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Pulses are the edible seeds of legumes. Pulse crops include pea, bean, lentil, chickpea and faba bean.
They comprise a small, but very important part of the 1800 species
in the legume family. The word ''pulse'' is derived from the Latin words
''puls, or pultis", meaning thick soup.
HISTORY
The use of pulses dates back more than 20,000 years ago and spans
the globe. Records of their use were found in the Egyptian pyramids.
Dry pea seeds were discovered in a village in Switzerland dating
back to the Stone Age and some centuries-old pea seeds have been
discovered in the ruins of Troy and buried in caves in Hungary.
It is likely that Aryans from the East introduced pea to the pre-Christian
Greeks and Romans. Archaeological evidence suggests that pea was
grown in the eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia regions at least 5,000
years ago, and in Britain as early as the 11th century.
Lentil originated from the wild lentils that
still grow in Turkey and other Middle Eastern countries. Lentil
was one of the favourite dishes of the ancient Greeks. Pea, faba bean
and chickpea also originated in western Asia. Dry beans originated
in South and Central America. About 8,000 years ago, in
what is now the Ancash province of Peru, Indians cultivated the same kinds
of bean that we know today as navy bean, black bean, and other
types of bean.
GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF PULSE CROPS
Pulses are an important source of protein, especially in developing
countries because they provide about 10% of the total dietary
protein in the world. Pulses have twice the protein content
of most cereal grains. Bean is the most important pulse crop in
terms area and production. Pea is the second most important
pulse crop in terms of production and third in terms of area.
Chickpea is the second most important pulse crop in terms of area
and third in terms of production.
Pea is produced mainly in developed countries such as France and Canada, and chickpea is produced and consumed
mainly in India. Lentil is produced mainly in India, Turkey and
Canada. Beans of various types are produced in many countries
around the world.
DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF PULSE CROPS
Pulses played a colourful part in the dietary history of North
America. The hearty ''pea soup'' was introduced in Canada by the
early French settlers and was popular in the diets of pioneers
who helped develop the West. Baked beans were considered a staple
for ranchers riding the winter trail. They froze beans in batches,
carved off their daily portion and heated it over an open fire.
To this day, baked beans are an important part of the menu at
rodeos and barbecues.
Pea was a leading crop in eastern Canada at
the turn of the century with an average of 720,000 acres (288,000
hectares) grown each year from 1883 - 1902. Production in eastern
Canada gradually declined. By 1970, only 82,000 acres were grown
in all of Canada with about 70% of that production in Manitoba.
Pulses did not play a significant commercial
or economic role in Western Canada until the 1970s, when the
wheat glut encouraged farmers to diversify into cash crops, such
as rapeseed (canola), lentil, pea and other special crops. The
registration of herbicides, provided a method
of weed control in poorly competitive pulse crops. The development
of new, well-adapted varieties by Dr. Al Slinkard and co-workers
at the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan contributed
to the commercial acceptance of lentil and pea.
At the same time that technological change and
changing markets (low prices for cereals) were encouraging the
growing of pulses, other changes, including reduced summer fallow
acreage, longer crop rotations, continuous cropping, and direct
seeding, were also occurring. The nitrogen-fixing ability of pulses,
as well as the improved control of disease and weeds through better
rotations, contributed to the increase in acreage of pulses in
the Canadian prairies. Today, Saskatchewan is the heart of Canada's pulse industry. We produce 99% of the Canadian lentil crop, 80% of the Canadian pea crop, and 88% of the Canadian chickpea crop. Canada is the world's leading lentil, pea and chickpea exporter. There are over 100 special crop processors in Saskatchewan. The Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan is recognized worldwide as a leader in pulse research.
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