February 1, 2002

Learn More About Raising Legume Crops at the MonDak Pulse Day

The second annual MonDak Pulse Day scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center will focus on production of chickpeas, dry peas and lentils in the MonDak region.

The event begins with registration at 8:30 a.m. CST. The MonDak Pulse Day is open to the public and was organized by the Montana State University and NDSU Extension Agents in northeastern Montana and northwestern North Dakota. The program will take place in the Ernie French Center at the Williston REC, located 5 miles west of Williston on U.S. Highway 2. For more information, contact the center at (701) 774-4315 or any county extension office in northeastern Montana or northwestern North Dakota.

The opening presentation, "The Chickpean and Lentil of the Future," will be by Bert Vandenberg, pulse crop research chair at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre. Vandenberg will discuss present and future chickpea and lentil varieties and their tolerance to ascochyta. He’ll also review cultural practices for reducing ascochyta and provide a brief update on field pea varieties.

Other morning events will include a discussion of seed treatments and fungicide applications for ascochyta management by Kent McKay, NDSU Extension Service area agronomist. MSU researcher Perry Miller will talk about future research on chickpeas. Miller is an assistant professor of cropping systems, land resources and environmental sciences at MSU and is well known for his crop rotation work involving pulse crops at the Semiarid Prairie Research Centre in Saskatchewan before assuming his present position. Brian Jenks, weed scientist at NDSU’s North Central Research Extension Center in Minot, will talk about herbicide and other options for dealing with hard-to-control weeds in pulse crops.

Just before the noon lunch, representatives from the North Dakota Dry Pea and Lentil Association and the Montana Pulse Growers will provide updates on the farm bill and other issues in the pulse industry.

The noon lunch will feature a variety of foods made with pulse crops. A $5 fee will cover noon lunch and coffee during breaks. A limited supply of a comprehensive pulse crop manual produced in Alberta will also be available at registration for $16.50.

The afternoon talks will begin with an outline of the rotational benefits of pulse crops by Perry Miller.

Other afternoon presentations will include a discussion of crop rotation sequencing by Don Tanaka, soil scientist at USDA’s Northern Great Plains Agricultural Research Station at Mandan, ND. Dave Buschena, Montana State agricultural economist will discuss chickpea economics. Jerome Knudson of Superior Grains in Crosby, N.D., will discuss issues related to pulse crop harvest management. Dirk Boettcher of Lewiston, Idaho, chief pulse crop trader for Canadian agribusiness Agricore, will discuss marketing options.

The program will also include a trade show, which will allow producers to visit with industry representatives at various times during the day. Application has also been made for continuing education credits for the Certified Crop Advisers program.

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Source: Keith Brown, (701) 965-6501, kbrown@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu