This article appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of Pulse Crop News.

Viterra Alberta Bean Division

The Viterra Alberta Bean Division held grower meetings in Taber and Burdett in February. Attendance was excellent as usual.

The meetings included an update on Viterra corporate and Alberta Bean from the Director of Special Crops, Blair Roth, followed by operations and marketing updates by Owen Cleland and Keven Sawchuk, respectively. Jim Rex gave an overview of on the ABD field variety trial results from 2014 and what the seed outlook was going to be like for 2015.

This led nicely into Dr. Parthiba Balasubramanian’s report on the Ag Canada dry bean breeding program. He provided some insight into what new lines are coming in the near future. Adam Unruh gave a report on his analysis of the 2014 pinto harvest data which broke out how different harvest methods impacted dockage, foreign material and splits. Then the grower awards were presented, with the High Yield going to John Wolosuk from Vauxhall, with the variety “Medicine Hat”, a pinto type bean, which yielded 3,673 lbs. per acre.

The Quality Award went to John and Penny Hopkins from Burdett with a very nice sample of the variety “AC Black Diamond”, a black bean type. After lunch, Dr. Syama Chatterton gave an overview on her work on Bacterial Blight. She noted the importance of quality seed and a good breeding program, and being ready to treat when it is needed to stay on top of the blight issue.

Then it was time to hear from Doon Pauly and Pat Pfiffner on their Bean Nutrient Trials and find out how intensively you can manage the crop to obtain yield and quality. The final speaker of the day was Brian Storozynsky, who shared the data from his White Mould Control Plots.