Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Garden pea (*Pisum sativum* var. *hortense*) is a cool-season vegetable.
Breeding early-maturing cultivars that can tolerate the warmer temperatures of early autumn is essential to help farmers capture early-season market premiums.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
In India, early-sown peas are planted in September or early October when temperatures are still relatively warm.
Arka Ajit is a highly popular, early-maturing variety of garden pea developed by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR).
It is highly suited for early sowing because:
- It has moderate tolerance to higher temperatures during early vegetative growth.
- It exhibits combined resistance to both powdery mildew and rust diseases, which commonly attack early-sown crops.
- It produces sweet, green pods in about $50\text{ to }60 \text{ days}$ after sowing, allowing farmers to harvest and market their crop early.
Let us review the other options:
- Palam Priya and Pusa Prabal are popular mid-season, main-crop varieties that require cooler temperatures and are not suited for early sowing.
- Pusa Shree is also a main-season variety.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The variety suitable for early sowing in garden pea is ArkaAjit, corresponding to option (D).