Evaluation of Pulse Crops for Dryland Production

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: Dry Peas, Lentils, Chickpeas, Guar

Practices

• Crop Production: cover crops, cropping systems, fallow
• Production Systems: dryland farming
• Soil Management: Soil Moisture

Problem: Dryland agriculture in the Northcentral Great Plains is limited by low precipitation, cool
temperatures, and poor soil fertility. Because of this, there are few cash crops that consistently perform
well in the region and most dryland producers rely on winter wheat for their major cash crop. When
market prices for winter wheat fluctuate producers have very few alternative crop options to rotate into. In
addition to single market dependence, the most widely used cropping rotation of winter wheat-fallow
reduces landscape diversity and degrades soil health, making it unsustainable.
Research Question: Are pulses a sustainable crop option for dryland producers in the Northcentral Great
Plains? Incorporating pulse crops into the current wheat-fallow rotation will offer new cash crop options
for farmers in the region while also providing much needed soil health benefits from having a legume in
the rotation. Crops of chickpea, lentil, guar, and dry peas will be evaluated for their agronomic production
potential and the sustainable value of these crops will be assessed by measuring soil fertility parameters as
well as soil moisture. The results of this work have the potential to not only diversify crop production but
also improve the health of the overall system.
Expected outcomes: As the result of this project we expect to be able to provide producers information
on:
1. Maximum yield expectation for each pulse crop and the potential profitability of each.
2. Soil nitrogen contribution of each pulse crop into current rotations.
3. Pulse crop water use and soil water recharge rate compared to fallow and how to maximize water
use efficiency for the cropping system.
4. Strategies to manage termination of pulse crops to maximize soil moisture and nitrogen
availability under variable environmental conditions.

1. Identify maximum yield expectation for lentil, chickpea, grain pea, and guar.
2. Measure soil nitrogen contribution of each pulse crop.
3. Measure crop water use and soil water recharge of each pulse crop compared to fallow.
4. Determine how timing of termination of pulse crops affects soil moisture and soil
nitrogen availability.