The Pulse Development and Extension project has been looking at spring sown pulses! This year SFS conducted trials in both faba beans and chickpeas.

The faba beans had a good start with great soil moisture, germination was quick and even. However, the dry period through November stressed the plants reducing growth. The rain through December was a blessing (perhaps the only benefit to that summer rain!) and rapidly improved the state of the faba’s! They greened up and began to flower and pod up really well. However, some plants weren’t able to recover from the moisture stress, but a majority of plots looked revived. With the humid and wet conditions of summer also meant an explosion of rust come early January. Within 2-3 days the rust had completely taken over the faba beans. They were sprayed, but the rust was too volatile and unfortunately meant the faba beans began to senesce.

The chickpeas had almost the opposite reaction to the season. They struggled with germination, perhaps a touch too moist for them, especially as  they don’t like to get their feet wet! However, the drier period of November helped them to establish better and begin to grow. The December rains came at an ideal time for growth, and allowed for fabulous canopy development and closure. The warmer days almost meant flowering and podding was consistent and reduced risk of pseudo-flowers. Despite the high rainfall, the chickpeas have faired really well. Podding continues and the maturity of the earlier sown plots have began. The look and development of the chickpeas this year far exceed what was seen last year (average of 0.5 t/ha), so there is a good chance the yield will be much better.

Stay tuned for the results!

By Greta Duff, Senior Research and Extension

Image: Rust in Faba Beans