summer 15 - grdc · chickpea breeding program, ... summer 15 contact: fleur winter, ... bruce haigh...
TRANSCRIPT
this issue
Australia prepares for IYoP 2016 – p 2
Postcard from Canada – Part 2– p 4
Linking pulses to early career training – p 7
PBA Program Updates- p 8
Pulse Research News – p 15
Disease assessment demo. From left to right: Peter Keys, Deb Craddock, Judy Duncan, Kevin Moore.v Sean Bithel demonstrating.
NEWS
PBA Techs in Tamworth
Nicole Dron, NSW DPI
PBA’s technical officers and research
assistants convened at the Tamworth
Training Centre and Agricultural
Institute in August for the biannual
PBA Technical Symposium. Attendees
travelled from PBA project locations in
South Australia, Victoria, New South
Wales, and Queensland for the
meeting.
The technical symposium provides an
opportunity for technicians to discuss
new technology, machinery, and any
issues arising since the previous
gathering.
On the first day the group was given
an overview of the National PBA
Chickpea breeding program, which is based at the Tamworth Agricultural Institute by resident PBA
Chickpea Program Leader Dr Kristy Hobson. The group then toured the Tamworth facilities and took
part in a GPS device workshop to examine future use of this technology within the breeding programs.
workshop was set up with the GPS devices used at the Tamworth NSW DPI, where further discussion
on the future use of the technology took place.
The second day saw the group on a field trip to the Plant Breeding Institute at Narrabri where both
Sydney University and Australian Grain Technologies conducted a tour of the latest facilities. This was
followed by a farm visit to a trial site and discussion with a commercial grower from the Tamworth
region. Unfortunately for the meeting, but welcome to growers, the much needed rain made an
appearance hindering a trial walk.
Summer 15
Contact: Fleur Winter, PBA Coordinator
[email protected] ph: 0417 926 033
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 2
The third day presenters from NSW DPI spoke in depth on a number of topics. Firstly, Joop Van Leur
discussed technologies and methods for detecting viral infection in a number of pulses. Jenny Wood
gave a presentation on pulse seed anomalies, methods of quality testing, and current quality
standards. Bruce Haigh highlighted the use of green seeker NDVI technology and its future in
research. Finally, Kevin Moore and Sean Bithell provided a field demonstration of Ascochyta blight and
Phytophthora root rot assessment.
The main objective of the symposium is to initiate discussion based on the experiences each PBA team
brings to the table. This enables teams to make positive changes to improve the accuracy and
efficiency of the methods and systems currently in use across the PBA programs. Main discussion
points this year were software choice for field scoring, header preference, and the use of auto trip
technology. This event also gives the chance for pulse technicians to get to know each other face-to-
face and provide a more cohesive work environment for technicians in the PBA programs
Australia prepares for International Year of Pulses 2016
Cindy Benjamin, Pulse Ausralia
The pulse industry around the world is getting ready to take centre stage in 2016 for the United
Nations declared International Year of Pulses (IYOP16).
Such an opportunity demands enormous commitment from all sectors of the industry and a high level
of coordination and preparation.
Australia is pulling its weight with an Australian Steering Committee in place to formulate plans and
direct activities under each of five internationally-agreed themes:
Food and Nutrition Security,
Creating Awareness,
Production and Sustainability,
Trade and Market Access, and
Health, Nutrition and Food Innovation.
IYOP16 is a launch pad for several long-term and ambitious activities to meet targets in each theme.
In Australia the focus will be on raising Australia’s profile as a producer of quality pulses while
increasing the domestic demand and consumption of pulses to meet the Grains & Legumes Nutrition
Council’s recommendation for all Australians to ‘eat legumes at least 2–3 times a week’. There is room
to greatly increase production in Australia and to develop new domestic and export pulse markets.
Earlier in 2014, Ms Georgie Aley was appointed as the global thematic chair for one of the five IYOP16
themes. Ms Aley is the Managing Director of the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council and Non-Executive
Director of Pulse Australia. She will chair the international ‘Creating Awareness’ theme as well as being
chair of the Australian Steering Committee.
Ms Aley sees huge potential to drive awareness of the benefits of pulses through the IYOP16. “The
IYOP16 represents a wonderful opportunity to make a real difference to the future of the food industry
and the health and well-being of consumers around the world,” she said.
“The IYOP16 Australian Steering Committee will actively engage with the Australian pulse community
and value chain to influence the planning and implementation of the program. We want to ensure,
where feasible, that interests of the entire Australian pulse community are represented,” Ms Aley said.
Other global thematic chairs are Syria’s Dr Mahmoud El-Solh (Food Security and Nutrition theme),
Canada’s Mr Gordon Bacon (Health, Nutrition and Food Innovation theme) and France’s Dr Noel Ellis
(Productivity and Sustainability theme). At the time of writing there had been no appointment to global
thematic chair for ‘Market Access and Stability’ committee.
Pulse Australia CEO, Tim Edgecombe is a member of both the global ‘Market Access and Stability’ and
‘Productivity and Sustainability’ theme committees. Michelle Broom, Nutrition Program Manager at the
Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council, is a member of the global ‘Health, Nutrition and Food Innovation’
theme.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 3
Australian IYOP16 Steering Committee members (left to right) Georgie Aley (chair), Peter Wilson, Kristy Hobson (guest), Tim Edgecombe, Michelle Broom, Peter Semmler, Mary Raynes (secretary) and Sanjiv Dubey. Other committee members are: Dr Regina Belski, Rod Birch, Nick Poutney, Dr Chris Blanchard, Angus Woods, Lachie Seears, Paul Meibusch and Helen Ward.
In October the thematic chairs, including Ms Aley, met in Rome, Italy to refine the work plans of the
global committees and agreed on a range of global projects totalling over US $8 million.
A consumer-oriented website promoting the International Year of Pulses will be developed to provide a
focal point for activities in the lead-up, during and beyond 2016. An international recipes database is
the next major initiative that will help generate interest and increase consumer understanding of the
versatility of pulses and their uses in cooking, along with showcasing national signature dishes from
around the world.
The Australian Steering Committee is planning a national competition in early 2015 to choose the
Australian Signature Dish, a dish that reflects the national cuisine and highlights the innovative
capacity of pulses as an ingredient. The winning iconic meal will be showcased on the global stage by
July 2015.
The Australian Steering Committee held several planning sessions and an industry workshop in 2014 to
assist in formulating plans for IYOP16. Further industry workshops and stakeholder engagement will
occur in early 2015 to advance Australia’s position and opportunities for the IYOP16.
More information: www.iyop.net
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 4
Left: New split spraying technology being employed by the US on plot sprayers. Right: Associate Prof. Bunyamin Tar’an presenting at the Select Grower Field Tour, Saskatoon.
Postcard from Canada-Part 2
Larn McMurray, SARDI
(In 2014 Larn McMurray completed an eight month sabbatical at the University of Saskatchewan, as
part of his PhD project under joint supervisor Bert Vandenberg. This report is part 2 of Larn’s
adventures, from July to his return at the end of October - the first instalment appeared in the PBA
Winter 2014 newsletter).
The long days of July 2014 continued into August with harvest commencing around the middle of the
month in Saskatchewan. Quite an amazing site to the visiting Aussie given seeding occurred during
May and June, a similar time to that in southern Australia where plants were still stirring from their
winter slumber. Paddocks with 2 to 6 harvesters in them were a common site; as farmers raced to
harvest crops before the onset of snow. Harvest was held up repeatedly by persistent heavy rain
events, with the snow arriving in some parts of the province before it could be finished. In these cases
the crop remains in the paddock until the snow melts in the following spring!
Summer/Spring Travel Highlights:
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) 2014 Select Grower Field Tour
This field day is a premier event of the SPG, University of Saskatchewan (US) Crop Development
Centre and the Alberta Pulse Growers. . Issues at the 2014 day included the poor performance of field
pea mainly due to root rots and water logging, weed control in lentils and chickpeas, the emerging faba
bean industry and marketing issues in all pulses.
