Alberta Pulse Growers Invests $2 Million in Partner Funding for Federal Cluster Research Projects

Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) has committed almost $2 million to nine Pulse Cluster projects under the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) AgriScience Program, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, including work to mitigate root rot risk and other issues affecting Alberta pulse farmers.

“Canadian pulse farmers are vitally important to our economy,” said the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “This investment will bring together the top experts in pulse growing and research from across the Prairies to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the sector for generations to come.”

“Participation in Cluster projects helps APG research dollars go further to address issues like root rot for our grower members,” said Shane Strydhorst, Chair of Alberta Pulse Growers. “This investment demonstrates the commitment of APG and the Government of Canada to research programs that benefit pulse growers. We really appreciate Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s continued investment into pulse research and look forward to learning from the results of these projects.”

The AgriScience Pulse Cluster brings together researchers from across Canada to work on pulse specific issues that were prioritized through a collaborative effort between Alberta Pulse Growers, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Ontario Bean Growers, as well as Pulse Canada.

The work that APG’s funding will support includes: Dr. Parthiba Balasubramanian’s dry bean sustainability and improved productivity under irrigation project at AAFC Lethbridge; Dr. Dengjin Bing’s pea breeding for protein yield, maturity, standability and seed size project at AAFC Lacombe; Dr. Maryse Bourgault’s large root systems for drought tolerance, carbon sequestration and root rot resistance project at the University of Saskatchewan; Dr. Syama Chatterton’s accelerating solutions to root rot of pea and lentil using a multi-faceted approach project at AAFC Lethbridge; Dr. Nicholas Larkan’s diversity set for genomic improvement of faba bean project at the Saskatoon Research and Development Centre; and Dr. Tom Warkentin’s improved pea cultivars to enhance Canada’s leading role in international pea markets project at the University of Saskatchewan.