Applied Research
Robyne Davidson
RDAR Research Scientist, Pulse and Special Crops

"The whole purpose of my research work and extension activities is to support Alberta farmers and grow the pulse industry."
Robyne has many years of experience in the agricultural industry conducting research trials on a wide variety of field crops within government, academia, and the private sector. She has been working with pulse crops for over 20 years leading and conducting pulse research trials across Alberta and western Canada.
She has been heavily involved in the introduction of new pulse crops, the sustainability of current pulse management strategies and the expansion of pulse crops across the prairies. She enjoys the extension piece of her research role and highly values the work she does with industry and farmers to support and grow the industry.
She and her husband operate a 4,000-acre grain farm near Red Deer, Alta.
Education:
- BSc in Agriculture (honors degree), Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Agricultural
College
- MSc in Plant Science, University of Alberta
Areas of expertise:
- New pulse crop options
- Pulse agronomics and production
- Pulse crop disease identification, mitigation and management
- Pulse varieties and registration in Canada
Current projects
| Project name | Dates | Funders |
|---|---|---|
| Supporting lupin production in Alberta with strong agronomic practices. | 2024-2027 | RDAR (Results Driven Agriculture Research) |
| Examining lupin production challenges to support adoption in Western Canada | 2025-2028 |
|
| Confirming faba bean resistance to Aphanomyces euteiches | 2025-2028 |
|
| Oospore dynamics for validating a risk prediction tool for pea and lentil root rot | 2025-2028 |
|
| Diversity set for genomic improvement of Faba bean | 2026-2028 | Agriculture and Agri-food Canada - Pulse Cluster |
Completed projects
| Project name | Dates | Funders |
|---|---|---|
| Investigating herbicide options to support adoption of lupin in the Canadian Prairies. | 2022-2024 |
|
| Researching, developing and propagating new yellow pea varieties unique in the marketplace. | 2022-2024 |
|
| Investigating the agronomics of lupin production, a new high protein pulse crop for Alberta | 2021-2024 |
|
| Investigating agronomic practices to remove barriers to Faba bean production in Alberta | 2019-2023 | Alberta Pulse Growers |
| Evaluation of the affect of nitrogen, seeding rates and herbicide applications on production of Clearfield red lentil in Alberta | 2015-2019 | Alberta Pulse Growers |