In the last Pulse School episode, Dr. Bert Vandenberg, lentil and faba bean breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, outlined the market development challenges facing the faba bean industry. He noted, however, that the varieties farmers have to choose from are already a very good fit for much of the prairies. Duane Ransome, member relations… Read More
Faba bean, a very-high protein pulse crop, did very well under 2012 growing conditions. In fact, in many of the areas where the pea crop struggled, faba beans did quite well. Faba bean averages around 30% protein, making it an attractive feed ingredient. It’s also a common food ingredient in countries other than Canada. Bert… Read More
The feel-good message about how healthy pulses are for us isn’t new, but those who struggle to eat beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas in their whole form may be able to include more of them in their diet without changing the foods they already eat. That’s the scope of a four-year pulse flour milling and… Read More
The economics of farming naturally put “high yield” at the top of every plant breeders list, but something like yield is interwoven with a number of other factors. Just to allow a plant to maintain its intrinsic yield potential you have to develop it to be able to compete with weeds, stand well and have… Read More
When we talk about the total package approach in any crop breeding program, we mean that every effort has to balance a number of key elements, not taking away from any of them while trying to add to all of them. In chickpea, as with most crops, those efforts are directed at the areas of… Read More
Any crop breeding program is a balancing act. For every problem you look to address, you potentially open the door to new and unexpected ones or risk losing desired traits. The more traits you try and breed into a crop, the more you have to think about how those traits affect each other. That’s the… Read More
In order to have an effective fungicide strategy, the approach behind it has to be more preventative than reactive. That approach can be a little scary sometimes when spraying based on a risk assessment instead of seeing actual symptoms. It’s an approach that can leave you wondering if you did the right thing, but if… Read More
A good fungicide program is important in your pulse crops. Variety selection, rotation, product selection and proper application of that product should all come together to get you the most bang for your fungicide buck. While all of those elements are vital to the health of your crop, your whole program could suffer if the… Read More
Getting to know your field should start early. You can most effectively notice when something has gone wrong with your field if you are familiar with it. The benefit of starting that process early is that you can see things like crop establishment issues and other stresses on the plants that you might not be… Read More
Roots are the brains of all crop types, including pulse crops. Inoculants play a key role in making sure the root fixes nitrogen properly in the soil. Healthy roots mean a healthy plant and the opportunity to create yield above ground. Making an agronomic decision without the proper follow up is really making stabs in… Read More
Weed control in pulse crops is an area that has to be managed well in order for your crop to reach its potential. Pulse crops are not very competitive once put into the ring with invasive weed species. While they’re not exactly the 98-lb weakling of the agricultural world, they do need the playing field… Read More
Spray timing, plant population and desiccants are very important elements to manage when it comes to weed control and the proper development of your pulse crop. According to Weed Biologist Eric Johnson of Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, producers should start to plan weed control 2 to 3 years ahead. What that means is that in… Read More
We’ve talked before about the damage the pea leaf weevil can do, but the current economics of peas add a sense of urgency to producers scouting and control strategies. With pea prices being as strong as they are currently, the economic threshold for spraying for the pest is lower than it ordinarily would be. Taking… Read More
This years mild winter has brought a number of concerns to producers minds in the area of pests. The general thoughts and feelings being that the mild weather would either help pests to over winter more easily leading to increased numbers or that the conditions would lead to pests being out and about much earlier… Read More
As we head into the 2012 growing season it’s important to know just what we’re up against in terms of disease threats on the horizon for our pulse crops. Knowing the history of the land your planting into as well as disease activity in your area can be important factors in assessing your risk. Being… Read More