Pulse production has been booming in Canada since the 1990s. Today, this $1 trillion a year industry sees Canada as the world’s largest exporter of peas and lentils as well as a global leader in bean and chickpea exports.
At the very core of this agricultural success story is the quality of Canadian seed. That’s why testing seed for germination, disease levels and purity is key to ensuring continued high yields and superior quality. It’s also very important to scout for weed, disease and insect pressure throughout the season.
A unique and beneficial trait of legumes is that pulses take in atmospheric nitrogen and can convert it to meet 60-80% of nitrogen requirements. This can reduce the need to apply nitrogen fertilizer in current pulse crops and can lower nitrogen requirements in next year’s crops, particularly in cereals and oilseeds.