“There is renewed investment in pulses by plant breeders which is already benefiting growers and end users,” claimed Dr Keith Fox (pictured), senior pulse breeder of Nickerson-Advanta Ltd.  “For example, the new generation of blue pea varieties, such as the early-maturing Zero4, reduce the risk of growers’ pea harvest conflicting with the wheat harvest.  

 

While bean varieties, such as Fuego, offer excellent yield with a bold grain preferred by the premium export market for human consumption.” 

Dr Fox explained: “Because of the relative size of the markets, investment in pulse breeding has been significantly lower than in crops such as wheat and rape. Now new technologies, such as marker aided selection, are being adopted for pulses, so the rate of improvement is set to increase. Our challenge is to continue the development of improved varieties so that the impressive improvements of the past will continue in the future.”