b'BREEDING HISTORY / BLACK EYED PEASExploring the innovations and breakthroughs of breeding throughout generations of plants.Black-eyed peas have been cultivated since pre-historic times in China and India. 6,000BLACK-EYED PEAS WERE DOMESTICATED IN WEST Years Ago AFRICA (MOST LIKELY NIGERIA AND NORTHERN CAMEROON).2500 BC BLACK-EYED PEAS SPREAD TO WEST AND EAST AFRICA TO EGYPT.1500s ANNIBALE CARRACCI NOTED THAT BLACK-EYED PEAS WERE UNREFINED IN HIS PAINTING THE BEAN EATER.1674 BLACK-EYED PEAS WERE BROUGHT TO THE WEST INDIES BY ENSLAVED WEST AFRICANS1873 CHARLES BALL, AN ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICAN FROM MARYLAND, WROTE IN HIS MEMOIR: WE HAD PLENTY OF BREAD, AND A SUPPLY OF BLACK-EYED PEAS, GATHERED FROM OUR GARDEN, SOME OF WHICH [WERE] BOILED IN OUR KETTLE.80%IS THE AMOUNT OF GLOBAL BLACK-EYED PEAS GROWTH FROM NIGER, NIGERIA, BURKINA FASO AND TANZANIA.In the American South, eating black-eyed peas and greens (such as collards) on New Years Day is considered good luck: the peas symbolize coins and the greens symbolize paper money.12 millionHECTARES IS THE AMOUNT OF ESTIMATED LAND THAT BLACK-EYED PEAS ARE GROWN ON.Sources: The Library of Congress, JSTOR, Plant Lab Humanities92/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2023'