MarketsFarm — Harvests of Manitoba’s two major pulse crops are already seeing high yields, according to Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG) executive director Daryl Domitruk.
Despite a wide range of results across the province, Domitruk added that dry field pea yields were respectable in many places and excellent in others, marking a successful harvest which is near complete.
“What we saw in areas of south-central Manitoba and western Manitoba, peas were anywhere from 55 (bushels per acre) to all the way into the 90s, which was quite something,” he said.
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“We had a few fields which were probably affected by late seeding or excess moisture on poorly drained ground and those yielded less. But overall, the yields on peas were encouraging.”
The wet spring had caused concerns that root rot would greatly affect the pea crop, he added. Those fears weren’t realized for the most part as soils in pea-growing areas became drier over the summer.
Meanwhile, the dry edible bean harvest only started three weeks ago, but if early yields are any indication, this year’s harvest will be a success, according to Domitruk.
“(We are seeing) 1,800 to 3,000 lbs. per acre and that’s extending from Glenboro (southeast of Brandon) to the Red River Valley and places in between,” he said.
“There are a lot of fields to be reported, but so far across the three main classes we grow, which are the black beans, the pinto beans and the navy beans, we are seeing good solid yields and some exceptional yields, as well.”
For a successful end to harvest, especially when it concerns late-seeded crops, Domitruk is hoping for an “open” fall.
“We’d like to see a string of days, if not a couple of weeks, of good, dry weather with temperatures on the upper side of range for this time of year. That would be ideal.”
— Adam Peleshaty reports for MarketsFarm from Stonewall, Man.
