New varieties could supplant a favourite of green pea producers in Saskatchewan.
CDC Striker, which was released more than a decade ago, dominates acres dedicated to the specialty crop.
“It does underline that Striker is a good performer, has good seed quality, that is appreciated by the industry,” Tom Warkentin, a pulse breeder at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre, told CropSphere in Saskatoon Jan. 14.
Striker yields well and has positive lodging and bleaching resistance.
Fewer green peas are produced in the province than yellow.
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Warkentin said 100,000 insured acres of Striker were grown last year, while CDC Meadow, a popular variety of yellow peas, pushed 600,000 acres.
This year, the CDC will be releasing a new green pea variety dubbed Greenwater.
“Sounds a little like algae, but it’s also one of the parks in the province,” said Warkentin.
The new variety is yielding as much as 12 percent more than the check. Its lodging rating matches Striker’s, although seed weight is slightly smaller.
“It’s good yielding, both in the south and the northern part of the province,” Warkentin said.
“With the data that we have so far, it’s the highest yielder of the green types.”
Other varieties that the CDC has released recently and are on their way to commercial production, such as Raezer and Limerick, also show better yields.
For yellow peas, the CDC has two experimental lines that look promising, said Warkentin.
Early signs show one line may out yield Amarillo in southern Saskatchewan, which already outperforms the check variety, but the decision to release them will be made following another growing season.
He said breeders have been able to effectively manage powdery mildew, but better root rot and ascochyta blight resistance, as well as improved heat tolerance, remain long-term goals.
“My theory is the reason we had such good yields in 2013 is because the temperature was hovering around 23, not 29, for most of July,” said Warkentin.
“The lack of the nice hot weather led to the good yields.”
