Dr. Sabine Banniza is a professor of pulse crop pathology and a member of the Crop Development Centre (CDC) at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research program is focused on pulse crop pathology with particular emphasis on problems in Saskatchewan. The overarching theme of Dr. Banniza’s research program is to study the biology of fungal and bacterial pathogens and their interaction with host plants.

In today’s episode, Dr. Banniza focuses on two important diseases in lentil: Anthracnose and Stemphylium blight. She is an expert on the pathogen biology and plant-pathogen interactions, and she gives us a lot of useful background on when they first started appearing in Canada, how problematic they are, and how to diagnose and manage each of these.

“ Using all of the molecular tools we have now, we’re trying to get that resistance from the wild relative into our cultivated species, and then breed race zero resistance as well. Because I think that will help a lot, and it’s really needed in particular now that we see these issues with fungicide insensitivity .” - Sabine Banniza, Ph.D.

This Week on Growing Pulse Crops:

• Meet Sabine Banniza, Ph.D., professor of pulse crop pathology and a member of the Crop Development Centre (CDC) at the University of Saskatchewan.
• Explore two important diseases in lentil: Anthracnose and Stemphylium blight.
• Understand the pathogen biology and plant-pathogen interactions of these two lentil diseases
• Discover useful background on when these diseases first started appearing in Canada, how problematic they are, and how to diagnose and manage each of them.

Growing Pulse Crops is produced by Dr. Audrey Kalil and hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

Kyle Okke is an independent crop consultant in Dickinson, North Dakota with his own company, Agile Agronomy. Before starting Agile Agronomy three years ago, he had worked for several years as a regional agronomist in the area with Winfield United. Kyle deals with a wide variety of crops in his area including pulse crops, specifically lentils, chickpeas and field peas. He also has farmer clients that grow durum, wheat, flax, canola, corn, soybeans and sunflowers. In this episode, he discusses the various details about products, timing, water rates, adjuvants, and other considerations for controlling broadleaf weeds.

“ You get what you get as far as options for broadleaf control in pulse crops. So there's no perfect product in a broadleaf sense on a post emergent basis. So you're never always going to have excellent activity in everything. That's why there's so much emphasis on fall residuals and spring applied residuals, because that's going to do a lot of the heavy lifting for you that hopefully either you don't apply post-emerge products, or if you do, you keep the weeds small enough that you get the activity you need out of those post-emerge broad leaf products.” - Kyle Okke

This Week on Growing Pulse Crops:

• Meet Kyle Okke, an independent crop consultant in Dickinson, North Dakota with his own company, Agile Agronomy
• Explore the many considerations needed to be addressed to manage broadleaf weeds
• Understand the value of finding weeds early and selecting the correct surfactants for the type of weed you are targeting
• Discover how certain chemicals can uniquely work together to enhance weed control

Growing Pulse Crops is produced by Dr. Audrey Kalil and hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

Dr. Kevin McPhee is a pulse crop breeder at Montana State University. He’s been there for just over eight years after building a similar program in pulse crop breeding at North Dakota State University. Prior to that, he was working on pulse crops with the USDA ARS based in Pullman, Washington. Together we discuss the pulse crop breeding program in Montana, including their goals for the program in pea, chickpea and lentils. He describes varieties they’ve released and what’s in the pipeline that growers might want to know about for the future.

“  What really separates the winter peas from the spring peas and gives them the advantage is when we have a dry year and there isn't the in-season moisture rains for the spring crop. With the winter peas already in the ground…they don't have to worry about planting them in the spring. That's one big advantage. And then they can take advantage of all of the winter moisture that's in the soil and any of the spring rains that occur. They flower a month ahead of the spring types. So they're well on their way before we get into the heat of the summer and the potential dry conditions, and that's where they shine.” - Dr. Kevin McPhee

This Week on Growing Pulse Crops:

• Meet Dr. Kevin McPhee, a pulse crop breeder at Montana State University
• Discover new pulse crop varieties that are being introduced and the benefits they offer producers
• Explore major advantages offered by winter peas that may benefit producers looking to be more water efficient

Growing Pulse Crops is produced by Dr. Audrey Kalil and hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.