2022 Montana Cool-Season Spring Pulse Variety Evaluation Annual Report

Prepared By: William Franck, Sooyoung Franck and Chengci Chen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Montana State University Eastern Agricultural Station in Sidney, MT coordinates an annual variety evaluation for cool season spring pulse crops (dry pea, lentil and chickpea) at multiple locations across the state of Montana. In 2022, funding for this project was obtained from the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, and testing fees from private entities submitting varieties and experimental lines for evaluation. The results provided in this report reflect the efforts of a large team of individuals from the Montana State University Agricultural Experiment Stations, Montana State University Extension, industrial partners from the seed industry and cooperating producers. The following list provides contact information for many of the individuals involved in the 2022 variety evaluation.

Montana State University

Chengci Chen: Superintendent/Professor, Eastern Ag. Research Center
1501 North Central Ave, Sidney, MT 59270
(406) 433-2208, cchen@montana.edu

William Franck: Research Scientist, Eastern Ag. Research Center
1501 North Central Ave, Sidney, MT 59270
(406) 433-2208, william.franck@montana.edu

Kevin McPhee: Professor, Pulse Breeder, Plant Science and Plant Pathology
Bozeman, MT 59717
(406) 994-5156; kevin.mcphee@montana.edu 

Sooyoung Franck: Research Associate, Eastern Ag. Research Center
1501 North Central Ave, Sidney, MT 59270
(406) 433-2208, sooyoung.franck@montana.edu

Justin Vetch: Superintendent/Assistant Professor, Western Triangle Ag. Research Center
9546 Old Shelby Road, Conrad, MT 59425
(406) 278-7707, justin.vetch1@montana.edu

Peggy Lamb: Research Scientist, Northern Ag. Research Center
3710 Assiniboine Road Havre, MT 59501
(406) 265-6115, plamb@montana.edu

Inga Hawbaker, Daniels County Extension Agent
106 Railroad Ave East Scobey, MT 59263
(406) 487-2861, inga.hawbaker@montana.edu

Shelley Mills, Valley County Extension Agent
501 Court Square Glasgow, MT 59230
(406) 228-6241, smills@montana.edu

USDA - Agricultural Research Service

George Vandemark: Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS
Pullman, WA 99164
(509) 335-7728, George.vandemark@ars.usda.gov

Rebecca McGee: Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS
Pullman, WA 99164
(509) 335-0300, Rebecca.mcgee@ars.usda.gov

North Dakota State University

Nonoy Bandillo: Assistant Professor, Pulse Breeder, Department of Plant Science
Fargo, ND
(701) 231-8056, nonoy.bandillo@ndsu.edu

University of Saskatchewan

Bunyamin Tar’an: Professor, Chickpea Breeder, Department of Plant Sciences
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2103, bunyamin.taran@usask.ca

Producers

Richard Fulton: Richland, MT

Marvin Tarum: Richland, MT

Industries

USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council
2780 W. Pullman Road Moscow, ID 83843
(208) 882-3023
pulse@pea-lentil.com; www.pea-lentil.com 

Kurt Braunwart, Nancy Powell, and Mike Wood
ProGene
860 S. Crestline Othello, WA, 99344
(509) 448-3977, kurt@progenellc.com; nancy@progenellc.com; mike@progenellc.com 

Mark Kok
Valesco Genetics
PO Box 128, Plaza, ND 58771
(701) 898-0647, mark@Greatnorthernag.com

Northern Pulse Growers Association
1710 Burnt Boat Drive Bismarck, ND 58503
(701) 222-0128, info@northernpulse.com; www.northernpulse.com

Mick Miller
WinField United
PO Box 591, Fairfield, MT 59436
(406) 217-2294, mmiller5@landolakes.com 

Ben Larson
Premier Genetics
33602 Highway 2 West, Berthold, ND 58718 
(406) 480-7812, ben@premiergeneticsllc.com 

Chad D. Anderson
ND Crop Improvement and Seed Assoc.
PO Box 5084 West Fargo, ND 58078
(701) 893-6069, chad@ndcropimprovement.com 

Charlie Cahill
Cahill Seeds
669 Highway 5, Scobey, MT 59263
(406) 783-5510, cahillseeds@nemontel.net 

Washington State Crop Improvement Assoc.
2575 NE Hopkins Court Pullman, WA 99163
(509) 334-0461, www.washingtoncrop.com

Tyler Kress
Pulse USA
2002 Northern Plains Drive
Bismarck, ND 58504
(701) 530-0734, tyler@pulseusa.com 

Martin Hochhalter
Meridian Seeds
216553 37th St. SE, Suite 3, Mapleton, ND
(204) 988-4681, mhochhalter@meridianseeds.com 

DISCLAIMER

The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station is implied. The results of individual trials and studies are considered to be of a PRELIMINARY nature and should NOT be considered as a product endorsement or recommendation for commercial use.

