A Western Pea and Lentil Growers Association meeting will follow the legume virus symposium Dec. 5 at the Best Western University Inn in Moscow, Idaho.

U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council director of research and information Todd Scholz said the meeting will cover breeding and disease efforts, marketing and a new insurance program.

Scholz expects to see the release of a green lentil variety for the northern tier of Montana and North Dakota and a green pea for the Palouse from USDA Agricultural Research Service breeder Rebecca McGee.

McGee will also talk about fall-planted peas, which produce a 20 to 50 percent increase in yield.

ARS plant pathologist Weidong Cheng will talk about efforts to identify an insect-carried virus in chickpeas and a late-occurring lentil disease never found in the Palouse before this year.

The meeting includes officer elections and a research chef who will demonstrate products made from pulses.

-- Matthew Weaver