Yield Gains in Cool Season Legumes in the U.S.

Edible grain legumes including dry bean, dry pea, chickpeas, and lentils, have served as important sources of protein for human diets for thousands of years. In the USA, these crops are predominately produced for export markets. The objective of this study was to examine yield gains in these crops over the past 25 years. Genetic gain from selection in dry beans tested in common trials ranged between 13.9 to 17.4 kg ha-1 yr-1 (12.4 to 16.0 lb ac-1 yr-1) for navy and pinto beans, respectively. These results suggest that dry bean cultivars have not reached a yield plateau for most market classes. Continued introgression of germplasm from other races of common bean should provide new sources of germplasm to enhance yield. Over the past 25 years the production of cool season food legumes (peas, lentils, and chickpeas) in the US has increased dramatically. However, over this time the yields of dry pea in the US have decreased by 0.3% per year, lentil yields in the US have increased by only 0.1% per year, and chickpea yields have increased by approximately 2.8% per year. Several factors are likely responsible for the lack of appreciable gains in yield over time for these crops. Pea and lentil production has increased dramatically in MT and ND but the varieties grown in this region were originally developed in the US Pacific Northwest, and it is likely that they are not ideally adapted for MT and ND. There has also been a lack of new varieties for these crops, with many varieties being grown that are at least 20 years old. New lines of peas, lentils, and chickpeas have been identified that have yields that are superior to commercial varieties.