Results from initial experiments in western Nebraska suggest that opportunity exists to decrease seeding rates of pea (Pisum sativum L.) to optimize yield while maintaining partial net return. Refined planting recommendations, especially planting time, are still largely unknown for western Nebraska. This experiment evaluated the effects of seeding rates and planting dates of pea on emergence, grain yield, and grain yield components. Two locations in Nebraska were evaluated in 2018 and 2019. Treatments consisted of three planting dates and five seeding rates arranged as a splitplot design. Emergence was measured in each plot until emergence stabilized. Whole plant biomass, pods plant -1 , seeds plant -1 , and harvest index were recorded at harvest.Planting later resulted in increased plant density and decreased time to 50 and 90% emergence. Planting date also changed the economically optimal plant population.At Sidney in 2018, optimal plant population changed from 96 plants m -2 (early) and 115 plants m -2 (late) to 82 plants m -2 (middle). Partial net return was increased by US$26.74 ha -1 and US$65.43 ha -1 with the middle planting date over the early and late planting dates. Across three site-years, the economically optimal plant population only varied by 4 plants m -2 between the three planting dates. Later planting improves percent emergence without reducing yield. Seeding rates that have been adjusted for expected germination should target a population between 70 and 109 plants m -2 to optimize partial net return. Final plant population influences grain yield more than planting date, although both affect yield response.

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Integration of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) (FP) into dryland cropping systems has increased due to ecological and economic benefits, paired with a growing market for pea-derived products. Challenges exist in the High Plains that limit the integration of crop rotations to replace fallow periods with FP in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)based systems. This experiment compares chemical summer fallow to FP in a fallowwheat rotation at two locations in western Nebraska. Soil water content, soil fertility, N mineralization, FP yield, and subsequent hard red winter wheat (HWW) yields were recorded. Subsequent HWW yields were not different between crop sequences (P = .42). The interaction of site-year with crop sequence explained the HWW yield differences (P = .0005), mostly due to precipitation variability among site-years. Most soil parameters tested only showed a main effect of date due to temporal changes in soil nutrient cycling. Replacing summer fallow with FP resulted in reduced soil water content, however, that did not result in long-term moisture deficiency due to crop sequence type. System annualized gross revenue was equal to or greater for 2 site-years for FP compared with fallow, with an average increase of US$113.15 ha -1 . Pea-wheat reduced annualized net losses in 1 site-year by $70 ha -1 compared with fallow-wheat in the "average" pricing model. Among 3 site-years and three pricing models, pea-wheat resulted in greater net profit or reduced net losses compared with fallow-wheat in 5 site-year comparisons.