CAHNRS News > Topic > Agriculture > $260K in grants advance WSU pulse crop research

$260K in grants advance WSU pulse crop research

By CAHNRS Communications

winter peas[12]
Winter peas in a WSU research plot emerge from snow. Researchers at the university received more than a quarter-million dollars in funding to advance pulses like chickpeas and spring peas.
Researchers at WSU received more than $260,000 in grants from the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council in December to advance pulse breeding and production.

The council funded nine projects, including management of fungicide-resistant Pythium pathogens for Palouse pulse crop production; harvesting the pea genome; spring lentil and pea variety development; breeding of autumn-sown food legumes; development of elite chickpea varieties; and weed management in chickpeas and lentils.

Named recipients include Weidong Chen, USDA-ARS Research Plant Pathologist and adjunct professor; Stephen Guy, Extension agronomist; Clarice Coyne, USDA Geneticist and CSS adjunct scientist; Dorrie Main, associate professor of Horticulture; Rebecca McGee, USDA Research Geneticist and CSS adjunct professor, pea and lentil genetics and breeding; George Vandemark, USDA-ARS Research Geneticist and adjunct professor, chickpea genetics and breeding; Ian Burke, associate professor of weed science; and Drew Lyon, professor and Endowed Chair for Small Grains Extension and Research; and James Harsh, professor and scientist in Crops and Soil Sciences.

Learn more about legume breeding efforts here.

Learn more about grain legume research here.