Winter Pea and Lentil Response to Seeding Date and Micro‐ and Macro‐Environments

Abstract

Winter pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) have potential agronomic advantages over spring types in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and northern Great Plains (NGP). The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine suitable seeding date and cereal stubble height in no‐till systems for winter pea and lentil; (ii) quantify and compare biomass and seed yield of winter pea and lentil with spring types; and (iii) compare adaptation of winter pea and lentil between the PNW and the NGP. Two breeding lines each of winter pea (PS9430706 and PS9530726) and winter lentil [LC9979010 (‘Morton’) and LC9976079] and two commercial cultivars each of spring pea (CDC Mozart and Delta) and spring lentil (Brewer and CDC Richlea) were sown on different dates (early and late fall dates for winter lines and spring date only for spring cultivars) and into different stubble heights (0.1 and 0.3 m) and compared for yield and agronomic adaptation in no‐till systems at four locations: Moccasin and Amsterdam, MT; Genesee, ID; and Rosalia, WA. Stubble height did not influence winter or spring pea biomass production or seed yield. Tall stubble increased lentil biomass by 220 to 530 kg ha−1 and seed yield by 100 to 260 kg ha−1 in five out of nine site–years. Fall‐seeded winter pea lines produced as much as 1830 kg ha−1 more seed yield than spring cultivars at the PNW sites, but not at the NGP sites. Early fall‐seeded lentil yielded as much as 480 and 590 kg ha−1 greater than spring types in the NGP and PNW, respectively. Delayed fall seeding and reduced stubble height decreased yields more frequently in the NGP than in the PNW.

Winter Pea: Promising New Crop for Washington's Dryland Wheat-Fallow Region

“…Such observations of higher yield potential with WP compared to spring pea are not in general agreement with the much more comprehensive data sets from the Canadian and US northern Great Plains where winter temperatures are considerably colder than in the PNW. Chen et al (2006) found that WP cultivars did not have a yield advantage over spring pea in central and south-central Montana. Similarly Strydhorst et al (2015) recommended that farmers consider WP over spring pea only in the southernmost locations in Alberta.…”

“…Pulse crops are cool-season annual grain legumes mostly grown in the northern tier states of North Dakota and Montana, the high-precipitation (>450 mm average annual) Palouse region of Washington and Idaho (NASS, 2017), and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (Statistics Canada, 2017). During the past 20 years, pulse crops have become an integral component of diversified and profitable dryland cropping systems in the Canadian and US northern Great Plains (Miller et al, 2003(Miller et al, , 2015Chen et al, 2006;Long et al, 2014).…”

“…Experience in east-central Washington has demonstrated that water and heat stresses during flowering and pod fill limits yield potential of spring pea whereas WP better avoids such abiotic stresses by reaching physiological maturity before the onset of high air temperatures (Nelson, 2017). Chen et al (2006) reported that fall-planted WP in the highprecipitation Palouse of the PNW yielded as much as 1,830 kg/ha more than spring-planted pea cultivars. This (Chen et al, 2006) is the only published paper of such nature on WP in the PNW.…”

“…Chen et al (2006) reported that fall-planted WP in the highprecipitation Palouse of the PNW yielded as much as 1,830 kg/ha more than spring-planted pea cultivars. This (Chen et al, 2006) is the only published paper of such nature on WP in the PNW. Such observations of higher yield potential with WP compared to spring pea are not in general agreement with the much more comprehensive data sets from the Canadian and US northern Great Plains where winter temperatures are considerably colder than in the PNW.…”

Integrating Historic Agronomic and Policy Lessons with New Technologies to Drive Farmer Decisions for Farm and Climate: The Case of Inland Pacific Northwestern U.S.

“…Biomass production is critical for maintaining seed-zone soil moisture in notill fallow. Chen et al (2006) demonstrated that tall stubble improved yields of winter lentil (Lens culinaris). Producers normally grow short, semi-dwarf varieties of winter wheat in this area, however, some farmers are starting to grow tricale (×Triticale Wittmack) which produces 50% more crop residue than semi-dwarf wheat in high residue farming systems (Port, 2016).…”