This article appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of Pulse Crop News.

Dr. Bunyamin Tar’an, Dr. Bert Vandenberg, and Dr. Tom Warkentin

Pea

Market Class: Yellow Peas

In the Market

In 2012, according to data from Saskatchewan (SK) Crop Insurance Corporation, CDC Meadow became the most widely grown field pea cultivar in SK, surpassing CDC Golden. CDC Meadow has also been one of the top varieties in Alberta, Manitoba, and the northern United States (U.S.). It has been popular with growers due to its consistently high yield, lodging resistance, competitiveness with weeds, and favourable seed type. CDC Golden remained a strong second to CDC Meadow in terms of insured acres in 2012, while the next most widely grown yellow pea varieties were CDC Bronco, DS Admiral, and Delta.

New Varieties

• Certified seed of CDC Saffron should become available in 2014 or 2015. It has good yield (when compared to Cutlass, 115 per cent in both the southern and northern regions), and medium-large smooth, round seeds.
• Certified seed of CDC Hornet should become available in 2013 or 2014. It has good yield (when compared to Cutlass, 107 per cent in both the southern and northern regions), with good lodging resistance and medium maturity.
• Certified seed of CDC Treasure will be available in 2013. It has good yield (when compared to Cutlass, 105 per cent in the south and 110 per cent in the north), with good lodging resistance and early maturity.
• Certified seed of CDC Centennial (large seed size) and CDC Prosper (small seed size) will also be available in 2013.

Looking Ahead

Breeder seed of CDC Amarillo (2462-30) was released for the first time in 2012. CDC Amarillo has had strong yield performance in SK regional trials over the past two years with a mean yield when compared to Cutlass of 119 per cent in the south and 131 per cent in the north. CDC Amarillo is relatively tall, with one of the best lodging resistance ratings among pea varieties in Western Canada.

Market Class: Green Peas

In the Market

For the sixth year in a row, CDC Striker was the most widely grown green pea variety. It has been popular with growers due to its consistently high yield, lodging resistance, and smooth, round, and durable seeds. It also has excellent bleaching resistance and is preferred in the market. CDC Patrick was the second most widely grown green pea variety in 2012. On average, it is actually higher yielding than CDC Striker and CDC Sage, while maintaining good seed quality. CDC Patrick generally performs better in somewhat drier seasons, as compared to years with more precipitation. CDC Sage was the third most widely grown green pea variety. It has smaller seed size when compared to CDC Striker and a high quality level as well. Cooper and Espace were the next most widely grown green pea varieties in 2012.

CDC Tetris is an ‘Espace type’ variety with blocky seed shape, which has specific demand in China for snack food markets. Certified seed of CDC Tetris will start to become available in 2013.

CDC Pluto is a green pea variety with small, round seeds and good bleaching resistance. Also, it has an intense green colour, which should fit well into rehydration and canning markets. Certified seed of CDC Pluto should become available in 2014.

New Varieties

Certified seed of CDC Raezer should become available in 2014 or 2015. It has good yield (when compared to Cutlass, 102 per cent in the south and 108 per cent in the north), with powdery mildew resistance and a seed type, similar to CDC Striker.

Looking Ahead

Breeder seed of CDC Limerick (2336-1) was released for the first time in 2012. CDC Limerick has had strong yield performance in Saskatchewan regional trials over the past two years with mean yield (when compared to Cutlass) of 108 per cent in the south and 114 per cent in the north. CDC Limerick has nice seed traits, but with a greater protein concentration than other green or yellow pea varieties. This may provide an advantage in fractionation markets.

Speciality Market Class: Dun, Maple, and Forage Pea

In the Market

CDC Rocket and CDC Acer are the dominant maple pea varieties in SK. CDC Rocket fits better in the northern part of the province due to its earlier maturity, while CDC Acer fits better in the south.

CDC Tucker, CDC Leroy, and CDC Horizon are forage pea varieties with high biomass yield, powdery mildew resistance, good lodging resistance, and semi-leafless leaf type. These varieties produce on average four to five tonnes per acre of forage dry matter, similar to that of forage barley, but with greater protein concentration.

New Varieties

CDC Mosaic is a new maple pea variety that is a similar seed type as CDC Acer, but with improved lodging resistance. Certified seed of CDC Mosaic should come available in 2014. Breeder seed of the dun pea variety CDC Dakota was first released in 2010. It has been one of the top yielders in the SK regional trial in 2010-2012. The dun type would typically be dehulled and sold in human consumption markets in India. Certified seed of CDC Dakota should become available in limited quantities in 2013.

Looking Ahead

Over the next couple of years, expect to see new forage, maple, and dun pea varieties with improvements over previous varieties. In addition, we may release Breeder seed of a red cotyledon pea variety in 2013.

Lentil

The Variety Release Program was designed to allow growers in all lentil-growing areas to have widespread and rapid access to new genetics. By staying in touch with your local seed growers and using the seed guide, you should be able to identify the variety most likely to perform well in your area under your soil and climate conditions.

The lentil crop is dynamic because seed multiplication ratios are high, especially for small-seeded market classes. Lately, we have had some exceptional years for moisture in most of the lentil growing area, so no one knows if the current scenarios (in terms of variety performance) will shift if the weather pendulum swings back to drier conditions. In the 2013 seed guide, a significant change is that all lentil yield data were expressed in terms of percentage of CDC Maxim red lentil, the most widely grown variety today. Some of the older varieties with little current production were removed from the list. The basic goals of the breeding program remain the development of new herbicide options for lentils, improved disease resistance, improved quality, and, of course, higher yield.

