dwarf with dark-green leaves. The pods are light green and well filled, borne two per bunch, with 6–7 seeds in each, and the shelling percentage is 42%. That is lower than Pusa Prabhal (52%) or Kashi Nandini (47–48%), so you get a little less pea per kilo of pod.
What is VL-7 and is it the same as VL Ageti Matar?
Yes. VL Ageti Matar is also designated VL-7. If a seed seller or a research paper uses VL-7, they mean this variety. Ask for the name on the packet and write it down when you buy.
Sourced from: Kitchen Seeds (garden pea varieties) — GBPUAT Pantnagar Seeds, Legume Research (ARCC Journals), article LR-5085 — pea genotypes and powdery mildew resistance, HORT 281 Lecture 17: Peas — eAgri (TNAU). editorial policy.