Demonstrations on the Adaptability of Potential Pulse Crop Varieties in the Southeast Peace Region Following a demonstration in 2009, two field demonstrations were done to monitor the plant growth, yield and economics of potential pulse crop varieties for their adaptability in the area. Chickpeas (Amit Kabuli and CDC Vangaurd Desi), Lentils (CDC Redberry, Redbow and Maxim), Lupins (common seed), Fababeans (Snowbird, Fatima, Florent, & NPZ6-7530), dry beans (Resolute & Red Bond), and peas (Cutlas) were compared. Test sites were at the Tremblay (NE8-77-22W5) and Finster (SW28-70-21W5) farms. Adequate emergence was observed for all crops. Lentils emerged earlier while dry beans emerged much later than the other crops. Fababeans and peas had comparable plant heights whereas lentils, dry beans and lupins were much shorter. Plant height of chickpeas was in between. At Finster, dry beans were damaged by frost in early July and were not mature at harvest time. At Tremblay, chickpeas were relatively hard to thrash and red bow lentils showed some lodging and shelling loss. Dry beans appeared to be least suitable crop for the area. Lupins also showed little promise due to low yield in both 2009 and 2010. The chickpeas, fababeans and lentils appear to be promising and need further testing. These crops also showed more tolerance to grasshoppers than peas in 2009. Both 2009 and 2010 had drier and cooler growing seasons than normal. Thus further evaluation of the chickpeas, fababeans and lentils under near normal weather conditions for the area is recommended. (Full report on PP ??) Demonstrations on the Adaptability of Potential Pulse Crop Varieties in the Southeast Peace Region Kabal S. Gill, SARDA Background At present, peas are the only pulse crop commercially grown in the southeast Peace Region. Availability of more pulse crops will help the producers in this area to diversify their operations, sustain high crop production and grow more cash crops. It will also reduce need for nitrogen fertilizer. Use of more pulse crops has become especially important after reduction in acres under alfalfa (due to shut down of dehydration plant) and red clover (due to Case bearer larvae infestation). Recently released improved varieties of the fababeans, chickpeas, lentils, lupins and dry beans present an opportunity to test their adaptability in new areas. Before 2009, the results from the demonstrations on potential crops were not included in the publications of SARDA, because the data were from only one plot for each crop. Producers and others have been unable to benefit from the availability of local information on the success or failure of crops included in these demonstrations. In 2009, SARDA had replicated plots grown for pulse crops (chickpeas – Kabuli and Desi, Lentils, Fababeans, Lupins, Soybeans and Peas), and included their results in various publications by SARDA.

1

Objectives To study the adaptability of potential pulse crop varieties for the area so that producers can see these crops and provide feed-back as follows. • To monitor the plant growth and yield of potential pulse crop varieties for the area. • To compare the economics of these potential pulse crop varieties. • To communicate the results to local producers and others. • To select potential pulse crop varieties for further refinement of agronomics for the area. Methods Soil samples were collected from the sites for soil characterisation and fertilizer recommendations (Table 1). Pulse specialists were consulted to select 4 fababeans, 2 chickpeas, 3 Lentils, 1 lupins, 2 dry beans, with a field peas as the check. Crops were compared in the MD’s of Smoky River, south of Girouxville at the Tremblay farms (NE8-77-22W5) and Greenview, northeast of Valleyview at the Finster Farms (SW28-70-21W5). Each crop variety was grown in 3 plots (8 m long 6 rows at 9 inch spacing), seeded with a Fabro drill equipped with Atom jet openers. The NPZ6-7530 fababeans, lupins and both dry beans were not seeded at the Tremblay site due to lack of seed. Agronomic practices at each site were as follows. Table 1. Soil test results for the spring 2010 samples. Property Finster Tremblay 0-6 inch depth Org. Matter, % 7.9 3.2 P- Bray 1, ppm 16 14 K, ppm 80 139 Mg, ppm 335 315 Ca, ppm 2430 1380 pH, water (2:1) 6.3 6.2 CEC, meq/100g 20.1 12.4 S, ppm 13 13 Nitrate –N, ppm 15 30 Zn, ppm 2.9 2.6 Mn, ppm 4 11 Iron, ppm 100 102 Copper, ppm 0.8 1.1 Boron, ppm 0.9 0.8 Al, ppm 504 615 Na, ppm 27 36 ENR, lb/ac 92 44 6-12 inch depth Org. Matter, % 1.3 2.3 K, ppm 60 142 Mg, ppm 340 555 Ca, ppm 1500 1570 pH, water (2:1) 7.1 6.8 CEC, meq/100g 11.7 14.2 S, ppm 11 13 Nitrate –N, ppm 8 14 Na, ppm 27 36

