Lentils are a relatively small acreage but still requires some of the technology that other crops are fortunate enough to participate in. Clearfield Lentils has been a unique partnership between Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, BASF and University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Center.
With the introduction of Clearfield lentils in 2007, farmers are quickly adopting this solution to increase lentil yields. BASF’s research shows that the incremental value to growers has added up to 140 million since inception. The ability to execute better weed control which has resultd in higher yields through improved plant competition has been a real win for farmers in the short run. Although Clearfield technology is not a GM trait, it does show that farmers want to improve production efficiencies through the use of adopting technology.
I think its great to see smaller acreage crops like lentils getting access to technologies that benefit the other larger acreage crops. One of the fears as corn and soybean acres rise is that all the research attention and trait integration will only happen with their lead.
Have you tried Clearfield lentils? What were your results? Would you ever go back to conventional lentils? what kind of technologies would you like incorporated into pulse crops in the future?
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