New navy bean designed for Saskatchewan fields in Canada

A navy bean that offers better yield, shorter season, and higher pod height is coming on stream just in time for farmers to take advantage of a push to increase irrigated acres in Saskatchewan. Ken McDougall said the bean should appeal to farmers that have been reluctant to grow dry beans due to the challenges involved at harvest. He said navy and black beans can be harvested with conventional equipment. By contrast, pinto beans hug the ground and require a pickup header on the combine and the expectation that a quarter of the crop can be lost to pod shatter. “These navy beans have a more upright stature and the beans, the pods are more like a lentil at the middle of the plant rather than at the bottom of the plant, which makes it attractive to farmers.” McDougall is farm manager at McDougall Acres near Moose Jaw. The pedigreed seed producer bought the marketing rights to the new bean, developed by Kirsten Bett at the University of Saskatchewan Crop Development Centre. McDougall ...