New research is trying to improve dry bean production in southern Alberta, where most dry beans are sown under irrigation on heavily tilled soil that requires heavy inputs and is vulnerable to wind erosion.
Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Lethbridge, Alta., will investigate the potential of direct seeding and zero tillage for dry beans under irrigation, which would dramatically reduce input costs and erosion, says lead researcher Bob Blackshaw.
“Zero till is now widely used on dryland crops, but with the traditional specialty crops under irrigation, that’s not true,” he said.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
“We’re hoping to reduce soil erosion on these irrigated lands, because a lot of the crops that are grown don’t leave a lot of stubble on the surface to protect the land from wind erosion.”
Reduce spacing
Traditionally, beans have been grown using wide-row production, with three-quarter metre spacing between rows, Blackshaw said.
Research has shown that using upright cultivars suited to narrow row production has several advantages.
Upright cultivars keep plants off the ground, making them less susceptible to white mould, the number one disease threat in beans.
Narrow rows also help the crop compete with weeds, he said.
“Once we control the initial flush of weeds, the canopy closes in and the crop can be more competitive, so there’s less dependence on herbicides for weed control,” he said.
“It’s good news for lowering input costs and just generally applying less pesticides — because we’re applying less fungicide for disease and potentially less herbicide for weed control.”
Those benefits have sparked a movement toward breeding upright bean cultivars, which are more suitable for narrow row production and also for direct harvesting because the pods are actually up off the ground, Blackshaw said.
“That’s a real plus, especially if you’re a new grower, because you don’t have to purchase specialized seeding and harvesting equipment.”
Blackshaw believes this new research could further boost the sustainability of dry beans.
The study will run for the next five to seven years and will look at the potential for seeding dry beans into stubble.
The scientists will assess the effects of seeding dry beans into wheat, barley, flax and canola stubble, as well as into cover crops.
Cover crops, seeded in the fall and killed just before dry beans are seeded, add organic matter and nitrogen to the soil and suppress weeds, Blackshaw said.
