Pulses
Black Beans
Coming Soon! CDC Turtle Mountain
- Promising new black bean variety
- High yield and better disease resistance
CDC Blackstrap
- Very early maturing (earliest black bean on trial)
- Very well-suited to southwestern Manitoba
- Yield advantage to CDC Superjet (on some years)
- Consistent yielder
- Good pod clearance
- Excellent quality sample
- Bacterial blight tolerance
- Registered: 2015
CDC Superjet
- First variety to have bacterial blight tolerance
- Similar growth characteristics to CDC Jet
- Early maturing
- Well-suited to southwestern Manitoba
- Good standability
- Excellent quality sample
- Early colour change
Cereals
Oats
ORe3542M (Secan)
Wheat
AAC Wheatland VB
– Short strong straw
– 104% of Brandon
Why Grow Edible Beans?
There are many advantages and a few challenges to growing edible beans. Ben and Ellen grew their first crop of black beans in 1999 and have learned a few things since then. If you have questions about how edible beans might fit in to your crop rotation, consider giving Ben a call at (204) 534 8370
Advantages to Growing Black Beans
- High value crop
- Rotational diversity
- Disease tolerant variety options
- Disease advantage over other pulses (eg. root rot in peas)
- Flexible seeding date (middle of May to middle of June)
- Some years, last thing you seed, first thing you can harvest
- Proven to do well in SW Manitoba soils (highly variable, sandy clay loams)
- Flourish on less water than soybeans
- Encourages diversified herbicide program
- Can be grown with equipment many farmers already use (eg. low-impact air drill)
- non-GMO crop, suitable for Organic growers as well as conventional
- Competitive contracts available
Challenges to Growing Black Beans
- Requires additional management
- Low saline tolerance
- Low compaction tolerance
- Not competitive with weeds
- Relatively few chemistry options
- No inoculant available at this time
- Straw management very important prior to seeding
Early Maturing Varieties
We believe in the importance of focusing on early maturing varieties that are well-suited to our region (southwestern Manitoba).
CDC Blackstrap, CDC Superjet and CDC Jet are distinct from the edible bean varieties commonly grown in warmer regions in Manitoba, namely the Red River valley to the east. Early maturing varieties are well-suited to areas with fewer heat units and frost free days and reduce the risk of quality loss to an early frost.
Our Story, “You Bean Farming Long?”
Ben and Ellen grew their first field of black beans in 1999. At the time, Ben was looking for something different to include in his crop rotation. His good friend and Ag Rep, Scott Day, agreed that edible beans might be a good option for southwestern Manitoba.
Ben started out with an early determinant variety called CDC Espresso. It was a good starting point, but did not have the yield potential of present-day varieties. From there, Ben moved on to a very early determinant pinto bean called CDC Pintium. It was also well-suited to the area due to its early maturity, but had limiting determinant growth habits. Dry weather at podding was very detrimental.
After CDC Pintium, CDC Jet became available. It was the first high-yielding black bean variety that was extremely well-suited to the region’s shorter growing season. CDC Superjet and CDC Blackstrap have continued to push disease tolerance and yield potential forward.
At Martens Charolais and Seed, we continue to focus on promoting early maturity varieties that are specifically well-suited to our local growing conditions. We focus on narrow row production for increased weed competition and yield.