Field tours with Prof Bert Vandenberg (US) to herbicide tolerance, breeding and disease
nurseries
Herbicide tolerance summary
Weeds are a major limitation to pulse production in western Canada and the University of
Saskatchewan (US) and industry are investing significantly in this area. The US has developed and
released imidazolinones (Imi) tolerant lentil and chickpea varieties (205 event tolerance) and is
currently working on developing germplasm with tolerance to a number of herbicides including
metribuzin, sulfentrazone and fluthiacet-methyl in lentil, bentazone in chickpea and Imi in field pea.
Other advances in herbicide tolerance at the US include the development of KASP markers (for the
205 Imi mutation event in chickpea and lentil) and the use of these markers in the breeding programs.
Dr Monika Lulsdorf runs the tissue culture and double haploid laboratory with the pulse breeding
program and is leading a research project aiming to develop a rapid generation method for producing
germplasm with multiple herbicide tolerances.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 5
Left: Lentil herbicide tolerance PhD candidate Mr Vladamir Pajic and Prof. Bert Vandenberg in a commercial lentil paddock, Limerick. Right: US breeding nurseries, Cabri, Saskatchewan.
Left: Weed infested lentils and right: Pronghorn deer running through a field pea paddock badly affected by water logging, root rots and weeds, Cabri, Saskatchewan
Lentil breeding summary
Major breeding and research program aims are:
improving and maintaining disease resistance (ascochyta blight and anthracnose and minor
diseases such as stemphylium blight, sclerotinia and botrytis grey mould);
improving tolerance to Imi herbicides;
improving tolerance to lodging and recovery from heavy rains;
improving seed characters that affect marketing; and
improving yield.
Longer term breeding strategies include investigating opportunities in:
seed biofortification;
emerging disease threats (Aphanomyces root rot and fusarium wilt);
drought tolerance;
tolerance to other herbicides (Group C and G); and
increased molecular assisted breeding in conjunction with the lentil genome sequencing
project.
Other points of interest within the lentil program include:
almost all field research is on stubble retained paddocks using no-til disc seeders;
the majority of crossing and early generation propagation occurs in growth rooms and to a
lesser extent glasshouses;
significant indoor issues with thrips, mites and aphids;
the husbandry techniques used to reduce indoor generation time to no more than 60 days; and
the large emphasis placed on the use of wild relatives for sourcing new traits.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 6
Scott farm tour
Collaborations with Mr Eric Johnson, Weed biologist and Officer in Charge Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada, Scott, which were instigated in a previous visit in 2011 were continued during the study trip.
The Scott research farm conducts a range of research programs including cultivar evaluation; weed
management, agronomy and pesticide minor use. Mr Johnson works very closely with the CDC plant
breeders and is involved in herbicide tolerance evaluation and weed ecology studies.
Of particular interest was Eric’s current work on Group C and Group G herbicide tank mixes including
split applications to control target weeds. Strategies involving the use of different adjuvants with
metribuzin (Group C) showed promise for bed straw control and may have applicability in Australia.
Canada have developed clear directions as to tolerances needed to achieve effective and sustainable
weed control into the future. The Canadian research is underpinned by weed efficacy and herbicide
tolerance experiments identifying specific herbicides, rates, mixes of herbicides and use of adjuvants,
which effectively control the problem weeds in the farming system. This approach also provides
information on the role, need and usefulness of the targeted herbicide - information required by the
regulatory body when considering permit/registration approval for any new herbicide. Australian pulse
weed research would benefit greatly from a more systematic approach to this problem, similar to that
taken by the Canadian industry. Mr Johnson is taking up a research position at the University of
Saskatchewan within the weeds science group in early 2015, further strengthening the ties between
weed science and pulse breeding at US.
PhD progress and collaborations
Significant progress was made on my PhD during the latter months of the study period including (a)
confirmation of a high and intermediate level of metribuzin herbicide tolerance in Australian and
intermediate level in Canadian lentil germplasm under both controlled environment and field
conditions; (b) identification of a target site mutation at position 251 in the psbA chloroplast gene
responsible for this high level of herbicide tolerance (first report of this in a crop!);( c) genetic studies
that confirmed a chloroplastic (maternal) inheritance of the herbicide tolerance; (d) development and
validation of a molecular marker (KASP) for rapid incorporation of the new herbicide technology into
lentil breeding programs, (e) the development of populations between herbicide tolerant and
susceptible lines for further genetic studies of the mechanism and control of metribuzin tolerance in
lentil.
The trip provided many opportunities to collaborate and obtain new skills and knowledge in the area of
herbicide tolerance research, plant breeding, genetics and agronomy. During the trip a collaborative
research project was initiated with one of Prof. Vandenberg’s Post Doctorate students, Dr Melissa Wong
titled ‘Understanding the genetic and epigenetic control of herbicide tolerance in lentil’ utilising the
herbicide tolerant material developed in the PhD study. This project will continue until the end of 2015.
A number of ongoing collaborations were also initiated with various researchers and students in areas
such as herbicide screening development in growth rooms and the field, new herbicide tolerance
development in lentil, the development of dual herbicide tolerant lentil germplasm and the
development of molecular markers for herbicide tolerance traits.
Further to the tangible outputs the trip was also of enormous benefit to my professional development
as a career agricultural scientist due to the numerous experiences and opportunities arising while
studying and working in a world class pulse breeding program for a sustained period of time. I
thoroughly recommend that this type of study trip be encouraged and supported for other PBA
scientists, and also for US scientist to travel to Australia.
I returned home safe and full of enthusiasm in late October just in time for the commencement of
harvest (and PBA meetings in Melbourne!) and would like to sincerely thank all my colleagues both in
Australia and in Canada who have provided so much help and assistance in making the trip possible
and such a wonderful and stimulating experience. In particular GRDC, SARDI and the US who provided
funding for the trip and Prof Bert Vandenberg and his pulse team for hosting my family and myself.
With thanks Larn.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 7
Inaugural Special Grains Trainee James Walter and Jenny Davidson, SARDI examine lentil trials
Linking pulses to early career training
Fleur Winter, PBA
The provision of appropriate skills and capacity is essential to the future of pulse variety delivery. PBA
recognizes this need and though the GRDC funded PBA Capacity building project supports research
and student projects to advance pulse research skills. Across the capacity building landscape a
number of other programs and project also provide training in pulse research.
One such initiative is the Special Grains Traineeship funded by the GRDC, South Australian Grain
Industry Trust (SAGIT), SARDI andthe University of Adelaide. James Walter is the inaugural recipient
of this one year grant and began his traineeship in July 2014 with the SARDI cereal and pulse
pathology programs. James is also conducting a project for a varietal screening of the fungal disease,
white grain.
Within pulses James has been working closely with Dr
Jenny Davidson, Principal Research Scientist, Pulse
Pathology at SARDI. He has been involved in virus
sampling of NVT pulse trials, inoculation of downy
mildew trials in field peas and ascochyta sampling in
lentils. James also attended the 2014 Pulse Pathology
Workshop providing exposure to the range of pulse
pathology research occurring across Australia.
“This program is setting me up for the next step in
my career which I’m hoping will be a PhD in the grains
industry, I’ve learnt a huge amount so far and am
very grateful for this opportunity,” James said. “So
far I’ve found it a valuable experience and overall it’s
been a great kick start for my career. I’ve been
experiencing a great range of research outside of what
I saw at university and I’m seeing the application of
this research in the agricultural industry, which has
been really beneficial. I had not had any experience
of pulse research before this program so the
opportunity to work with the pulse pathology team
has been very beneficial.”
Given the initial success of the program a second Special Grains Traineeship was recently awarded.
Brooke Schofield, an Honours graduate in Soils Science from the University of Adelaide will begin a
program in February 2015. Brooke will commence her internship with the Climate Applications Group
at SARDI, Waite Campus, working with Peter Hayman and Victor Sadras. TheClimate Applications
group works across two areas:
Assessing the impacts, risks and opportunities from a variable and changing climate; and
Adapting and improving production systems at a national, regional, farm and crop level.
