Focus on Perennials by greg Lawrence

ISSUE 13 September 2010

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1835-3118

PERENNIALS

in this issue

4 Perennial crops offer sustainable future

Management tool brings wetland benefits

Achievements of retiring agricultural scientist

10 Guides for better tropical grass management

INFFER supports ground-breaking solutions for environmental asset protection

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Wetlands benefit from decision-making framework

he innovative Investment Framework for Environmental Resources (INFFER) project looks to have secured the rehabilitation and protection of more than 3500 hectares of wetlands in the York Plains of north-central Victoria. North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) CEO Damian Wells describes the result not only as exciting for the communities involved, but ground breaking in terms of how the resources will be managed.

i key points • INFFER is allowing communities

to identify locally-significant and threatened natural resource assets and develop sound business cases for their future protection and management

• In the York Plains of north-

central Victoria INFFER has been instrumental in developing feasible solutions to manage a community-valued and significantly-threatened wetland managed in the main by private landholders

• Through a step-by-step process

INFFER enables calculation of a cost:benefit index, maximising the return on environmental dollars invested.

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By Catriona Nicholls

ABOVE: A rigorous process of community and stakeholder engagement has seen successful outcomes for wetland assets in north-central Victoria. (Photo: NCCMA)

Kondinin Group

“Through INFFER we been able to protect these significant wetlands by dramatically changing the way private landholders are paid to manage their land,” Damian said. “We don’t always know what is on private land while we have excellent data on public land environmental assets, so INFFER has allowed help us break through this barrier.” INFFER project leader Dr Anna Roberts (Department of Primary Industries Victoria) explains the project is unique in the way it helps communities and environmental management bodies identify, develop and prioritise projects to address environmental issues such as water quality, biodiversity, environmental pests and land degradation. “INFFER delivers a generic process that can be applied across all land tenures,” Dr Roberts suggested. “Through a step-by-step process, INFFER aims to achieve the most valuable environmental outcomes with the available resources. “There is plenty of room for improvement for investment decision making about the environment and INFFER provides a comprehensive cost:benefit analysis to help CMAs or public decision makers make a better decision about how to get the best bang for their environmental buck. “It is a highly-structured process that has been trialled by 20 out of 56 catchment management groups looking to identify and assess their options to manage natural resources of environmental and cultural significance (see Table 1).”

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A solid business case Geoff Park, Knowledge Broker with the NCCMA, has worked closely as part of the INFFER team to make sure INFFER can be used by regional groups. He believes the greatest benefit INFFER offers is its ability to provide a sound business case with which communities can attract funding and investment. The York Plains wetlands is a perfect case in point. “York Plains is particularly interesting because it wasn’t really recognised as being an important environmental resource by the State, given it’s predominant ownership by private landholders,” Geoff said. “However, it was identified by the community, and then valued against other assets and found to be extremely important within the whole catchment.” In the York Plains scenario, INFFER allowed the NCCMA to engage with community stakeholders and environmental management experts to identify a list of significant assets in the region. “In developing such a list, INFFER requires you to be spatially explicit; assets need to be tangible and identifiable on a map,” Geoff explained. “When we ran this process across the region, we came up with 300 assets. “Obviously there are not enough financial and management resources to go around all these assets and the beauty of INFFER is that

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Table 1 Current adoption status of INFFER across regional groups Australia-wide Stage of INFFER adoption

Number of regional groups

Full adoption Committed but early days Positive trial Trialled but not continuing

2 7 10 3

Source: INFFER

projects, we better realise the true cost of achieving enduring protection in what are primarily farming landscapes. “In this case it involves paying the landholders the opportunity cost of making a farming system change and the direct costs of the protection work such as fencing, revegetation and weed control.” Damian points out that understanding the demographics and economics of the landscape in which you are working is critical.

it allows us to compare the cost effectiveness across those assets and identify where the best investment can be made.

“The York Plains solution must be viewed in the context of the landholders running genuine farming businesses,” Damian explained.

“The tool allows the CMA and community to build the business case for what would be required to protect each asset and the associated cost.”

“INFFER forces the discipline of understanding the public and private benefits associated with asset protection projects, which inherently directs you toward the most appropriate intervention.

In the case of the York Plains wetland, Geoff believes INFFER was integral in determining the appropriate action. “The key thing INFFER does is to look at technical feasibility — do we have management options, are we confident it will work?” he said. “In this case, it was about removing grazing and managing weeds and increasing perennial vegetation. “Because 85 per cent of the wetlands are on private land, the involvement of the landholders was integral to the project’s success.” “The outcome is that there has been significant financial support provided to landholders through the Victorian Government and the CMA.” With an initial lack of awareness by the state government, INFFER was instrumental in providing a transparent and rigorous analysis of all of the things from values through to threat, feasibility and costs, and what would be required. “The business case developed by the NCCMA through the support offered by INFFER was crucial to getting the Victorian Government on board,” Geoff explained.

A long-term commitment As Damian Wells explains, the York Plains project is a story of a 4–5 year commitment from the CMA to work directly with landholders.

“In ‘tree-change’ landscapes, INFFER is likely to direct you to use an alternative approach to what has been applied in York Plains.” The York Plains project also enjoyed Victorian Government funding during this period. Support like this provides authorities such as the NCCMA the confidence to make promises to landholders that they can keep. “This is critical because changes in investor preferences can undermine the confidence of the landholders you are working with,” Damian explained. “You have to be able to make funding commitments to landholders over a period of years. “In the case of the York Plains, it looks like we have got the right balance of science, community and government input to get an enduring environmental protection result for these key wetlands.” Acknowledgements: This project has been generously supported by funding from the Commonwealth Environmental Research Fund, the Australian Research Council the Victorian Government and FFI CRC.

