Western Canadian farmers have two more pulses to choose from this year, courtesy of the Crop Development Centre (CDC) at the University of Saskatchewan. The brand new varieties, a red lentil and a yellow bean, are available through Rudy Agro, SeedNet and Saskatchewan Pulse Growers.
CDC Sunburst is a new variety of yellow bean, which is also referred to as a Mayocoba bean in Mexico and South America where it’s considered a premium bean with a smooth, buttery texture and sweet taste. Developed by CDC breeder Kirstin Bett, CDC Sunburst has superior colour and performs very well in the shorter, western Canadian growing season when compared with competing yellow bean varieties. Rudy Agro is licensed to sell CDC Sunburst throughout Canada.
CDC Simmie is a small, red lentil developed by CDC breeder Albert Vandenberg. This Clearfield variety has similar characteristics to CDC Maxim and yields two to eight per cent higher than CDC Maxim. CDC Simmie features a strong disease package with good resistance to blight and anthracnose. It has early to medium maturity and is rated at 34 centimetres tall. In Saskatchewan, CDC Simmie is available directly from seed growers who are given royalty-free access by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. SeedNet is sub-licensed by the Crop Development Centre to sell CDC Simmie outside of that province.