Brooke’s program will then shift focus to pulses and she will spend April to January 2016 working with
the Pulse Improvement Program at the Clare Crop Improvement Centre, joining research efforts in
herbicide tolerance and pulse agronomy.
The Pulse Improvement Program, lead by Larn McMurray, works closely with the PBA breeding
programs. Areas of research include:
Early generation selection and evaluation of pulses
Identification of herbicide tolerance in pulses; and
Agronomic management research.
Provision of practical training to recent science graduates is of great benefit to the future of crop
research, providing a firm foundation on which to build a career, which with any luck will be firmly
focused on pulses!
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 8
Figure 1. Severe stem breakage following strong winds during a period of moisture stress (left) genetic variation showing a susceptible line (typical of Nura) in the middle surrounded by resistant lines and (right) close-up of stem breakage.
PBA PROGRAM UPDATES
Faba Bean
PBA Faba Bean Team
The full complement of faba bean breeding trials was sown, but the seasonal conditions and
subsequent results varied greatly across Australia. In the Southern Region there was above average
rainfall throughout winter followed by an extremely dry spring. In the Northern Region trials were
sown into generally dry soil profiles following below average summer rain, which had an negative
impact on the area sown to faba beans in the region. Additional challenges encountered through the
year included a high level of aphid infestation and viruses in the northern region, widespread frost
damage and severe stem breakage following strong winds during dry conditions. Although the season
presented many challenges there were a few very positive outcomes. PBA Warda became established
as a major variety in the Northern Region, PBA Samira was released as a new variety for the
Southern Region and Seednet continued the multiplication of two breeding lines, AF05095-1 and
IX220d, which will be released in the next two years.
Faba beans suffer from a trait that has variously been called “necking”, “brackling” and “stem
breakage” whereby the stem breaks at about the mid-point following strong winds during periods of
moisture stress. This is a different phenomenon to lodging which occurs at the base of the plant,
particularly under conditions of high biomass growth. Stem breakage was particularly severe in 2014
and consistent genetic variation was observed across sites. Nura was very prone to stem breakage
and was clearly the worst of all current varieties, however some breeding lines did not experience any
stem breakage (Figure 1). While stem breakage might not have a major impact on yield, it can result
in a reduction in the size of seed in pods above the break-point, the lodged canopy can increase the
risk of foliar fungal diseases and there can be difficulties with harvesting.
The faba bean breeding program collaborates with the SARDI led project DAS00131 Improving weed
management in pulses, and the first progeny of crosses with IMI tolerant mutants identified in 2011
were included in yield trials in 2014. The trials were only conducted at two sites with limited
replication, however it was clear that the progeny following the first cycle of crossing to elite lines were
significantly higher yielding than the initial IMI tolerant mutant selections, and similar in yield to
current varieties in adjacent trials. The most promising of these progeny will be progressed to the next
stage of trials in 2015, while at the same time we will commence multiplication.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 9
Figure 2. Reaction of faba bean accessions to “old” and “new” isolates of Ascochyta fabae. Plants were inoculated with a spore suspension of a single isolate and maintained under humid conditions in a glasshouse. Disease was rated on a scale of 1 (resistant) to 9 (very susceptible).
Ascochyta update
Ascochyta blight was observed in the mid-north of South Australia in 2013, on several faba bean
varieties and many breeding lines that were previously considered resistant. Detailed controlled
environment testing of isolates collected from infected plants confirmed that the new isolates had
overcome the resistance of Farah and PBA Rana , but Ascot, Nura and PBA Samira remained
resistant. This prompted large-scale screening in 2014 of breeding material and sources of resistance
to Ascochyta blight selected in previous years, to identify lines resistant to the “new” pathotype. Over
80 germplasm accessions previously identified as resistant to Ascochyta blight were tested with
isolates that represented the “old” (collected in 2010) and “new” (collected in 2013) pathotypes. 73
accessions, with an overall rating of 3 or less, were resistant to the “old” pathotype, but only 24 of
these accessions were also resistant to the “new” pathotype.
There was very distinct variation in the response of individual accessions to the “new” pathotype, with
some accessions displaying a moderately susceptible reaction (score of 4 – 6), while other accessions
were susceptible or very susceptible (score of 7 – 9) (Figure 2). Distinct regional variation was also
observed, with the majority of accessions resistant to the “new” pathotype originating from the Middle
East and Mediterranean Basin. Accessions from China were susceptible or very susceptible to the
“new” pathotype. There was also considerable variation in the reaction of accessions within a region;
for example, while some lines from the Middle East were resistant, others were moderately susceptible
to very susceptible to the “new” pathotype.
Further research is required to determine the relationship between the lines resistant to both the “old”
and “new” pathotypes and identify whether there are alternative resistance genes among this group
that could be used to diversify the genetic basis of resistance to Ascochyta blight.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Reacti
on
to
new
str
ain
of
Asco
ch
yta
fab
ae
Reaction to old strain of Ascochyta fabae
Andes
China
ICARDA
Maghreb
Mediterranean
Middle East
Nth Africa
Nth Europe
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 10
Field Pea and Lentil
Peter Kennedy, Matt Rodda and Garry Rosewarne (DEPI Vic)
Season overview
The season got off to a good start with steady rainfall until August. However, season end was pretty
tough across all regions, with drought and late frosts severely affecting many trials. Average site
yields from breeder trials are outlined in table 1. The Victorian sites were worst hit by the adverse
conditions, although Horsham fared OK. It was sown into a chemical fallow and had residual moisture
from the previous season, helping to maintain adequate yields. The pea and lentil sites of Beulah and
Hopetoun were most severely affected by drought and not harvested. The Minyip lentil site will be
dropped due to extremely low yields. The South Australian sites fared slightly better and yields will be
useful to make selections for broad adaptation. The pea sites in WA and NSW, although also affect by
the poor season, will still assist in selections for these regions.
Table 1. Average yield per site for the pea and lentil breeding programs in the different states across Australia.
State Location Peas* Lentils* State Location Peas* Lentils*
SA BALAKLAVA 2.2 - NSW ARDLETHAN 1.4 -
SA KINGSFORD 2.7 - NSW WAGGA 1.9 1.5
SA MINNIPA 1.9 - NSW YENDA 1.0 0.5
SA SNOWTOWN 1.9 1.1
SA WILLAMULKA 2.3 - WA DALWALLINU 2.9 -
SA MALLALA - 1.8 WA GRASSPATCH 2.4 -
SA KADINA - 1.4 WA MERREDIN 1.4 0.3
SA MELTON - 2.2 WA SCADDAN 3.0 -
WA MINGENEW - 0.7
VIC SEA LAKE 0.8 -
VIC HORSHAM 2.7 2.2
VIC MINYIP - 0.5
VIC BEULAH Lost Lost
VIC HOPETOUN Lost Lost
* tonnes per hectare
Field Peas
The National variety trial (NVT) sites were similarly affected by the poor season with five of the 32 pea
sites lost. Table 2 outlines the pea breeding lines outperforming the current checks. While preliminary
analysis of yield data is only for 2014 it highlights some promising new lines coming through the
pipeline in SA and Victoria. A suite of high yielding lines outperformed the best check, PBA Gunyah ,
in WA. However, new breeding lines struggled to beat the latest releases in NSW primarily due to the
occurrence of bacterial blight and viral diseases in this region.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 11
Table 2. Best performing field pea breeding lines by region
Victoria
% site
average
yield
2014
SA
% site
average
yield
2014
NSW
% site
average
yield
2014
WA
% site
average
yield
2014
PBA Pearl 118 OZP1403 109 PBA Oura 122 OZP1413 113
OZP1403 117 OZP1409 108 PBA Pearl 120 OZP1101 110
PBA Oura 109 PBA Pearl 107 OZP1414 108 OZP1409 108
OZP1409 106 PBA
Wharton 106 OZP1413 107 OZP1301 106
OZP1414 105 OZP1407 106 PBA Percy 105 OZP1208 106
OZP1407 103 OZP1414 102 Sturt 104 PBA Gunyah 105
PBA
Wharton 101 OZP1406 102 OZP1409 103 PBA Twilight 97
OZP1406 99 PBA Oura 99 PBA Wharton 102
Field pea varieties
We are starting to see wide-scale grower uptake of some of the more recent PBA varietal releases.
