HARVEST NEWS 2011

Peas
The UK pulse crop has like many other crops this summer been grown under some degree of stress.
Drought in the spring and early summer followed by cooler temperatures at flowering time favoured pea crops generally.
We even experienced frost damage when peas wee flowering in early May, some crops were lost however a fair number managed to recover from this strange phenomena.

The resulting crops have in many cases produced good yields reaching levels not seen for many years. Quality has also been very good this year with good colour retention and cooking quality being seen in many marrowfat pea crops. The variety Sakura has performed very well, producing good even size seeds and good colour, suitable for a variety of markets.

We strongly advocate forward contracts on marrowfat peas and this year has proven no exception to this. It is important for all parties to be locked into a secure supply chain situation where the vagaries of the extreme market fluctuations experienced with marrowfat peas a few years ago are taken away.

There is no real demand for open market marrowfat peas currently due to good supplies of contract tonnages being available, a point to remember when planning for 2012.

Some reports of the elusive 3tonnes per acre (7.4t/Ha) have been reported for Blue peas, demand does fluctuate, however returns for growers remain good into next season, again forward contracts have an important role to play here.

Beans
Bean yields have been more varied than peas, with some very disappointing yields where moisture deficiency was an issue, for winter beans on lighter land this has been a problem.

However the heavier land has produced some very good yields with 7t/Ha being reported in the Midlands and West. It was a season for ensuring that you left an even seed bed, as both winter and spring beans podded low to the ground in some crops, resulting in some losses. Samples are nice and bold this season, although bruchid contamination looks to be an issue in certain areas of the country. There does not seem to be any difference this season between spring and winter beans with regard to Bruchid beetle.

The taller varieties have performed well this season, a reflection of the strange season encountered, surely not one that will repeat itself in 2012. Clipper and Arthur have done well and are good options for growers where they favour a little more straw, growers will stick with Wizard in many cases though due to its allround reliability and end use potential, no other bean offers this.