Consult the Cooperative Extension publication, MP 154, for fungicides that may be used on peas. Back To Top Harvest Harvest peas for the local fresh market by hand. All fresh market peas are harvested at the green mature stage. Purple hull peas are harvested when pods are 50 percent purple with well-formed peas. Approximately 100 man hours are required to harvest an acre of peas with a yield of 100 bushels per acre.
Peas can also be machine harvested at the green mature stage.
However, due to the often low pod quality of machine harvested fresh peas, these peas are generally shelled with a mechanical pea sheller prior to marketing. If a crop is to be machine harvested, it is necessary to select a bushy, non-vining variety which has a concentrated set of peas above the foliage, e.g., Louisiana Quick pick variety. Field heat should be removed from peas soon after harvest with forced air cooling. Peas can be stored for three to four days at 50 to 45 degrees F and 80 and 90 percent relative humidity. Peas cooled below 45 degrees F may show chilling injury.