While long standing variety Kaspa has dominated the industry it is expected that the earlier flowering
PBA Gunyah and PBA Twilight will soon overtake it, particularly in WA. It is encouraging to see a
number of high yielding breeder lines for this region. The area planted to PBA Wharton (released in
2013) continues to increase and with its tolerance to hostile soils it is likely to surpass the
aforementioned lines to become the dominant variety in the mid-term. The yellow-seeded PBA Pearl
continues to produce the best yields overall, however export linkages need to be established for this to
become a mainstream variety.
Pushing field peas north
Investigations are underway into the adaptability of field peas throughout NSW. While they are grown
to some degree in southern NSW a push north poses different yield limiting disease pressures. One of
the major limitations is bacterial blight, it remains a major stumbling block in developing varieties
adapted to the northern region. Excellent collaborations between the genetic enhancement team at
Horsham and Kurt Lindbeck, NSW DPI, have resulted in the development of a glasshouse assay for
bacterial blight that closely correlates with disease in the field. Targeted resistance to bacterial blight
should be more easily developed using the collaboratively developed glasshouse assay.
In northern NSW the pork industry is keen to source protein locally and the GRDC have funded pea
trials in NVT to investigate the yield potential of peas for stockfeed. Collaborative trials between the
PBA Field Pea breeding program and University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute have identified
germplasm suitable for this region. Future breeding efforts should assist with enhancing yield and
uptake of field peas. Steve Moore was instrumental in conducting inital research, identifying key
constraints for the region and conducting preliminary work and breeding funded through the Pork CRC.
Again diseases are the main limitation with a number of viral disease and powdery mildew being the
main drivers of yield rankings. Sources of resistance are available in the existing genepool and
breeding strategies to combine these, along with earlier maturity, should see significant yield increase
in the coming years.
Application of molecular markers in the breeding program
The molecular marker development team, led by Sukhjiwan (Dimpy) Kaur, is making excellent
progress in developing molecular markers for use in the field pea program. Tightly linked markers for
a major gene to powdery mildew resistance and boron tolerance have been identified. These markers
have been run on a validation panel and appear to be accurate across nearly all of the germplasm.
Several markers associated with bacterial blight and salt tolerance have also been identified. The
quantitative nature of these loci makes running the validation panel somewhat problematic but the loci
should be applicable to targeted populations within the breeding program. All of these markers were
run across the crossing block and we will be applying these to selected F2 populations for marker-
assisted selection gene enrichment.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 12
Lentils
The lentil NVTs were hit particularly hard by the poor season. Five of the 11 trials had unacceptably
high variation and a further two trials experienced multiple frost events. This limited dataset will be
analysed with those of previous years and will be useful in identifying the level of broad adaptation
within the program.
PBA Hurricane XT continues to generate interest within the industry due to its high yield and
tolerance to imazethapyr. It is estimated that this variety now dominates the industry with over 20%
market share. The current breeding pipeline has a number of higher yielding XT based lines in earlier
stages of development, boding well for future releases. PBA Jumbo 2 , a large red lentil, has shown
good initial uptake and its yield potential has again lifted it to a top performer in the 2014 season,
especially in SA.
The breeding program continues to focus on developing high-yielding varieties with suitable traits for
target regions. Herbicide tolerance tops the list in trait incorporation and work by Larn McMurray from
SARDI has resulted in the development of molecular markers to imidazolinone and metribuzin
resistance loci. These markers will be implemented into the breeding scheme in the near future.
Markers for boron tolerance have also been developed, although their use at this stage will be limited
to specific populations. Work on traits such as resistance to botrytis grey mould (BGM) and ascochyta
blight is ongoing. Despite the poor season, good scores on resistance to ascochyta blight were
obtained early in the season and will be useful as a selection tool. The BGM screening methodology
has been improved and we will be taking advantage of this in future selections.
Statistics
Both the field pea and lentil programs are optimising their use of data sets through the Statistics for
the Australian Grains Industry (SAGI) group. Over the past few years we have been adopting the MET
analysis to aid in selections and this year we will also use co-efficient of parentage to provide more
information on the yield and adaptability of various lines within the breeding program. Although 2014
was a tough year, by combining these data sets with those of previous years we hope to identify
germplasm that has good yield stability.
Chickpea
Kristy Hobson DPI NSW
The 2014 season resulted in abiotic challenges for most chickpea growing regions. Frost caused
damage in central Queensland and was a major limitation in Victoria. Most PBA Chickpea evaluation
sites experienced either intermittent dry periods or severe terminal drought. Coupled with warm
temperatures the 2014 season ended abruptly with trial harvest commencing in October for the
northern region and all regions completing harvest by mid December.
Trial site mean yields around the country were 2.4 t/ha in central QLD (Emerald), 1.9 t/ha in southern
QLD (Roma) and northern NSW (North Star), 1.6 t/ha in southern NSW (Wagga Wagga), 0.4 t/ha
(Rupanyup) to 1.6 t/ha (Horsham on fallow) in Victoria, 1.9 t/ha in SA (Melton) and 1.25 t/ha in WA
(Walebing). Most sites had minimal disease issues, although Ascochyta blight (AB) was present at
some sites early in the season in Victoria and South Australia.
No new PBA chickpea varieties were released in 2014, but seed multiplication for a number of
advanced breeding lines occurred in collaboration with our current commercial partner Seednet.
Discussion on the 2014 performance of these lines and decisions on their future will occur at the desi
and kabuli Release Advisory Group (RAG) meetings in the upcoming months.
Despite dry conditions at Tamworth, AB nurseries were successfully established for lines in national
yield evaluation (eg S3 – S1 testing). This data will be collated with the program’s yield trials, other
biotic and abiotic screening nurseries and quality data to assist the PBA Chickpea team to make
selection decisions for the 2015 evaluation program.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 13
Senior Technical Officer (DAFWA) Cliff Staples with promising
narrow-leafed lupin line WALAN2385 yielding relatively well
under very low rainfall conditions at Merredin, WA.
Lupin
Jon Clements, Huan Yang and the DAFWA lupin breeding team (DAFWA), Mark Richards (NSW DPI), Amanda Pearce and Andrew Ware (SARDI)
The 2014 lupin breeding program comprised approximately 50,000 breeding plots or rows. We
performed about 400 crosses, which included standard crossing/backcrossing/topcrossing and in
addition this year many genetic diversity crosses, genetic or RIL population crosses and a diallel cross
set among 7 parents for yield. Promoted lines from Stage 2-1 to 2-2 (222 lines) were sent for seed
increase and preliminary evaluation at Yanco, NSW by Mark Richards as part of our national breeding
effort. Harvest of breeding plots in WA was completed by the DAFWA lupin breeding team at the final
site (Merredin) just before Christmas. Analysis of breeding program yield trials is progressing in order
to select lines for promotion at all levels within the breeding pipeline. Although the Merredin site
suffered drought, its low yields are expected to provide good information to facilitate line selection (for
promotion or as crossing parents) for yield under moisture stress. Seed alkaloid and/or protein testing
for approximately 1,200 samples is also underway to provide data for selection for low alkaloids
(preferably ≤ 0.015%) and whole seed protein levels ≥ 30%.
The Department of Agriculture and Food WA regional officers conducted 16 lupin Crop Variety trials
throughout WA, reporting the results back to National Variety Trials. The 2014 season varied widely in
quality across WA. Lupin yields were average in most WA Lupin Zones in 2014, with the exception of
Zones 3 and 7 where rainfall was well below average. Statistically significant differences were
recorded in most trials, however the Pingelly site suffered waterlogging and disease producing
abnormal results and the Kalannie trial was abandoned due to poor establishment and growth.
