2023 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 Research 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 2023, 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 entries 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 2023 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

Qasim Khan, Research Scientist, Southern Ag. Research Center
748 Railroad Hwy Huntley, MT 59037
(406) 348-3400, qkhan@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

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

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

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 

Andy Draeger
Meridian Seeds
216553 37th St. SE, Suite 3, Mapleton, ND
(204) 988-4681, adraeger@meridianseeds.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 

Nick Shores
Limagrain Cereal Seeds (LCS)
7292 Greenridge Rd #106 Windsor, CO 80550
(701) 715-2538, nick.shores@limagrain.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

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 dozen years the Montana State University Agricultural Experiment Stations have conducted annual pulse crop variety evaluations across the state of Montana to assist in improving yield and quality of these crops. The Montana State University Eastern Agricultural Research Center (EARC) in Sidney, MT is currently coordinating these efforts. In 2023, trials were conducted at four 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

Eight 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 experimental lines for evaluation in 2023. 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. Crops were planted at four dryland locations (Conrad, Havre, Huntley, and Richland) and one irrigated location (Sidney).

Seeds for all entries were tested for germination 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 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 2023.

†EARC = Eastern Agricultural Research Center, NARC = Northern Agricultural Research Center, SARC = Southern
Agricultural Research Center, WTARC = Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center, ‘X’ indicates the
collaborator participated for the specific crop variety evaluation in 2023.

Precipitation and Management 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, data for May 2023 is unavailable

Table 3. Major agronomic management practices for each location in 2023

List of Varieties

Table 4 includes the list of varieties and experimental lines evaluated in 2023. 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 2023 variety evaluation trials.

Results

Dry Pea Variety Evaluation in 2023

Forty-nine dry pea varieties and experimental lines (35 yellow and 14 green) were evaluated in 2023 at five locations.Five yellow pea and two green pea cultivars were selected as check varieties and tested at all locations. Five 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 2023 dry pea variety evaluations are presented in Tables 5-10 for yellow peas and Tables 11-16 for green peas. Reported data include yield, protein, thousand kernel weight, test weight, plant height at harvest and days to flowering. Three-year yield and protein averages for 2021 through 2023 are presented for those entries with three years of data. Protein averages are only presented for the Richland and Sidney locations as these data were collected on a single instrument employing the same protein prediction model.

Irrigated yellow pea yields in Sidney averaged 5422 lb/a in 2023. Two inches of water was applied to this trial during two one-inch irrigations in June. Seasonal rainfall was less than one inch above normal. Flowering initiated about ten days early at this location following a warm May. A cool June facilitated excellent crop development and an early harvest. Only one yellow pea entry (PS17100008) and one green pea entry (Aragorn) experienced significant lodgingresulting in yield loss (due to pigeon feeding). The remaining entries stood up well under significant pod loads. However, some entries were beginning to lean prior to harvest and no significant wind or hail events were experienced.

Spring snowstorms delayed planting of the Richland trial until May 17th which is two to three weeks later than normal. This was followed by a dry June and July. However, pea yields were better than expected given the circumstance with yellow peas averaging 2198 lb/a. The trial received four inches of rain at the very end of July. Included were two thunderstorms bringing wind and some hail. These storms occurred as the pea trial was approaching physiological maturity and final dry down. Earlier maturing varieties sustained significant shatter loss. Later maturing varieties were much less affected. Data from this trial should be evaluated with this occurrence in mind.

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 three-year averages in parentheses

Table 7. Yellow Dry Pea Thousand Kernel Weight (g)

Table 8. Yellow Dry Pea Test Weight (lb/bu)

Table 9. Yellow Dry Pea Plant Height at Maturity (cm)

Table 10. Yellow Dry Pea Days to Flowering

Table 11. Green Dry Pea Grain Yield (lb/a) with three-year averages in parentheses

Table 12. Green Dry Pea Protein (% Dry Matter Basis) with three-year averages in parentheses

Table 13. Green Dry Pea Thousand Kernel Weight (g)

Table 14. Green Dry Pea Test Weight (lb/bu)

Table 15. Green Dry Pea Plant Height at Maturity (cm)

Table 16. Green Dry Pea Days to Flowering

Lentil Variety Evaluation in 2023

The 2023 lentil variety evaluation included 14 lentil entries (two small red lentils and twelve green lentils with small, medium, and large green entries represented). Results of the 2023 lentil variety evaluations are presented in Tables 17-19. Reported data include yield, thousand kernel weight, test weight, plant height at harvest and days to flowering. Three-year averages for 2021 through 2023 are presented for entries with three years of data. Lentil trials planted at Conrad, Havre, and Huntley were all lost to herbicide damage and/or weed pressure.

Irrigated lentil yields in Sidney were excellent. Warm temperatures in May followed by cooler than average temperatures in June allowed for favorable crop development and an early harvest. Grasshoppers were more prevalent in the 2023 Sidney trial than in 2022. However, harvest concluded prior to the occurrence of significant damage.

A late planting and a lack of rainfall in June and July resulted in a poor lentil crop at Richland. Four inches of rain at the end of July also caused the green up of most but not all entries. These entries also initiated a second round of flowering and pod set in early to mid-August. The crop was harvested prior to the maturation of seed from the second round of pod set to prevent shatter loss of the earlier matured seed.

Table 17. Lentil Grain Yield (lb/a) with three-year averages in parentheses

Table 18. Lentil Thousand Kernel Weight (g) & Test Weight (lb/bu)

Table 19. Lentil Plant Height (cm) & Days to Flowering

Chickpea Variety Evaluation in 2023

The 2023 statewide chickpea variety evaluation included seventeen entries (12 Kabuli type and five Desi type).Included were 16 cultivars and 1 breeding line. Data are presented for four dryland locations and one irrigated location in Tables 20-24. Average yield for the three-year period, 2021 through 2023, is presented for those entries that were trialed in all three years.

Irrigated chickpea yields in Sidney fell between 2021 and 2022 yields. As with peas and lentils, chickpeas flowered earlier than usual in Sidney. Ascochyta blight was managed with three fungicide applications beginning at flowering in mid-June. A fourth fungicide application may have benefited the crop as yields of the most sensitive cultivars ranked at the bottom of the trial.

Yields in Richland were average but better than expected following a late planting date and a lack of rainfall in June and July. Chickpea entries in Richland were selectively grazed by jackrabbits and antelope with cultivar ‘Royal’ being most affected. The Richland location also received four inches of rain at the end of July resulting in an extension of the flowering period for most entries. This delayed harvest to mid-September and made for challenging harvest conditions. Pods set from these later flowers were mostly devoid of seed and contributed little to yield.

Table 20. Chickpea Grain yield (lb/a) with three-year averages in parentheses

*Note: Antelope damage at Richland was observed throughout the growing season and was entry specific with the most significant damage on cultivar ‘Royal’.

Table 21. Chickpea Test Weight (lb/bu)

Table 22. Chickpea Seed Size (% greater than 8.73 mm)

Table 23. Chickpea Plant Height (cm)

Table 23. Chickpea Days to Flowering

Future Plans

The EARC will continue to lead the statewide variety evaluations in the coming years provided 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.