Winter Pea and Lentil Response to Seeding Date and Micro‐ and Macro‐Environments

Abstract

Winter pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) have potential agronomic advantages over spring types in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and northern Great Plains (NGP). The objectives of this study were to: (i) determine suitable seeding date and cereal stubble height in no‐till systems for winter pea and lentil; (ii) quantify and compare biomass and seed yield of winter pea and lentil with spring types; and (iii) compare adaptation of winter pea and lentil between the PNW and the NGP. Two breeding lines each of winter pea (PS9430706 and PS9530726) and winter lentil [LC9979010 (‘Morton’) and LC9976079] and two commercial cultivars each of spring pea (CDC Mozart and Delta) and spring lentil (Brewer and CDC Richlea) were sown on different dates (early and late fall dates for winter lines and spring date only for spring cultivars) and into different stubble heights (0.1 and 0.3 m) and compared for yield and agronomic adaptation in no‐till systems at four locations: Moccasin and Amsterdam, MT; Genesee, ID; and Rosalia, WA. Stubble height did not influence winter or spring pea biomass production or seed yield. Tall stubble increased lentil biomass by 220 to 530 kg ha−1 and seed yield by 100 to 260 kg ha−1 in five out of nine site–years. Fall‐seeded winter pea lines produced as much as 1830 kg ha−1 more seed yield than spring cultivars at the PNW sites, but not at the NGP sites. Early fall‐seeded lentil yielded as much as 480 and 590 kg ha−1 greater than spring types in the NGP and PNW, respectively. Delayed fall seeding and reduced stubble height decreased yields more frequently in the NGP than in the PNW.