Extreme heat events in August were the likely cause of an unusually widespread occurrence of charcoal
rot in lupin fields across the northern and eastern districts this year. In most seasons, the disease
rarely has any significant impact on
lupin yields. Late rains promoted re-
greening of lupins (terminal branches
producing new growth) in some
regions, a characteristic that makes
harvest and maintaining low moisture
in seed samples a bit more difficult.
Cultivars such as Mandelup are less
likely to re-green due to their rapid
senescence at physiological maturity.
On average across the WA NVT sites,
PBA Gunyidi and PBA Barlock
yielded well (6.6% and 4.7% above
Mandelup respectively) and Stage 4
beeding lines WALAN2385 and
WALAN2489 showing promise (8.3%
and 8.2% above Mandelup
respectively). The best Stage 3 lines
included WALAN2522, 2546, 2533 and
2529 whose yields ranged from 11.6%
to 7.7% higher than Mandelup .
South Australia saw above average
rainfall across the Eyre Peninsula and
Mid North through April to July which
led to waterlogging at several sites. However from August through to crop maturity rainfall was well
below average. The Tooligie site on the Upper Eyre Peninsula experienced frosts between August and
October. On average PBA Barlock was the best performing cultivar (5.5% above Mandelup ) and
Stage 4 lines WALAN2506 and WALAN2498 performed well (12.8% and 11.8% above Mandelup ).
Promising Stage 3 lines in the National Lupin Initiative trials were WALAN2524, 2553, 2526 and 2538
(yields ranging from 15% to 17.3% above Mandelup ). At Keith dry conditions caused soil erosion
and coupled with frosts resulted in highly variable results.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 14
Lupin breeding plots at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.
The Hopetoun (Victorian Mallee) NVT trial experienced dry conditions, receiving only just over half its
normal rainfall during the April to October period, in addition eight frosts occurred between August to
September. Despite this yields of all cultivars tended to be higher than long term averages for the
site, and in 2014 Mandelup (110%), PBA Barlock (105%) and Quilinock (105%) were above the
site mean. Walpeup (Victorian Mallee) NVT trial was low yielding. Averaged across the 3 sites
(Walpeup, Hopetoun and Diggora), PBA Barlock performed overall best among cultivars and
WALAN2499, 2385, 2448 and 2498 were the best breeding lines.
The lupin growing areas in New South Wales experienced an unusual growing season in 2014. It was
characterised by above average rainfall in autumn followed by below average rainfall from July to
November. Fortunately, the earlier sowing window and stored soil moisture allowed many areas to still
achieve average yields despite the dry spring. The dry spring generally favoured the quicker maturing
varieties.
Some very early sown crops in the Riverina area were severely affected by a series of severe frosts in
late July and early August. This resulted in total crop death in some locations. The wet autumn and
subsequent increase in aphid activity resulted in serious virus damage to crops in mixed farming areas
particularly on the south west slopes. Both bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) and cucumber mosaic
virus were observed in many narrow leaf lupin crops. The problem was more severe in crops sown
early in the sowing window and at lower densities. Jenabillup and some other test lines were
observed to have improved BYMV resistance over all other current varieties. In NSW, among the 10
NVT trials, PBA Gunyidi out-performed other cultivars, with WALAN2491, WALAN2498 doing well
also. In the 4 National Lupin Initiative trials in NSW, Stage 3 lines such as WALAN2533, 07A001-[F4]-
20, 07A038-[F4]-7 yielded very well (from 25 to 38% above Mandelup ).
The virus resistance qualities of the albus lupin were very evident at the Cowra and Cootamundra sites
enabling significantly higher yields to be obtained. There were also some very good albus crops in the
northern areas around Gilgandra and Coonamble.
Future potential narrow-leafed lupin cultivar releases will be discussed over the next few months.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 15
Old (foreground) and new technology (digital image analysis) for determining
seed size distribution. Along with ‘later generation’ scientist Dr Joe Panozzo
and ‘early generation’ scientist Linda LeMasurier.
PULSE RESEARCH NEWS
Developments in digital image analysis
Joe Panozzo and Linda LeMasurier, DEPI Vic
The measurement of grain quality traits (seed size and seed size distribution in lentils and peas using
digital image analysis was successfully implemented into the PBA Lentil and Field Pea programs in early
2014 immediately after the 2013-14 harvest.
We have also investigated the applicability of these algorithms for evaluating both desi and kabuli
chickpeas but found that they were not suitable due to the size difference and the irregular shape of
chickpeas, particularly the desi varieties compared with the more spherical field peas. The irregular
shape (height to width ratio) causes chickpeas to behave differently from field peas as they move
across the sieves as pass through the sieve aperture. Often the ‘beak’ of the chickpea can cause a
smaller chickpea to become stuck in a larger sieve size group. Therefore, we developed a separate
seed sizing algorithm for chickpeas which is based on different measures of seed shape, diameter and
height from the field pea sizing algorithms. The results of the chickpea sizing algorithms correspond
reasonably well with results from sieves, however SSD (seed size distribution) and SSI (seed size
index) are often slightly under predicted through the image analysis method due to the behaviour of
chickpeas through sieves.
Algorithms have been developed to measure SSD, SSI and length characteristics of faba beans. These
correlate very well with measurements of seed size through sieves and callipers. Both the chickpea
and faba bean sizing algorithms will be further validated using trials from the 2014 harvest.
We have also been working in characterising seed discoloration in faba beans and lentils due to
disease, in particular ascochyta blight and we welcome any disease-damaged samples that might
extend the current range of our algorithms.
Please contact Dr Joe Panozzo for further information: [email protected] ph: (03) 5362
2129.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 16
Legume research at the Australian Grains Free Air CO2
Enrichment (AGFACE) facility
Maryse Bourgault, The University of Melbourne
A legume researcher in AGFACE?
Hello. Please allow me a few sentences to introduce myself. My name is Maryse Bourgault. I know
this is hard to pronounce for English-speakers, so feel free to call me Marissa. I started on the AGFACE
project a little over a year ago. Previous to this position, I was a postdoc in CSIRO, in Brisbane,
investigating adaptive traits in wheat and how these might influence (or not) the response to elevated
CO2 (eCO2). During my PhD, I examined various mechanisms in navy bean and mungbean in response
to drought. When I first visited the project’s field site last year, I was very interested in the lentil
experiments. Questioning indicated little analysis had been conducted on the collected lentil data or
the data from field peas grown in the previous three years. I was entrusted with the field pea data and
tasked to make sense of it. I also took on the lentil work, and hence became the legume researcher on
the AGFACE team.
The AGFACE research program
The FACE (Free Air CO2 Enrichment) technique is used internationally at more than 30 sites,
investigating a multitude of ecosystems including cropping systems, pastures, and forests. The
AGFACE (Australian Grains Free Air CO2 Enrichment) research program is located in Horsham (Victoria)
and is a collaborative effort between the Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre (PICCC), the
Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victoria and the University of Melbourne. It is also
supported by funding from the GRDC and the Federal Department of Agriculture.
The AGFACE facility enables the exposure of field grown crops to elevated CO2 levels (550ppm) under
dryland field conditions and is and is now in its eighth year of operation. During this time wheat,
canola and legumes have been investigated. Field peas trials were conducted for three years from
2010-2012 and lentil trials commenced in 2013. Jason Brand (DEPI) developed all protocol for data
collection and selected cultivars for both the field pea and lentil experiment conducted until 2013.
As you most likely know,
atmospheric CO2 concentrations
have increased from 280 ppm in
the pre-industrial era to over
400 ppm last year. The world is
also now emitting more CO2 and
greenhouse gases than what
IPCC considered in 1992 the
most fossil fuel intensive high
economic growth scenario. This
is a very rapid change in one of
the fundamental resources for
plant growth, and we expect
that it will impact on agricultural
systems.