Project Description and Objective

Project Description

Cool season spring pulse crop (dry pea, lentil and chickpea) acreage in Montana has increased more than 10 fold in the past two decades. For more than a decade the Montana State University Agricultural Experiment Stations have conducted annual pulse crop variety evaluations across the state of Montana in an effort to improve yield and quality of these crops. The Montana State University Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) in Sidney, MT is currently coordinating these efforts. In 2022, trials were conducted at three MSU Agricultural Research Centers and a cooperating producer’s field south of Richland, Montana in the northeast corner of the state. The results reported herein are intended to aid producers, seed suppliers, breeders and the research community in variety development, selection and deployment. The report is available both in print and electronic formats and can be found at http://agresearch.montana.edu/earc/annualreports.html.

Objective

The objective of this project is to evaluate yield and seed quality parameters for dry pea, lentil and chickpea cultivars and lines selected by stakeholder input across a broad range of Montana environments targeting the major pulse growing regions of the state.

Methods

Procedures and Experimental Design

Seven dry pea, ten lentil and thirteen chickpea entries were selected by the EARC to trial at all locations. In addition, seed companies and pulse breeders with an interest in Montana pulse production were invited to submit cultivars or expermential lines for evaluation in 2022. Locations available for evaluation were indicated in the invitation letter and the selection of locations for each entry to be evaluated was determined by the submitting party. All three crops were planted at three dryland locations (Conrad, Havre, and Richland) and one irrigated location (Sidney). The trials at Conrad were lost to poor stand establishment and weed infestation.

Seeds for all entries were tested for germintation and treated with Obvius Fungicide (BASF Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC) and Cruiser 5FS Insecticide (Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., Greensboro, NC). Seeds were packaged on a per plot basis to obtain live seed rates of 8, 12 and 4 live seeds per ft2 for pea, lentil and chickpea, respectively. Seeds were sent to the cooperating research centers with an appropriate commercial rhizobial inoculant to be applied at planting. Research plots were planted in a randomized complete block design with four replicates per entry. Plot size varied amongst locations and was dictated by the equipment available at each location. Management practices vary by location but are consistent with typical practices for that region. In season measurements and harvest data were collected by each cooperating center and sent to the EARC for analysis. Grain yield data was adjusted to 13% moisture content to facilitate comparison across locations. Dry pea protein concentrations were determined for all pea samples by near- infrared spectroscopy (NIR) at the EARC in Sidney. Analysis of variance was performed in R (version 4.2.1) and Fisher’s LSD was performed from the agricolae package (version 1.3-5) for mean comparison whenever the F-test was significant at P<0.05.

List of Collaborators and Locations

The type of crop (pea, lentil and chickpea) and number of entries for each of these crops evaluated at the different locations varied from location to location depending on the interest of seed suppliers and availability of resources at the respective location. The list of locations, collaborators and the type of crops evaluated at each location is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Collaborators, locations and crops evaluated in 2022

†EARC = Eastern Agricultural Research Center, NARC = Northern Agricultural Research Center, WTARC = Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center, ‘X’ indicates the collaborator participated for the specific crop variety evaluation in 2022.

Precipitation and Cultural Practices

Precipitation, site information and agronomic management practices for the respective locations are summarized in Tables 2 and 3.

Table 2. Site characteristics for each trial location

* Data from Opheim, MT weather station US00246238 approximately 12 miles from trial location

Table 3. Major agronomic management practices for each location in 2022

List of Varieties

Table 4 includes the list of varieties and experimental lines evaluated in 2022. Additional information for these entries can be obtained by contacting the respective seed suppliers listed in the acknowledgements section. Entries listed in this table include varieties requested by seed suppliers, varieties selected as check varieties by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and experimental lines from the Montana State University, North Dakota State University and USDA-ARS pulse crop breeding programs.

Table 4. Dry pea, lentil and chickpea entries included in 2022 variety evaluation trials.

Results

Dry Pea Variety Evaluation in 2022

Forty two dry pea varieties and experimental lines (30 yellow and 12 green) were evaluated in 2022 at three locations.Two yellow pea and two green pea cultivars were selected as check varieties and tested at all locations.Six experimental lines originate from university and government breeding programs. The remaining entries are cultivars and breeding lines from private entities and were tested at locations requested by the seed supplier. Results are presented in two groups based on cotyledon color (yellow and green).

Results of the 2022 dry pea variety evaluations are presented in Tables 5-8 for yellow peas and Tables 9-12 for green peas. Reported data include yield, protein, thousand kernel weight, test weight, plant height at harvest and days to flowering.Three year yield averages for 2020 through 2022 are presented for entries with three years of data. Two year protein averages are presented for 2021 and 2022 for the Richland and Sidney locations as these data were collected on a single instrument employing the same protein prediction model.

