ALTERNATE CROPS FOR EASTERN OREGON: RESEARCH 1Stephen Machado, 2Brian Tuck, and 1Christopher Humphreys 1Oregon State University, Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 370, Pendleton, OR 97801. Tel: (541) 278 4416 Email:
[email protected] 2Oregon State University, Extension Service, Wasco County, 400 E. Scenic Drive, Suite 2.278, The Dalles, OR 97058. Tel: (541) 296 5494 Email:
[email protected] 1 Table of Contents Crop Page Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) 4 Lentils (Lens culinaris) 10 Peas (Pisum sativum) 17 Faba beans. (Vicia faba) 24 Linola/Flax. (Linum usitatissimum) 27 Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious) 30 Sunflower (Helianthus annus) 33 Mustard. (Brassica spp.) 36 Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum/sagittatum Moench) 39 Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) 42 Corn (Zea mays L.) 47 Lupin (L. albus L., L. augustifolius L., L. luteus L., L. 50 mutabalis L., and L. cosentenii L.) Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides, Oryzopsis 58 hymenoides) Green Needlegrass (Stipa viridula) 64 2 Introduction The Pacific Northwest (PNW) Columbia Plateau is semi-arid with rainfall ranging from 12 to 18 inches. About 70 percent of annual precipitation occurs from November to April during winter and water available to plants during spring and summer depends on how much water is stored in the soil. Because of steep slopes prevalent in the PNW, soil erosion is a major problem in fields that do not have sufficient residue cover. Cropping systems that improve water infiltration and storage, reduce evaporation, and increase water use efficiency of crops on a sustainable basis should be developed. Wheat/fallow rotation is the traditional crop production system in the PNW Columbia Plateau.