Elevated CO2 lentil ring in AGFACE 2014, scanning of mini-
rhizotron images
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 17
Recently the AGFACE program has moved from what we call effect studies – questions such as “How
much more growth and yield do we get from elevated CO2?” and “ Are legumes going to respond better
considering that they fix their own nitrogen” – to a physiological approach. Focus is now on
investigating genotypic variability in the response to elevated CO2. Questions such as “Are there
cultivars that respond better than others to eCO2, and if so, what traits do they have that might
explain this?” are being investigated. This type of information can be provided to pulse breeding
programs for integration into long term breeding priorities.
Sneak peak at field pea response to eCO2
A paper on this data will be submitted shortly and some of the basic results of the effect of elevated
CO2 on field peas is provided here. On average, we see a 26% increase in yield from 400 ppm to 550
ppm of CO2 – in the absence of higher temperatures or changes in rainfall patterns. This is higher than
the increase in yield recorded by the SoyFACE facility in Illinois, USA (the only other FACE facility that
tested a legume crop). Soy Face recorded a 15% increase in yield with elevated CO2, very similar to
the yield increases seen in wheat at AGFACE. Yield increases appear to be driven by an increase in the
number of pods per meter square and higher biomass. Grain size, number of grains per pod and
harvest index were not affected. Higher biomass also provides more straw containing on average an
additional 19 kg of nitrogen per hectare.
We are particularly interested in finding cultivars with varying response to elevated CO2. Based on the
literature, we hypothesised that PBA Hayman , being a dual purpose crop may have the plasticity to
respond better than other varieties. However, to date there appears to be little statistical genotypic
variability in the field pea cultivars tested in yield response to elevated CO2 under dryland conditions.
We did however, find one significant CO2 by cultivar interactions in irrigated trials. In wheat elevated
CO2 decreases protein levels. Although field peas can fix their own nitrogen, their grain nitrogen
concentrations still decrease under elevated CO2. However, Sturt under rainfed conditions and PBA
Twilight under supplemental irrigation maintained their grain N. At this stage we do not know why
this occurs. Also in a significant cultivar by irrigation interaction Sturt showed the greatest increase in
yield under irrigation, while PBA Twilight showed no response to additional water. While curious, we
do not know if this response is relevant to the maintenance of nitrogen in grains under elevated CO2.
Further investigation into how these cultivars maintain grain nitrogen under elevated CO2 and
contrasting irrigation treatments is required.
Grain nitrogen response to elevated CO2
in field peas grown in AGFACE from 2010-
2012.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 18
Lentil response to eCO2
Analysis of the data from two seasons by
six lentil cultivars (looking at a range of
market classes) grown at AGFACE will
occur in early 2015. The relative
increase in yield due to elevated CO2 was
large last year, but this is mostly due to
generally low yields across all trials. In
collaboration with James Nuttall, DEPI, a
heat stress event at the flat pod stage
was imposed on two of the cultivars
under investigation last year, with plans
to repeat this experiment in 2015.
Finally, we were looking at root growth
under both ambient and elevated CO2 via
mini-rhizotron scans every fortnight to
see if or how root growth might change
under elevated CO2.
A results update should be available for
the next PBA newsletter, so stay tuned!
Imposition of three days of heat stress on lentils in
AGFACE, October 2014.
Maryse Bourgault and Russel Argall hand sowing lentil
plots at AGFACE, May 2014.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 19
Frost tolerance on faba bean
Kedar Adhikari (The University of Sydney)
Message
Variation existed in the breeding germplasm for frost tolerance of faba bean at the vegetative stage,
but not at the pod development stage which is the most damaging phase. However, the level of
tolerance found in the germplasm is not strong enough to withstand the severe frost that occurs in the
northern region, especially after flowering time. There is a need to improve the level of frost tolerance
at the vegetative stage and to identify the source of tolerance at the pod development stage.
Introduction
Susceptibility to frost is an important abiotic stress in faba bean, especially in the northern agricultural
region of Australia. Faba bean is vulnerable to frost particularly in the flowering, early pod formation
and pod-filling stages. Therefore, identification of frost tolerance and understanding the mechanism of
the tolerance will be vital in the breeding program, especially for the sub-tropical environment. In
Australia, radiation frost is the main type of frost affecting crops, including legumes. It occurs after
cold fronts on clear windless nights when temperatures plummet. At that time, plants radiate more
heat and become much colder than the ambient temperature making them more vulnerable to frost
injury.
The effect of frost on vegetative growth has been widely studied in Europe, however as the European
crop flowers outside of frosting periods little research has been done on its effect on reproductive
structures. Resistance to frost as seedlings is not related to resistance to frost after flowering (Bond
DA 1994) posing a challenge to find tolerance at the latter stage. It is not a severe problem even in
southern Australia and no emphasis has been given to frost resistance at flowering. However, it is one
of the major abiotic stresses in the northern sub-tropical region and is mostly managed by targeted
sowing time. This study examined the variation of frost tolerance in faba bean in the breeding
germplasm.
Materials and Methods
Sixty-four lines in S3 and 30 lines in S4 were evaluated at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding
Institute at Narrabri in 2014. Experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with
three replications. Each genotype was sown in 4 row-plots of 10 m length and 1 m row spacing in the
last week of April 2014. Normal field operation followed and observations of frost damage as stem
collapse at the vegetative stage and pod damage at the reproductive stage were taken 7-10 days after
a frost event (Fig. 1). A 1-9 scale was used where 1 indicated no visible damage and 9 complete stem
collapses at the vegetative stage and the amount of blackening and dead pods at the reproductive
stage.
Figure 1: Severe frost damage at early (left) and later phase of crop development (right). Note the
bending and twisting of stems.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 20
Results and Discussion
Frost occurred for consecutive days and temperature plummeted up to -4oC in the first and second
week in July when the plants had initiated flowering. Only a few plants in highly susceptible
genotypes, such as Fiord showed bending of the stem due to frost injury. Most genotypes had no
obvious damage. The plants were still elongating and leaf canopy provided a buffering effect to the
stems. This might have created a relatively warmer microclimate than open air conditions. The
maximum temperatures at that time were in the range of high teens to low 20s and night
temperatures were low. This might have provided a hardening effect to the plants and prevented
severe frost damage. These results indicated that good level of tolerance existed in the germplasm at
the early stage of crop development when the frost is not severe.
The second frost occurred in the second week in August and temperatures fell up to -6⁰C on 11
August. At that time the stems were fully elongated and plants were in the early stage of pod
development. The maximum temperatures were in the high 20s exposing plants to a very wide
temperature range. This caused maximum frost damage to the plants on stems as well as on
developing pods. Some burning effect due to frost injury was also observed in the upper leaf canopy.
Data was recorded at this stage.
The susceptible cultivars, such as Fiord were badly damaged showing more than 60% stem collapses.
The damaged plants lay on the ground giving the symptom of lodging; they either bent or snapped at
their weakest point depending upon the weight of the stem. The bent plants tried to grow upward
giving a ‘hockey stick’ appearance. These plants were weaker and had lower number of pods than
undamaged plants. There was a wide range of variation among lines from almost no damage to 60%
stem collapse (Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Frequency distribution of S3 (left) and S4 lines (right) for frost tolerance. The severity of 3 and
less is considered a high level of tolerance.
A gradual improvement was observed in the tolerance level from Fiord to PBA Warda in the order of
PBA Warda >Doza >Cairo >Fiord. IX220d/2-5, a proposed release in 2015, had similar level of
tolerance to that of PBA Warda . Newer lines, such as IX561f-4-2 in S4 and IX564c/1-4, IX564c/2-1,
IX588c/1-4, IX564c/2-3, IX565a/1-3, IX565a/1-6 and IX570a/1-1 in S3 had significantly better
tolerance than PBA Warda . They had little or no damage on the stem and almost all plants appeared
straight after the frost event. On our scale, PBA Warda scored around 3, Doza 4, Cairo 5 and
Fiord more than 6, while the newer lines listed above scored less than 3 (Fig.2). This is only a first
season observation and further evaluation will be needed to confirm tolerance levels.
0
2
4
6
8
10
2.0 2.7 3.0 3.3 3.7 4.0 4.3 4.7 6.3
Fre
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en
cy
Frost severity
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 21
Figure 3: Frost damaged faba bean seeds
There was no difference in pod damage
across the genotypes tested. They all
displayed some blackened pods with
dead seeds inside, but not all pods
directly exposed to the frosty conditions
were affected. The severely damaged
pods turned black and aborted. The
less damaged pods had fewer seeds
which were not fully developed and
stained (Fig.3). The result was not only
substantial yield loss, but also reduced
seed quality.
Tolerance to frost decreases with the age of the plant; as a result plants become more susceptible to
frost at the reproductive stage compared to the vegetative stage. It has been reported that young
pods are the most sensitive to cold temperatures and that flowers are much hardier (Liu Z.S. 1987).
Therefore frost at the reproductive stage is the most damaging. Faba bean is an indeterminate crop
and after losing its flowers and pods it starts to develop more flowers and also new shoots. However,
due to heat and moisture stress at this stage it is already too late for the flowers and shoots to
develop into pods.
There has been no comparative studies conducted on frost damage in Australia, but our experience
indicates 20-30% yield loss would be common in older varieties, such as Fiord exposed to frost. In
severe cases losses can be as high as 60%. For example, in a trial at Walgett in 2013, the yield
reduction due to frost was over 60%.
In addition to the influence of growth stage and genotype, severity of frost damage also depends upon
field moisture level and severity of frost. Frost damage will be aggravated by the moisture limited
conditions of drought. Furthermore, in a drought year, plants do not produce a big canopy meaning
stems as well as pods can be directly exposed to frost. Hardening of plants through exposure to low
temperature for an extended period of time increases their ability to resist frost. However, winters in
the sub-tropical region of Australia are not severe or long enough to harden plants, especially after
flowering. Therefore, even one or two minor frosts are enough to cause substantial damage,
particularly during the pod development stage. Our results indicated that there is a variation in the
germplasm for frost tolerance at the vegetative stage, but not on the pod development stage which is
the most damaging phase. There are many faba bean lines in the gene bank in Australia collected
from the high altitude areas of China. They have potential for frost tolerance and need to be
evaluated. More research is also needed to understand the mechanisms of frost tolerance.
References
Bond, D. A., Jellis, G. J., Rowland, G. G., Le Guen, J., Robertson, D. L., Khahil, S. A., and Li-Juan, L.
(1994). Present status and future strategy in breeding faba beans (Vicia faba L.) for resistance to
biotic and abiotic stress. Euphytica 73, 151-166.
Liu, Z. S., Zhao, Y. Z., Bao, S. Y., and Guang, W. (1987). Low temperature and faba bean (Vicia faba
L.) yield. Fabis Newsletter 18, 14-17.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 22
Assisted Single Seed Descent (aSSD) – four generations of
lentil in 225 days.
Janine Croser, Federico Ribalta, Maria Pazos-Navarro, Christine Munday, Karen Nelson, Kylie Edwards, Richard Bennett and Willy Erskine (The Centre for Plant Genetics and Breeding, UWA)
The time taken to develop a new pulse cultivar is constrained by long generation turnover times.
Using conventional breeding technologies such as Single Seed Descent (SSD), plant breeders can
generally cycle through a maximum of 2-3 generations per year. The SSD technique relies on the
harvest and growing of a single seed of each plant. This return to homozygosity after a cross can
significantly delay the development of new and improved cultivars.
GRDC funded (UWA000159) research undertaken at The University of Western Australia has developed
of a robust accelerated Single Seed Descent (aSSD) system that enables the turnover of 6-8
generations per year in chickpea, field pea, lupin and lentil.
The key to the technology is the combination of forcing time to flowering using extended photoperiods,
optimal temperatures and stress conditions with a treatment to elicit rapid and robust germination of
immature seed.
Recent research has focused on refining and validating the SSD technology f 120 genetically variable
lines across the four target species. To further value-add the technique, we are integrating abiotic
screening for key traits of interest (e.g. tolerance to boron) within the population development
process.
To facilitate scale-up to a commercial service, we have recently completed a lentil ‘case study’
population. PBA Breeder, Dr Matthew Rodda, provided an F2 lentil population of 230 seeds. The aim
was to take this population from F2 – F6 using the aSSD system. Using optimised conditions for floral
initiation, each lentil generation took between 25-28 days to flower and a further 17 days to immature
seed harvest. Immature seeds were submitted to a germination treatment before planting to soil after
7-8 days. Under these conditions, each generation was achieved in approximately 53 days. In the
final generation, the mature F6 seeds were harvested 40 days after flowering ready to return to the
PBA breeding program. The F5 generation time was therefore c. 66 days.
We initially predicted a turnover of four generations in 216 days with additional time required at the
end for maturation of seed. We were able to turnover the four generations (from F2-F6) in c. 225
days with 83% survival of original lines. Between 3-10 seeds were obtained for each of the F6 plants.
We harvested an additional ‘back-up’ seed from each plant at each generation as insurance against
loss of plants in the subsequent generation (to disease/ pests/ facility breakdown etc.). This proved a
good strategy, as we had to resort to our back-up F4 seed for 50 plants lost to a sudden disease
breakout in the F5 generation.
We are now extending scale-up to chickpea, with a population under development for Ms Judith Atieno
(ACFPG) and Dr Tim Sutton (SARDI). We look forward to working with pre-breeding researchers and
PBA breeders to exploit the potential of this technology in accelerating grain legume improvement.
Please direct enquiries to Dr Janine Croser ([email protected], ph: 0422 702382)
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 23
A B
C D
E F
A,B,E: Lentil F2 population at different stages of development.
C,D: tagged lentil flower/ pod.
F: F6 mature seed after harvesting – ready to be returned to PBA Breeding program.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 24
Molecular markers for pulse breeding programs – an update
Sukhjiwan Kaur (DEPI Vic)
Marker implementation into PBA programs
Since 2009, the DEPI and GRDC-funded Pulse Molecular Marker Project has developed significant
genomic resources for lentil, chickpea, field pea and faba bean, with the ultimate aim of enabling the
use of molecular markers in pulse breeding programs.
Traits that limit productivity, including tolerances to biotic and abiotic stresses have been assessed in
appropriate germplasm, and markers identified for 11 traits. These include resistance to ascochyta
blight and botrytis grey mould and tolerance to boron and salt in lentil, resistance to powdery mildew,
downy mildew, bacterial blight and tolerance to boron and salt in field pea, resistance to ascochyta
blight in chickpea and resistance to ascochyta blight in faba bean. These markers are now
progressively being implemented into the PBA breeding programs starting with field pea. With markers
now becoming available, the pulse breeding programs are currently examining the most effective
strategy for marker deployment at minimal cost with maximum gains to the breeding programs.
New tools - Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS)
Continuous improvement of new tools has also enabled a reduction in the costs of genomics-assisted
breeding in legumes. An in-house “genotyping by sequencing” protocol has been developed. It aims to
deliver high-throughput genotyping at minimal cost. Current costs are c. AU$50-60 per sample to
generate approximately 50,000-60,000 markers across the genome. This new protocol will enable the
generation of high-density marker data at a reduced cost to enable more effective breeding strategies
in pulses.
Improving yield and reliability of chickpeas and fieldpeas
under water deficit – the 2014 season
Lachlan Lake (SARDI)
During the 2014 cropping season we ran three separate experiments at Roseworthy, Snowtown and
Turretfield.
Drought adaptive traits in chickpea - Roseworthy
This trial repeated trials sown in 2013 examining drought adaptive traits in chickpea. The trials involve
monitoring the response of 20 chickpea lines to four different imposed environments. The four
environments were a combination of sowing date and water regimes. Sowing dates were June 10
(recommended) and July 15 (late). Early-sown crops were either irrigated, or rainfed until July 23,
then covered with rainout shelters to induce terminal drought. Late sown crops were either irrigated or
rainfed.
