Location: Small Grain and Food Crops Quality Research
Project Number: 3060-21650-002-042-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2022
End Date: Dec 31, 2025
Objective:
(1) Determine the impact of pulse-wheat rotation on water use efficiency; (2) Determine the impact of pulse-wheat rotation on nitrogen use efficiency; (3) Determine the impact of pulse-wheat rotation on soil health; and (4) Quantify and compare the economic impact of integrating pulses into a wheat-based cropping system.
Approach:
The goal of this project is to provide the foundational knowledge needed by stakeholders to rotate pulses with wheat in a way that maximizes water and nutrient use, reduces reliance on costly chemical nitrogen fertilizers, and maintains overall soil fertility and soil health. The following crop rotations will be used in this project: chickpea-winter wheat, lentil-winter wheat, and pea-winter wheat. We will quantify and compare water use efficiency by measuring soil moisture levels throughout the season and at pulse harvest, as well as crop biomass and yield production at harvest. We will quantify and compare nitrogen use efficiency by estimating the amount of nitrogen contributed by each of the three pulses planted at two seeding rates to the soil residual nitrogen pool. We will quantify and compare the winter wheat yields following each of the three pulse crops planted at two seeding rates. We will evaluate and compare changes in soil health in pulses-wheat production systems by comparing the soil health parameters after the pulses are harvested, relative to the preplant baseline soil health measurements. We will quantify and compare the economic impact of integrating pulses into wheat-based cropping system by using crop yield, input usage, input cost, and price data to develop enterprise budgets for each crop rotation.
