By Alice McFarlane

Western Canadian grain committee recommends new pulse varieties

Mar 10, 2023 | 3:01 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – The organization that examines crop varieties has made recommendations on new pulse crops.

The Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) is a forum for the exchange of information on the development of improved cultivars of grain crops for western Canada.

The four independent recommending committees are responsible for the testing, evaluation, and recommending of grain crop candidate cultivars for registration.

The Pulse and Special Crops Committee has recommended 16 new lentil, 13 pea, five faba bean and five dry bean lines for registration.

Dr. Glen Hawkins chairs the committee. He is also a senior manager and agronomist with DL Seeds in Edmonton, Alta.

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“We probably saw the largest number of lines up for recommendation that I’ve seen in my 10 or 11 years on this committee. An emphasis on field pea for sure, faba bean lines, a good chunk of lentils, and then a few specialty peas and some dry beans,” Hawkins said.

This is the first time in several years marrowfat peas have been recommended along with the first forage pea under new, special guidelines.

Hawkins said there is also new yellow peas.

“The thing that raised a few questions was a company with yellow peas that have a substantial yield drag,” he said. “But our committee recommended them based on the work they’ve been doing on flavour profiles and processing efficiencies.”

Hawkins said there are faba bean lines being recommended that are low tannin and several lentil lines that range from small red to large red, to greens and black, as well as French green lentils.

The committee has made its recommendations and now the companies that presented the varieties are tasked with finding someone that’s to willing to license and grow the seed in Canada. Hawkins said this all takes time.

“There’s a couple things that play into it. How quickly are organizations out there that sell seed, looking to replace aging varieties, how quickly can they get those agreements in place, and then it comes down to how much seed is available? A lot of these lines are coming through on marginal amounts of seeds,” he said.

As producers get comfortable with certain varieties, sometimes, they are reluctant to try something new. Hawkins said he hopes producers will give new varieties a chance.

“My rebuttal to that is we’ve made some huge advances in genetics, standability, yield, and protein content in the last 10 years and I really urge farmers to have a look at that,” Hawkins said.

There are three other review committees: wheat, rye and triticale, oats and barley, and oilseeds.

The Prairie Grain Development Committee held its annual meeting in Banff last week.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW