Change of Fresh Yield and Agro-Morphological Traits of Pisum sativum L. Under Color Commercial Shading Nets in Different Intensities

Different coloured and intensity commercial shade nets are increasingly proposed as a low-cost tool for mitigating abiotic stress in semi-arid cropping systems, but cultivar-specific responses in grain legumes remain poorly documented. This study was conducted in an open field at the Faculty of Agriculture, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Türkiye, under rainfed conditions to evaluate the effects of unshaded sunlight and three-color commercial shading nets in different intensities (95% shaded dark green; 40% shaded blue–green; 75% shaded black net) on the pea cultivars Araka and Vining pea. The experiment was arranged as a randomised complete block design in split plots with three replications, and plants were sampled at the slow growth (DAE 25), full blooming (DAE 45), podding (DAE 60), seed filling (DAE 75), and physiological maturity (DAE 90) stages. At DAE 75, we recorded the tallest plants under a 75% shaded black net (53.17 cm), the longest roots under sunlight (20.75 cm), the highest number of leaves per plant under 95% shaded dark green net (70.83), the largest leaf area under 75% shaded black net (471.95 cm2 plant−1), and the highest dry biomass under sunlight (11.46 g). At physiological maturity, the 75% shaded black net increased pod length (8.50 cm), pod weight per plant (35.10 g), number of fresh seeds per plant (27.33), and fresh seed weight (15.45 g). Complementary analyses based on a specific leaf area proxy, a harvest-index proxy, and a yield–risk matrix revealed a qualitative cultivar × shade interaction in biomass-to-seed conversion, with Vining pea performing best under a 75% shaded black net and Araka under a 95% shaded dark green net. Shade nets are therefore not a one-size-fits-all tool and should be selected in a cultivar-aware manner.