Yields in 2022 improved at all locations relative to 2021. Spring soil moisture was poor and early season precipitation short at the Havre and Richland locations. However, better midseason rainfall brought April-to-August precipitation numbers closer to normal resulting in near average yields at these locations. A severe July windstorm at the Richland location produced moderate lodging across the entire trial. Some harvest lost was incurred for those entries that experienced the most lodging. Entries with excellent standability were largely unaffected. The Sidney location received abundant moisture during the planting season resulting in above normal precipitation for the growing season and reduced irrigation requirements. Pea yields for several entries at Sidney were adversely affected by lodging leading to yield losses from pigeon feeding. However, excellent yields were observed for several yellow pea cultivars.

Seed protein levels averaged across all locations were 25.9% for yellow peas and 26.2% for green peas. The range of observed protein values was 21.9% to 28.9% for yellow peas and 23.1% to 28.5% for green peas. Average protein values for 2022 were similar to 2021 at the individual locations. All seed protein data for 2022 is presented on a dry matter basis and was obtained from a single instrument allowing direct comparisons across locations.

Table 5. Yellow Dry Pea Grain Yield (lb/a) with three year averages in parentheses

Table 6. Yellow Dry Pea Protein (% Dry Matter Basis) with two year averages in parentheses

Table 7. Yellow Dry Pea Thousand Kernel Weight (g) & Test Weight (lb/bu)

Table 8. Yellow Dry Pea Plant Height (cm) & Days to Flowering

Table 9. Green Dry Pea Grain Yield (lb/a) with three year averages in parentheses

Table 10. Green Dry Pea Protein (% Dry Matter Basis) with two year averages in parentheses

Table 11. Green Dry Pea Thousand Kernel Weight (g) & Test Weight (lb/bu)

Table 12. Green Dry Pea Plant Height (cm) & Days to Flowering

Lentil Variety Evaluation in 2022

The 2022 lentil variety evaluation included thirteen lentil entries (two small red lentils and eleven green lentils with small, medium and large green entries represented) evaluated at three locations. Results of the 2022 lentil variety evaluations are presented in Tables 13-15. Reported data include yield, thousand kernel weight, test weight, plant height at harvest and days to flowering. Three year averages for 2020 through 2022 are presented for entries with three years of data.Grasshopper damage negatively impacted yields in Havre and Richland. In Sidney, wet conditions prior to and following planting resulted erratic plant emergence due to soil crusting. Efforts were made to break the crust prior to emergence with moderate but inconsistent success. Thus, yields in Sidney were adversely affected for all entries and those entries less able to cope with the crusts were more affected.

Table 13. Lentil Grain Yield (lb/a) with three year averages in parentheses

Table 14. Lentil Thousand Kernel Weight (g) & Test Weight (lb/bu)

Table 15. Lentil Plant Height (cm) & Days to Flowering

Chickpea Variety Evaluation in 2022

The 2022 statewide chickpea variety evaluation included seventeen entries (twelve Kabuli type and five Desi type). Two entries were breeding lines and the remaining fifteen were cultivars. Data are presented for two dryland locations and one irrigated location in Tables 16-18. Average yield for the three year period spanning 2020 though 2022 is presented for those entries that were trialed in all three years. Chickpea yields were excellent under irrigation in Sidney. Ascochyta pressure was modest in Sidney and four fungicide applications beginning at flowering effectively managed disease. Yields in Havre were average to slightly above average. All chickpeas entries at the Richland location were severely damaged by antelope early in the growing season resulting in lost yield potential. In addition, several entries (predominantly large sized kabuli chickpeas) were selectively grazed in Richland prior to harvest resulting in very low yields for those entries.

Table 16. Chickpea Grain yield (lb/a) with three year averages in parentheses

*Note: Antelope damage at Richland was significant throughout the growing season and several entries were stripped of pods prior to harvest resulting in very low yields for those entries.

Table 17. Chickpea Test Weight (lb/bu) & Seed Size (% greater than 8.73 mm)

* Note: Insufficient material was available to measure test weight for samples marked with an asterisk.

Table 18. Chickpea Plant Height (cm) & Days to Flowering

Future Plans

The EARC will continue to lead the statewide variety evaluations in the coming years as long as there is a need from pulse growers, seed industries, breeders, and there is funding to support the effort.

Note: The data and summaries presented in this report are for informational purposes only. Inclusion and or exclusion of any commercial variety in this summary does not constitute a recommendation by Montana State University Agricultural Experiment Station or EARC.

DISCLAIMER:

The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station is implied. The results of individual trials and studies are considered to be of a PRELIMINARY nature and should NOT be considered as a product endorsement or recommendation for commercial use.