Unlocking pea and bean potential - lessons learned about pulse crop performance
Over the past 12 years, the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) has generated over 3000 benchmarking reports on a range of crops, including peas and beans
ADAS crop physiologists Dr Tom Wilkinson and Dr Charlotte White share what YEN has uncovered about bean and pea yields in particular and what growers can learn about their own pulse crop performance in 2026.
The original version of this article first appeared in PGRO Pulse Magazine in spring 2026.
UK pulse growers overcome a tricky 2025
According to the YEN data for pulses, in 2025:
- it was the driest spring on record
- it was a low disease year
- crop height and biomass were lower than average
- low pod set and seeds per pod led to less seeds set, indicating sink limitation (ability to set seeds)
- thousand seed weight (TSW) – the ability to fill seeds – was lower than average, indicating a source limitation as well.
Despite these setbacks, two Pea YEN entrants recorded yields in excess of 6 t/ha in 2025. One of these (6.7 t/ha) was the highest ever recorded in Pea YEN.
With beans, yields of over 7 t/ha were recorded in 2025. The current Bean YEN record yield stands at 9.1 t/ha for a winter bean crop in 2024.
Comparing Defra 2021–2024 data on UK pea and bean crop yields with pulse yields achieved through YEN, Pea YEN growers achieved on average 7% more of their pea yield potential during that same period. Bean YEN growers achieved 13% more.
These results definitively prove that high pulse performance is possible, even in the most difficult of years. The challenge now is to understand what drives these yields and share that knowledge with the whole industry.
Lessons we’ve learned so far about pulse yields
At this year’s YEN Conference, we examined the characteristics of the top 25% of pulse yields and the bottom 25% to understand what the high yields tended to have in common.
Generally, high-yielding pulse crops have larger biomass per ha, with larger, taller individual plants. These went on to set more seeds per ha. They often received additional nutrition (particularly organic matter) and higher investment in crop protection strategies.
It is worth noting that higher pulse yields might draw more on canopy nitrogen reserves during grain fill. Crops should be monitored for active modules and supported for biological nitrogen fixation by ensuring optimum conditions if necessary.
Still more to learn as Pea and Bean YENs continue
With much more yet to learn about pulse yields, the Pea and Bean YEN will continue in 2026. Any growers involved will receive a comprehensive benchmarking report detailing how their pulses performed compared to other pulse crops in the YEN.
Yields are made from different physiological traits – plants/m2, shoots/plant, pods/shoot, seeds/pod, seeds set/m2 and seed size. All these traits are measured in the benchmarking report, allowing growers to track their pulse crop performance year on year and see what agronomy decisions led to better results.
There are sponsored places still available to new growers who wish to join in 2026.
You can learn more about Bean YEN and Pea YEN by visiting the YEN website.
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