QUALITY EFFECTS OF PULSES ON SUBSEQUENT CEREAL CROPS IN THE NORTHERN PRAIRIES
A study comparing the crop sequences pulse-barley-wheat and barley-barley-wheat was conducted from 1982 to 1987 on black and gray soils in northeastern Saskatchewan. Faba bean, field pea, and lentil had a similar effect on the subsequent barley crop increasing kernel mass by 1.9 mg, plumpness by 5 percentage units, and protein content by 0.6 percentage units. This indicates that barley produced on pulse residues would likely have higher nutritive value and higher malting quality than that grown on barley residues, unless conditions were such that the increase in protein were enough to cause the sample to be discriminated against for malting purposes. Incorporation of pulse residues was unnecessary to attain high barley quality. In general, linear response of kernel mass and plumpness to N fertilizer was greater on barley than pulse residues, but the response of protein content to N fertilizer was unaffected by preceding crop. Fertilizer N was unable to increase barley quality produced on barley residues to the level of that produced on pulse residues. Protein content of wheat grown in year 3 of each cycle was unaffected by whether or not a pulse crop had been included in the crop sequence.Key words: Barley, faba bean, field pea, lentil, wheat, tillage