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The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) and J4 Agri-Science have announced a new partnership aimed at developing new and enhanced Faba Bean varieties. This initiative is expected to bring significant improvements to the crop's potential and provide farmers with more options for their rotations.
Dr. Jodi Souter, President of J4 Agri-Science, says the new variety development will be important, especially for northern regions. "We were especially interested in them in the north to try to get another pulse crop into the rotation. We're losing peas in a lot of areas because of aphanomyces. So we're hopeful that we can improve faba beans, increase the acres and give farmers another pulse crop option for their rotation."
Both SPG and J4 are contributing germplasm to the program, with SPG providing upfront investments. While, future royalties from the sale of the new varieties will be shared between the two organizations.
Dr. Souter outlined her priorities for breeding new faba bean varieties. "There are some diseases already that are really affecting faba beans. We'll be looking at increasing the yield and also the yield stability to make sure that its economic in the rotation is going to be a big one. And then some of the agronomics. We're also looking at improving some traits there."
This collaboration marks a significant step towards enhancing the viability and economic benefits of faba beans for farmers.