Pulse School

Staging and frost resilience of field peas

Much of the prairies has seen frost or the risk of frost in the past couple of weeks, leaving a lot of us wondering how our plants have fared. For crops where the growing point is above the soil surface, frost can be devastating (think canola). But for many of our plant friends, the growing point is actually relatively protected, and pulse growers can count that as a bonus to the many other benefits of including pulses in the rotation.

In this episode of the Pulse School, Sherrilyn Phelps, agronomy and seed program manager with the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, explains the impact of frost on pulses. While showing a couple of pea plants hit by frost near Wilkie, SK., Phelps also takes the opportunity to go over staging, for those of us who need a bit of a refresher. Stick around for the very end of the video to hear about staging lentils, which can prove a little trickier.