Pulses are the edible seeds of legumes, like lentils, beans, peas, and chickpeas. Each of these pulse crops comes in a wide range of colours and sizes. The name pulse is derived from the Latin puls meaning thick soup or potage.

Pulse crops are grown for food and feed in countries around the world and hold significant cultural and historical importance. Many early civilizations developed around diets of pulses for protein, combined with a cereal crop to provide energy. Beans and corn are the example from the Americas, while pita and humus (chickpea based) are a Middle Eastern illustration.

Pulses are unique among grain crops in their ability to partner with certain soil bacteria to take nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient, from the air and turn it into a form that can be used by plants.

Pulse Crops Grown in Alberta

Field Peas (Pisum sativum)

Yellow Peas	Green Peas

Dry Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Pinto	Great Northern	Small Red
Black

Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum)

Kabuli	Desi

Faba Beans (Vicia faba)

Zero Tannin	Tannin

Lentils (Lens culinaris)

Large Green	Small Green	Small Red