| Summary: | After crosses, the identification of true hybrids is not only the most important step in the initiation of a breeding program but also plays a crucial role in the improvement of hybrid varieties. However, current morphological or molecular-based hybrid identification methods are time-consuming and costly approaches that require knowledge and skill, as well as specific lab equipment. In the current study, <i>xenia</i>, direct or immediate effect of pollen on seeds was used to identify true hybrids in the genus <i>Pisum</i> L. for the first time without growing F<sub>1</sub> plants. The current study was therefore aimed to (i) elucidate the <i>xenia</i> effect on seeds in intra- and interspecific crosses between <i>P. sativum</i> L. subsp. <i>sativum</i> var. <i>sativum</i> or var. <i>arvense</i> L. Poir. and its wild relatives, including <i>P. sativum</i> subsp. <i>elatius</i> (M. Bieb.) Aschers & Graebn. and <i>P. fulvum</i> Sibth. & Sm., and (ii) illuminate the beneficialness of the <i>xenia</i> effect in a practical improvement of the genus <i>Pisum</i> L. The pea cultivars, including <i>P. sativum</i> subsp. <i>sativum</i> var. <i>sativum</i> and <i>P. sativum</i> subsp. <i>sativum</i> var. <i>arvense,</i> were therefore crossed with <i>P. sativum</i> subsp. <i>elatius</i> and <i>P. fulvum</i>, and the occurrence of the <i>xenia</i> effect was studied on the seeds of fertilized female plants immediately after the crosses. It was concluded that using the <i>xenia</i> effect for the early detection of true hybrid immediately after crossing was not only the fastest, most reliable, and least expensive option as early selection criteria, but that <i>xenia</i> also provided information about dominant seed and pod traits after double fertilization.
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