President's Message

By Lorne Crosson, SSCA President

The long cool and damp spring we experienced this year enticed me to have a close look at the precipitation records I have been keeping for our farm since 1976. In the chart below notice how the April to October precipitation varied in regular 4 year cycles between 1978 and 1986. The 4 year trend was broken with a peak 3 years later in 1989, followed by another peak 4 years later in 1993 and another peak 2 years later in 1995. The growing season precipitation (May to July) followed the same general trend with the exception of 1985 when most of the precipitation came after the growing season. This year April precipitation is higher and May precipitation about the same as the 20 year average. What are your guesses for precipitation the remainder of this growing season?

Precipitation and temperature play a very important role in selecting crops to grow in the brown soil zone where I live. I have been continuous cropping wheat and durum alternately for a number of years even though a cereal-cereal rotation is not ideal. The choice of alternative crops to the cereals is not large. Flax and mustard (and possibly canola) are suitable oil seed crops but a legume crop would be more desirable. Addition of a legume to the rotation would help to maintain the organic matter in the soil and, as a bonus, reduce fertilizer costs in the following crop. Lentils are grown in this area but they leave very little residue on the surface after harvest subjecting the soil to wind and water erosion until another crop is established. Field peas on the other hand provide a respectable amount of residue after harvest.

Until recently it has been assumed that the brown soil zone is too hot and dry for growing field peas. The use of direct seeding may have changed that. Cutforth and McConkey at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre (SPARC) reported that wheat seeded into tall wheat stubble yielded 10 to 12% more grain than wheat seeded into a cultivated seedbed. The tall stubble altered the micro climate enough near the ground to provide for more efficient use of moisture. The same may hold true for peas. Recently a number of researchers, including Slinkard (Crop Development Center, U of S), Lafond (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Indian Head), Miller (SPARC), McAndrew (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Morden) and others, have reported that peas do very well under direct seeding.

In plots at Assiniboia and Swift Current, Miller found that field peas yielded an impressive one third more than wheat when grown on cereal stubble. By direct seeding peas into tall cereal stubble, the pea seedlings are protected from winds and high temperatures and more moisture is available for plant growth. Add early spring seeding to allow the peas to get through the bloom stage before high temperatures hit in July and they may be a success in the brown soil zone.

Miller has advised caution in drawing conclusions from his results since the last few years have been cooler and wetter than normal. According to the precipitation records from our farm about 16 km west of Assiniboia, there has been a change in precipitation patterns over the last five years. As you can see from the following figure, on average between 1991 and 1995 we received less precipitation in May, September and October and more in April, June, July and August than on average during the previous 15 years (1976-1990).

These changes in precipitation patterns combined with lower than normal spring and early summer temperatures may have made conditions more favorable for growing field peas.

Some of my neighbors have been growing field peas successfully for several years and more and more farmers in the area are adding them to their rotation. Last year I grew peas for the first time and was suitably impressed to grow them again this year. I hope to alternate peas with spring or durum wheat, and maybe add an oilseed in the future. I'm counting on direct seeding to get the peas through the drier years. The ability of direct seeding to moderate the micro climate enough to allow farmers to consistently grow field peas in the brown soil zone is a subject worthy of further research. Tell us about your experience growing field peas in the brown soil zone by writing or calling the SSCA head office or myself.