Pea productivity is not keeping pace with other crops around the world, a problem that has become especially worrisome in Saskatchewan’s black soil zone.
“If we start falling further and further behind some of these other world crops, then that impacts our competitiveness,” said Garth Patterson, executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers.
Bert Vandenberg, pulse breeder at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre, told growers attending Pulse Days 2009 in Saskatoon that while global production of crops such as wheat, rice and corn have doubled or tripled since the 1960s, pulse output has risen only 50 percent, with much of the growth occurring in Canada.
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“There used to be less soybeans in the 1960s than all pulses,” he said.
Global production of soybeans has soared to 210 million tonnes per year from 33 million tonnes in the 1960s, while pulse output has risen to 60 million tonnes from 43 million tonnes.
Pea production didn’t increase at all during those four decades, while lentils led the way for pulses with a 6.8 percent annual growth rate, mainly because they cook fast, saving time and money.
Pulse consumption has grown by 1.4 percent a year since the 1960s, which is below the 1.8 percent world population growth rate over the past 25 years.
Patterson said the inescapable conclusion is that it is time to address the low pea yield issues before the problem becomes more widespread.
The issue has become particularly acute in Saskatchewan’s highly productive black soil zone, where peas are losing ground to canola in terms of profitability and productivity.
Anecdotal observations in that region suggest the disappointing pea yields could have something to do with allelopathy, in which the residue of one crop affects the growth of the following crop in the rotation.
“There is definitely something going on with canola and peas in rotation in the black soil zone,” Patterson said.
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers is putting together a “pea cropportunity” team, a panel of experts who will develop a long-term plan for addressing stagnant pea yields and how to rescue the crop in the black soil zone.
“We have identified a problem, we haven’t identified how to address it,” Patterson said.
“We’re in the early stages.”
He thinks the solution will probably be a multi-pronged approach that involves genetic enhancements and agronomic improvements.
The timing is right for tackling such an issue. Due to vastly increased check-off revenues, the association is boosting its 2008-09 research and development budget to $5.6 million, up from $4.02 million in 2007-08.
Despite the challenges facing peas, Canadian growers planted four million acres of the crop last spring, up 10 percent from the previous year. Patterson said there is still room for growth in the brown and dark brown soil zones.