We measured phenology on a weekly basis to determine time to flowering, pod emergence, end of
flowering and maturity. When the plant canopies had reached a minimum threshold of leaf area
(approximately 40-50% of the soil surface covered), we also measured crop growth rate and biomass
(using the Greenseeker – Ntech Industries). Mature crops were hand-harvested to determine yield
components including plant biomass, pod number, pod weight, seed per pod, seed weight, seed
number, harvest index (seed weight/biomass) and pod wall ratio (pod and seed weight/seed weight).
We also monitored temperature and rainfall variables using Tinytags, soil probes and data from the
nearest available weather station.
Across lines, yield ranged from 1 to >4 t/ha thus reflecting the full environmental range. Pooled data
from 2013 and 2014 are currently being analysed.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 25
QTL analysis of pod wall ratio trait in field pea - Snowtown
The QTL analysis of pod wall ratio trait in field pea trial was sown as a field pea mapping population
designed to multiply seed and provide some initial phenotyping data for the trait pod wall ratio, which
we previously identified as being related to yield in both stress and non-stress environments. The
single rows were hand harvested and are currently being processed and analysed for pod wall ratio and
other yield components. In 2015 we expect to sow full sized plots for phenotyping and genetic
analysis in collaboration with Garry Rosewarne (PBA Field Pea Breeder).
Response to competition and yield – Turretfield and Roseworthy
The aim of these trials is to determine if more competitive lines can be selected for higher yield in pure
stands. The trials repeated 2013 trials and used the same 20 lines as the drought adaptive traits in
chickpea experiments (Table 1). A combination of location and sowing date were used to create four
different environments. Sowing dates were June 6 and June 10 at both Turretfield and Roseworthy
(recommended) and July15 again at both Turretfield and Roseworthy (late). We measured phenology
and yield components in the same manner as the drought adaptive traits in chickpea experiment and
linked differences with response to competition.
A comprehensive report of trial results will be available later in the year.
Table 1. Chickpea lines used for drought adaptive traits and response to competition.
Line Grain type
CICA1007 Desi
CICA1016 Desi
CICA1229 Desi
Genesis509 Desi
Genesis836 Desi
Howzat Desi
PBA Boundary Desi
PBA HatTrick Desi
PBA Slasher Desi
PBA Striker Desi
Sonali Desi
Almaz Kabuli
CICA0857 Kabuli
Genesis Kalkee Kabuli
Genesis079 Kabuli
Genesis090 Kabuli
CICA0912 Desi
Jimbour Desi
Kyabra Desi
PBA Pistol Desi
Left: The ‘drought adaptive traits in chickpea’ trial with late sown irrigated environment
(foreground) and recommended sowing irrigated and rainout shelter (background) .
Right: Fully podded plants under the rainout shelter in the ‘drought adaptive traits in chickpea’
trial.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 26
Lentil line Control isolateAvirulent isolate
on Nipper
Virulent isolate
on Nipper
Mallala PBA trial
2013
Kewell FT10002 FT12013 raw data Sqrt Asco % raw data
BOOMER 0.00 0.08 1.42 0.0 1.10 1.2
CIPAL0901 6.25 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.55 0.3
CIPAL1204 2.67 0.00 0.42 0.0 0.54 0.3
CIPAL1301 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.0 0.36 0.1
CIPAL1302 13.75 0.00 0.08 0.0 0.53 0.3
CIPAL1303 7.08 0.00 0.92 0.0 0.41 0.2
NIPPER 0.00 0.08 8.33 13.3 2.20 4.9
NORTHFIELD 0.83 3.64 17.92 3.3 1.88 3.5
NUGGET 1.75 5.50 12.50 8.3 2.20 5.2
PBA ACE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.36 0.1
PBA BLITZ 1.00 5.25 3.08 3.3 1.18 1.4
PBA BOLT 0.67 0.00 0.00 1.7 0.53 0.3
PBA BOUNTY 0.09 1.58 9.64 10.0 2.08 4.3
PBA FLASH 3.67 4.58 22.92 28.3 3.51 12.3
PBA GIANT 1.08 1.25 1.64 3.3 2.00 4.0
PBA GREENFIELD 0.00 3.58 5.91 1.7 2.37 5.6
PBA HERALD 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.0 1.00 1.0
PBA JUMBO 1.42 3.33 14.17 8.3 2.25 5.0
PBA JUMBO2 0.83 0.00 0.00 0.0 0.03 0.0
PBAHURRICANE 8.17 0.08 0.08 0.0 0.67 0.4
lsd 3.88 1.9 0.34
Horsham PBA trial
2014
Total % Plant Score
Monitoring virulence of Ascochyta lentis populations in
southern Australia.
Jenny Davidson (SARDI), Michelle Russ (SARDI) and Matthew Rodda (Vic DEPI)
Isolates of Ascochyta lentis were collected from numerous naturally infected lentil field trials in South
Australia and Victoria from 2010 to 2014 and tested in controlled environment conditions on 5 lentil
hosts viz; Indianhead, ILL7537, Nipper , Northfield and the susceptible check Cumra. Infection on
the cultivar Nipper is increasingly common and ascochyta blight lesions have become more
aggressive on this cultivar in recent years. Of the 21 isolates collected in 2013 from Nipper , the 4
most aggressive in controlled studies were originally from Hart, Riverton, Melton and Kulpara and the
remaining 17 isolates were from ten sites on Yorke Peninsula and from Tarlee.
The lentil entries in the 2014 National Variety Trials were tested against an isolate virulent on Nipper
as well as an isolate avirulent on Nipper . Results of the virulent isolate were comparable with disease
assessments in the PBA breeding trial at Mallala in 2013 and the PBA breeding trial at Horsham in 2014
(Table 1). The correlation coefficient for comparison of the Nipper virulent isolate (FT12013) with
Mallala = 0.82 (P<0.001) and with Horsham raw data = 0.87 (P<0.001); the correlation coefficient for
comparison of the Nipper avirulent isolate (FT10002) with Mallala = 0.53 (P<0.02) and with
Horsham raw data = 0.68 (P<0.001). Results were comparable between the two field sites i.e.
correlation coefficient = 0.92 (P<0.001). These results indicate the widespread nature of the Nipper
virulent form of A. lentis. This work was funded the South Australian Grains Industry Trust.
Table 1. Ascochyta blight disease scores on National Variety Trial entries 2014 inoculated with three
separate isolates of Ascochyta lentis in a controlled environment room compared to disease scores in
Mallala PBA trial in 2013 and Horsham PBA trial 2014. Results in isolate tests show the % plant disease on 2 week old
seedlings averaged for 4 plants x 4 replicates. Results for Mallala and Horsham trials are averaged for 3 replicates.
PBA SUMMER 15 NEWS Page 27
PBA Program Leader Contacts
Lentils
Dr Matthew Rodda
DEPI Victoria
03 5362 2316
Field peas
Dr Garry Rosewarne
DPI Victoria
03 5362 2346
Chickpeas
Dr Kristy Hobson
NSW DPI
02 6763 1179
Faba Beans
Dr Jeff Paull
University of Adelaide
08 8303 6564
Lupins
Dr Jon Clements
DAFWA
08 9368 3653
Pulse Germplasm Enhancement Program
Dr Phil Davies
SARDI
08 8303 9494
Please contact: Fleur Winter, PBA Coordinator [email protected] ph: 0417 926 033 to
contribute or subscribe/unsubscribe to the PBA Newsletter Back copies of the PBA newsletter are available on the PBA webpage www.grdc.com.au/pba
Pulse Breeding Australia (PBA) is an unincorporated joint venture between:
Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victoria (DEPI Vic)
South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI)
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Queensland (DAFF QLD)
New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI)
Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA)
University of Adelaide
Pulse Australia
University of Sydney and
Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC).