Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm — Pulse crop conditions in Saskatchewan depend on where you are in the province, said an agronomist for Saskatchewan Pulse Growers as well as a specialist with the Government of Saskatchewan.
Michael Brown, an agronomy manager for SPG specializing in lentils, chickpeas and dry peas, has heard reports of crops affected by both ends of the spectrum when it comes to weather.
“It’s quite variable across the province in all pulses. Some areas look quite good. There are areas that have seen heavy rain (where) low spots have drowned out and there are areas that are extremely dry,” Brown said.
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Tyce Masich, a crop extension specialist with the province, said pulses in western areas of Saskatchewan are struggling.
“Provincially, approximately 60 to 70 per cent of lentils, field peas, and chickpeas are in good to excellent growing conditions, and the remaining 30 to 40 per cent are in fair to poor condition,” Masich said.
“Pulse crops in much of the northwest and southwest regions are struggling due to persistent dry conditions in these areas and some crops in these areas are ahead of normal growth stages. This means that crops are maturing quicker due to stress from dry conditions.”
Severe weather has hit the province in recent weeks, but damages to pulse crops appear to be minimal.
“There has been hail in some areas. Smaller hail during vegetative stages wouldn’t affect pulses too much, but larger hail like we saw in Lumsden or hail into flowering and podding can cause large yield losses and reduction in grade,” Brown explained.
”Some producers in areas that have received high levels of rainfall in late June and early July are spraying fungicides to mitigate disease risk,” Masich added.
There is expected to be more pulse acres grown in Saskatchewan this year. In Statistics Canada’s latest estimates released on June 27, the projected areas for chickpeas, lentils and dry peas in Saskatchewan are set to increase modestly compared to last year. However, dry pea acres were trimmed from StatCan’s March estimate.
Brown identified the drivers behind the additional acres, both in terms of economics and agronomics.
“Strong market prices played a big part in the increase. Factor in some of the reduced input costs with pulses and the potential net return was attractive to producers,” he said. “We also heard of some pea and lentil acres that are fighting Aphanomyces shifting to chickpeas as they have partial resistance.”
To have good crops this year, moderate temperatures and plenty of rain are needed.
“Temperatures in the mid-20 (degrees Celsius) would be ideal. When it starts getting too hot, the plants get stressed and we start to see some flower and pod abortion,” Brown said. “A lot of the province is still teetering between adequate and short for soil moisture and we’ll need some July rains to carry through to harvest.”
“Producers are highly encouraged to scout fields for disease and insect activity over the next few weeks so potential control can be taken at optimal times if necessary,” Masich said.