Market Class: Large Green

In the Market

Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) insures about 80 per cent of the lentil crop. Of the reported variety acres, CDC Greenland is still the most widely grown large green lentil (about 50 per cent of the acres). Its superior colour retention can result in premiums. The older large green varieties are pretty much gone. The imidazolinone-tolerant large greens like CDC Improve (20 per cent) are gaining ground but not necessarily in areas where Group 2 resistant weeds are now a problem. CDC Impower is still in the ramping up stage (about 5 per cent). All others have declined to 5 per cent or below of large green acres.

New Varieties

Breeder seed of CDC Greenstar (formerly known as 3339-3) will be available in the spring of 2013. The winter and summer increases were successful so there will be no shortage of seed. This line consistently outyields all other large green lentils and, so far, is rated at 105 per cent of CDC Maxim. Head to head with all the other large greens, based on about 60 trials in total over the past four years, we are looking at a minimum increase in yield of 10 per cent. It has better anthracnose resistance ratings than all other large greens. The seed is larger than most other varieties, slightly smaller than CDC Improve.

Looking Ahead

We are definitely on course for developing an imidazolinone version of CDC Greenstar for release within two years.

Market Class: Other Greens and Specialty Lentils

In the Market

For small green acres where variety is reported, about 55 per cent are CDC Invincible and about 35 per cent are CDC Viceroy. All other small green varieties and all other market classes make up the rest, each variety all of them less than 4 per cent. The total reported for French green varieties was a little over 20,000 acres, about 40 per cent CDC Peridot and 20 per cent LeMay of the acres reported by variety.

New Varieties

CDC Asterix is an up and coming extra small green variety with seed about 20 per cent smaller compared to CDC Viceroy. It is a conventional type with some possibility for specialized marketing in specific regions.

Looking Ahead

In 2013, we plan to release breeder seed of the conventional French green variety CDC Marble in 2013 (yield is 119 per cent of Maxim so far) and possibly 3592-13 small green (110 per cent of Maxim). CDC Marble consistently outyields all other lentil lines regardless of market class, and we are using it to establish new higher yielding genetic base for all market classes. All varieties are on track for conversion to imidazolinone tolerance.

Market Class: Red Lentils In the Market

We estimate that 65 per cent of the 830,000 million red lentil acres reported by SCIC in 2011 were CDC Maxim, and the real figure could be higher if all acres were reported by variety. The extra small red varieties CDC Rosetown, CDC Imperial, and CDC Impala in total are now less than 2 per cent of the area. No one yet knows if a return to drier conditions will undermine the yield performance of CDC Maxim, which so far has done well in years with above average moisture.

New Varieties

New varieties like CDC Dazil (CL), CDC Imax (CL), and conventional varieties like CDC Redcoat, CDC Redcliff, CDC Redbow, and CDC Rosebud are grown on a very limited scale right now because they were released after CDC Maxim. As growers try them out, local performance will determine which of these become more widely grown. We recommend that growers pay attention to what performs well in their area. We know from previous experience that if we enter a drier cycle, red lentil performance can shift to favour the longer season varieties.

Looking Ahead

CDC Scarlet (small red) and CDC Rosie (extra small), both conventional types, show some promise. All have high yield potential and good lodging tolerance. All promising conventional varieties are in the process of conversion to imidazolinone tolerant varieties.

Chickpeas

We continue to develop high-yielding chickpea cultivars with improved resistance to ascochyta blight and general agronomic traits with acceptable seed quality for domestic and international markets. Specific objectives for kabuli chickpea breeding include developing cultivars with various seed sizes, acceptable visual seed characteristics, and canning/ cooking quality. For desi chickpea, specific objectives for breeding include developing cultivars with acceptable visual seed characters (shape, size, colour).

In 2012, we saw CDC Frontier dominate the production side. Growers should consider switching to new varieties that have higher yield potential as soon as seeds become available. As with all chickpea varieties, initial fungicide application is needed at the seedling to pre-flowering stage, in order to limit early ascochyta blight spore development and spread. Growers are required to diligently monitor their fields for disease and spray decision if necessary. Chickpeas should be planted on stubble, especially in wet years – avoid lower-lying or poorly drained fields and heavy clay soil that retains moisture.

In the Market

The last kabuli cultivar, CDC Leader, was released to select growers in 2011. The average seed weight of CDC Leader is around 390–400g per 1,000 seeds (9–10 mm diameter). CDC Leader is an earlier maturing cultivar than CDC Frontier. It has fair resistance to ascochyta blight.

CDC Leader so far had consistently high yield, comparable to CDC Frontier, on both Brown and Dark Brown soil zones. CDC Orion and CDC Alma were released to select growers in 2010. CDC Orion is a large seeded (10–11 mm diameter) kabuli cultivar. CDC Orion has a good adaptation on both Brown and Dark Brown soil zones of southern Saskatchewan and southeastern of Alberta. CDC Orion is on the late side on maturity similar to CDC Frontier. CDC Alma is a medium-to-large seed size (9-mm diameter) kabuli, slightly larger than CDC Frontier. CDC Alma has the higher end of fair rating for ascochyta blight, similar to CDC Luna. Growers are required to monitor their fields diligently for disease and spray if necessary.

New Varieties

A limited amount of seed for a new desi cultivar, CDC 603-3, will be available to select growers in 2013. CDC 603-3 has a light tan seed coat colour, which is one of the desirable visual seed characteristics of desi. The longterm (five years) yield average of CDC 603-3 is 110 per cent of the check cultivar (Amit) on both Brown and Dark Brown Soil zone. The average seed size of CDC603-3 is 306g/1,000 seeds, with a long-term ascochyta score of 4.1. CDC 603-3 has a medium-to-late maturity range similar to CDC Vanguard.