ENR, lb/ac

25

38

Preseed: WeatherMax (600 mL/ac) and mowed crop residue (May 7) at both sites. Seeding: May 17 (Tremblay) and May 15 (Finster). Moisture was below normal. Seed rates: Chickpeas @ 55 plants/m2 (212 lb/ac Amit Kabuli and 169 lb/ac CDC Vangaurd Desi); Lentils @ 150 plants/m2 (83 lb/ac CDC Redberry, Redbow and Maxim); Lupins @ 100 plants/m2 (171 lb/ac); Fababeans @ 46 plants/m2 (251 lb/ac Snowbird & Fatima, 430 lb/ac Florent, 302 lb/ac NPZ67530); dry beans @ 44 plants/m2 (193 lb/ac Resolute and 203 lb/ac Red Bond); and peas @ 90 plants/m2 (361 lb/ac Cutlas). Fertilization: At Finster, 38 lb/ac 11-52-0 (seed placed). At Tremblay, 77 lb/ac 11-52-0 (seed placed) plus 33 lb/ac 0-0-60 and 146 lb/ac 20.5-0-0-24 (side banded). Appropriate granular inoculants (10 lb/ac) were seed placed at both sites. In crop herbicide: None at Finster. Post Ultra (130 mL/ac) + Merge (200 mL/ac) on June 16 at Tremblay. Harvest: The plots were assessed to estimate any major portions of rows without plants to determine the actual harvest area per plot. Reglone was applied for desiccation. Crops were harvested using the Wintersteiger plot combine. The harvest dates were Sept 12 at Tremblay and Sept. 16 at Finster. The lb/ac yield data were converted to bu/ac by using the test weight (lb/bu) for each variety in Table 3. Table 2. Spring soil moisture (SSM) and monthly rain at the two sites in 2010. The Percentages of normal are also given in brackets. SSM and Rain, mm* Tremblay Finster SSM* 15.0 (20) 37.0 (40) May 65.8(144) 56.2(139) June 17.5 (22) 17.1 (22) July 19.8 (26) 42.4 (51) August 54.0 (94) 64.7(109) Total Rain 157.1 (59) 180.4 (69) * Weather stations: Finster- Valleyview, and Tremblay – Ballater. Observations, Results and Discussion Crop growing conditions: The soil was more productive at the Finster than Tremblay site, mainly due to much higher organic matter level (Table 1). The Tremblay site had only 20% of the normal soil moisture in spring and received only about quarter of the normal rain in June and July, resulting in very dry conditions during the main growing season (Table 2). In comparison, the Finster site had 40% spring soil moisture level and also received 21.6 mm more rain during July. Thus the crop growing conditions were better at the Finster than Tremblay site, as shown by taller plants and higher seed yield of all corps at Finster (Table 3). Finster: Lentils had almost complete emergence by June 2, there was no emergence for the dry beans, and other crops had few plants emerged. By June 14, other crops had complete emergence while only few plants of dry beans had emerged. Plant counts on June 29 showed adequate emergence for all the crops. Observations in mid-July showed that dry beans had considerable damage from frost in early July. On August 5, peas, lentils, chickpeas and fababeans were at pod filling stage, and lentils had some patches with yellow canopy. The dry beans were recovering from the frost damage and were at vegetative to flowering stages. At harvest, dry beans were not mature and thus no seed yield data could

be collected. Late emergence compared to other crops, being damaged by mild frost in early July and not being mature at harvest time showed that dry beans were relatively less suitable for this area. Fababeans and peas had comparable plant heights whereas lentils, dry beans and lupins were much shorter (Table 3). Plant height of chickpeas was in between. Lentils, dry beans and lupins may need rolling of the field after seeding to minimize the harvest problems. Plant height of fababeans and chickpeas was considered adequate for harvest. Seed yield was significantly higher for peas and significantly lower for lupins compared to the chickpeas, fababeans and lentils (Table 3). The tested varieties of chickpeas, fababeans and lentils did not show consistent differences in seed yield. For example, the yield ranged 2110-2922 lb/ac for chickpeas, 2402-3052 lb/ac for fababeans and 2322-2979 lb/ac for lentils. The crop sale returns were maximum for peas and minimum for lupins. The chickpeas and lentils provided higher returns than the fababeans, due to their higher sale prices. Tremblay: The growth patterns of various crops were similar to that at the Finster site. Plant counts on June 15 showed adequate emergence for all the crops. At harvest, chickpeas were relatively hard to thrash and redbow lentils showed some lodging and shelling loss. Very dry weather conditions in the growing season were responsible for shorter plants of all the crops at Tremblay. Compared to peas, lentils had shorter plants, which could be an issue with harvesting (Table 3). Plant height of chickpeas was also short but relatively taller than lentils. These crops may need rolling of the field after seeding to minimize the harvest problems. On the other hand, the fababeans plants were significantly taller than peas (by 6.2 to 12.1 cm). Compared to peas, the seed yield was significantly lower for the chickpeas (except Kabuli), fababeans and lentil crops (Table 3). The tested varieties of chickpeas and fababeans tended to have higher seed yield than lentils with no clear trend for differences between the chickpeas and fababeans. For example, the seed yield ranged 1517-2103 lb/ac for chickpeas and 1410-1944 lb/ac for fababeans and 890-1300 lb/ac for lentils. The maximum crop sale amount was from Kabuli chickpeas, followed by peas and with no clear trend for the other varieties. Discussion: Considering the delayed emergence, frost damage and no yield, dry beans appeared to be the least suited crop for the area. Lupins also showed little promise due to low yield in both 2009 and 2010. The chickpeas, fababeans and lentils appear to be promising and need further testing. These crops showed more tolerance to grasshoppers in 2009 when peas were totally decimated by grasshoppers (SARDA Annual Report 2009). Both 2009 and 2010 had drier and cooler growing seasons than normal. Thus further evaluation of the chickpeas, fababeans and lentils under near normal weather conditions for the area is recommended. Communication Activities Following were done to communicate the results to farmers, industry and public. • SARDA organized a tour at the Finster (July 27) and a tailgate workshop at the Tremblay site (Aug. 13), which were well attended by the farmers. • Plots layout map and related information were made available at the site entrances for selfguided tours by during the July and Aug. 2010. • Abstract and full report of the project will be published in the annual report of SARDA.

