Super - Lentil to be Unleashed On US Northwest

Essex is a new lentil variety developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. The lentil has a lot to offer, with high seed yields for growers, nitrogen-fixing bacteria for wheat crops, and a tasty source of protein for consumers to add to soups, salads and other fare.

Essex was chosen for public release based on its outstanding performance in advanced yield trials conducted over the past couple of years in Washington State, Idaho, North Dakota and Montana. _PrairieStar

Better forms of ordinary food crops, such as rice, wheat, and legumes -- such as lentils -- can provide more nutritious food at higher yield per acre. Sometimes the new super-crops are developed via genetic engineering, and sometimes they are developed via old fashioned cross breeding.

“The line is the result of a cross made by Fred Muehlbauer at the ARS in Pullman. He's retired now but this plant is part of the legacy he developed while there,” said McPhee.

The lentil produces a little larger seed than the Eston variety, which is considered the market standard. During trials, Essex averaged 1,220 pounds of seed per acre, which is 21 percent more than Eston and 22 percent more than Athena, another leading commercial variety.

“Essex is similar in appearance and very high yielding. It has performed very well,” said McPhee. He described the lentil as being a small, green lentil with a yellow interior. “It is in the Eston type market class in that it is a small green lentil that lacks speckling or extra pigmentation in the coat.” _PrairieStar

Plants of Essex matured at about the same time as Eston and produced small seeds with yellow interiors and green coats. Besides protein levels of 20 to 30 percent by dry weight, the seeds are high in fiber, minerals and vitamins.

Essex also enjoys a symbiotic relationship with beneficial soil microbes-specifically, root-colonizing Rhizobium bacteria, whose ability to take nitrogen from the atmosphere and turn it into a form plants can use for growth helps naturally replenish the soil's fertility for subsequent crops of wheat and other grains. Other benefits of using lentils as a rotation crop in small-grain cultivation systems include reduced soil erosion, improved weed control and reduced disease severity and incidence.

Derived from conventional breeding, Essex is intended for production in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains, with primary markets in Mexico and other Latin American nations anticipated. _ScienceDaily

Such simple and rarely remarked-upon advances lead to more plentiful food supplies from less cropland. As more synergies of different rotations of human crops are discovered, more food can be grown using less chemicals, while still maintaining soil quality. Good news, that you will not likely hear from the doomsayers who control the environmental alarmist lobbies, the media, government, and intergovernmental agencies of the world.