Farmers in Canada will plant more so-called pulse crops this year as strong demand from India is swaying farmers planting decisions. An industry poll by Reuters found Canadian farmers intend to plant more peas and lentils than ever before as back-to-back drought in India has boosted prices and demand for the pulse crops. Pulses amount for a fraction of Canada’s planted area compared to wheat and canola, the country’s largest crops. India is the world’s largest importer of edible oils and pulses which are an important protein source in the Indian diet. Farmers intend to plant five million acres of lentils and 4.6 million acres of peas, shattering records. Pulses are expected to shift some land away from spring wheat plantings, as the all-wheat area may fall about four percent to 23.2 million acres. Canola plantings in Canada are expected to total 20.4 million acres, up 1.5 percent from last year.