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Summary report on the project will be published in the newsletters in Peace region.

Acknowledgements Funds for the project: Alberta Pulse Growers (APG), Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development (Agriculture Opportunity Fund, AOF) and local municipalities (Big Lakes, Greenview, Northern Sunrise County, Smoky River). Co-operators: Gerald Finster and Guy Tremblay. Donation of fertilizers: Agri-Pro St. Isidore Co-op. Supply of seeds and technical advice: Dr. Manjula Bandara and Art Kruger, AARD; Parthiba Balasubramaniam, AAFC; Ken Loptensky; Kevin McCallum, DL Seeds; and Ken Coles, SARA.

Table 3. Emergence, plant height, seed yield and sale price of the crops. Emergence Height Test Wt Yield Yield Crop #/Sq. ft cm lb/bu kg/ha lb/ac Finster site, Greenview Peas (Cutlas) 9.3 62.6 67.8 5182 4619 Chickpeas (Kabuli) 8.6 45.4 58.1 2367 2110 Chickpeas (Desi) 7.9 41.9 62.2 3279 2922 Faba (Snowbird) 5.6 59.6 62.8 3252 2898 Faba (Fatima) 7.0 72.2 60.4 2695 2402 Faba (Florent) 6.1 66.6 60.9 3426 3053 Faba (NPZ6-7530) 5.7 67.3 64.1 2938 2618 Lentils (Redberry) 14.7 35.8 64.6 2606 2322 Lentils (Redbow) 21.2 34.7 65.0 3343 2979 Lentils (Maxim) 19.0 32.6 62.7 3015 2687 Lupins 5.3 35.7 62.8 1757 1566 Drybeans (Resolute) 4.3 26.1 ND NDb ND Drybeans (Red Bond) 4.0 26.4 ND ND ND LSD0.05 CV, % Prob.

2.75 17.9 **

Peas (Cutlas) Chickpeas (Kabuli) Chickpeas (Desi) Faba (Snowbird) Faba (Fatima) Faba (Florent) Lentils (Red berry) Lentils (Red Bow) Lentils (Maxim)

9.1 4.4 5.8 4.1 5.1 4.6 5.7 9.8 10.8

5.06 3.23 653.8 582.7 6.4 3.0 12.5 12.5 ** ** ** ** Tremblay site, Smoky River 39.0 65.8 2727 2430 34.5 65.1 2360 2103 29.8 65.2 1702 1517 45.2 61.7 1291 1150 51.1 65.7 1582 1410 47.8 65.8 2181 1944 24.9 60.7 999 890 24.9 63.0 1458 1300 24.1 60.2 1414 1260

Yield Pricea Bu/ac $/ton

Sale, $/ac

68.1 36.3 45.4 46.1 39.8 50.1 40.8 35.9 45.8 42.9 24.9 ND ND

360 551 441 360 360 360 360 551 551 551 360 ND ND

755 528 585 474 393 499 428 581 745 672 271 ND ND

36.9 32.3 23.3 18.6 21.5 29.5 13.5 20.6 20.9

360 551 441 360 360 360 551 551 551

397 526 304 188 231 318 223 325 315

LSD0.05 4.86 4.33 2.17 787.5 701.8 CV, % 42.5 7.0 2.0 26.0 26.0 Prob. * ** ** ** ** a Sale prices used are approximate historical values, in consultation with Charlie Pearson of the Agriculture and Rural Development, Government of Alberta. b ND refers to not determined. At Finster, dry beans were very late for emergence, had frost damage in early July and did not mature. At Tremblay, there was not enough seed for the NPZ6-7530 fababeans, lupins and both dry beans. ** and ** refer to the differences being significant at 95% and 99%, respectively.