More information Dr Anna Roberts, DPI Victoria T: (02) 6030 4581 E: anna.roberts@dpi.vic.gov.au

How INFFER works Through a step-by-step questioning process, INFFER helps communities identify what they are trying to protect, the environmental goals and with the information supplied, INFFER determines what is feasible and required to achieve the identified goals. Most importantly, it identifies how much will it cost. “The way INFFER integrates information is to calculate a cost:benefit index, masterminded by Prof. David Pannell (University of Western Australia), which is similar to a cost:benefit analysis,” Dr Anna Roberts explained. According to Dr Roberts, there are eight keys ways INFFER adds value to environmental decision-making: 1. Provides a strong basis for a business case for future funding from state and national sources 2. Highlights that budget amount and longevity is a crucial determinant of the optimal management strategy 3. Provides confidence about using public money more cost-effectively through the choice of appropriate policy tools based on the public and private benefits they generate 4. Provides a robust, transparent basis to enable strategic direction setting, debate and discussion about the future of the assets in question 5. Builds on existing knowledge, integrating biological, physical, social and economic factors with institutional and political risks, and costs to assess the cost-effectiveness of actions 6. Helps highlight and prioritise limitations in current knowledge to inform decision-making 7. Provides internal consistency, ensuring actions funded by the project will be sufficient to deliver the stated goal 8. Helps to reduce bias in decision making by making the process fully transparent. All the necessary documents (manuals, templates, examples, FAQs and other information) are freely available on the INFFER website at www.inffer.org

“You cannot get a York Plains result overnight,” he said. “It takes time to build trust, understand the people you are working with and what motivates them.” “Our approach at York Plains aims to achieve a genuinely enduring environmental protection result through the use of covenants, which are added to the land title in perpetuity. “This project demonstrates that as we get increasingly targeted with asset protection

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Need for sustainability poses the perennial grain option

uture Farm Industries researchers Dr Bell and Prof. Len Wade (Charles Sturt University), collaborated with 19 other scientists from around the world recently to produce a paper for the highly-regarded international magazine, Science, that highlighted the need for perennial grain development. Dr Bell (CSIRO Ecosystems Science) and many like-minded scientists believe perennial crops will provide broad-reaching benefits for agriculture on a global basis. “Fifty years ago people made the case about improving grain production by changing the genetics of our crops. That led to the green revolution,” Dr Bell said. “Now we are saying let’s maintain our grain production but produce it in a more environmentally sustainable manner, by again changing the genetics of our current crops.” The paper contends that the development of perennial crops is critical for environmental sustainability of agricultural land and for maintained (or enhanced) food security. The authors of the paper highlight a range of factors that threaten the capacity of agricultural environments to meet the rising food demands of a growing global population.

i key points • A farming system based on

perennial grain crops could be the next revolution for agriculture and the environment

• Perennial crops are more

sustainable than annual crop plants, reducing soil erosion, improving water use, and sequestering more carbon

• The improved management of

agricultural land with perennial crops, rather than retirement or further degradation, offers greater food security for the world.

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By Lucy Kealey

ABOVE: Dr Lindsay Bell inspecting perennial rye in a breeding program at University of Manitoba, Canada.

Kondinin Group

“The argument is that much of our best cropping land is at risk of degradation, and marginal areas are probably at higher risk. Further, a lot of the marginal land is supporting a large proportion of the world’s population,” Dr Bell said. “So how can we come up with a food production system that is more sustainable on those marginal lands?” Perennial grain crops might be a solution, particularly in the marginal areas, according to Dr Bell.

“Such systems also would provide occasional or regular grazing opportunities depending on what the perennial crop was designed to do. “There would also be whole-farm benefits through reduced sowing requirements and capital investment. “Labour requirements at key times of the year might also be reduced — sowing in particular; and it might mean farmers can switch between grain and grazing enterprises more easily.”

“Currently, the alternative is to retire marginal areas from production, or at least change grain production to a pastoral system. But if you retire land or turn it into a pastoral system, there are implications for food production,” he said.

Sourcing perennial genes

“So perennial grains may be a way of maintaining food production while continuing the sustainability of those marginal areas.”

For example, many annual crops already have close perennial relatives, including wheat, rice, maize, rye, chickpeas, soybeans, sunflower, sorghum and pigeon pea.

Perennial advantage The case for perennial crops as a more sustainable cropping system is built upon the many advantages of perennials over annuals in a farming system. Perennial plants provide better groundcover than annuals, thereby reducing the risk of water and wind erosion. They have larger root systems, enabling more efficient water and nutrient use, which in turn, reduce the extent of dryland salinity and soil acidification, and downstream impacts such as nutrient pollution of waterways.

Most domesticated crop species still have perennial relatives that exist in the wild or as the precursors of the current crop cultivars, so the search for potential genetic material is not hard.

“Australian scientists have been involved in some collaborative work with scientists from the Land Institute of Kansas and the University of Washington, in the United States. These researchers have achieved some positive results during the past five to 10 years,” Dr Bell said. “Essentially, wheat has been crossed with perennial Thinopyrum species, such as intermediate wheatgrass. There are other perennial relatives such as Leymus spp. and Elymus spp — they are both wheatgrass genera that can be hybridised with wheat.

In addition to the environmental benefits, Dr Bell anticipates multiple benefits to farm businesses.

“In Australia, we have some native wheatgrasses we haven’t really explored to see if they have potential to be hybridised with wheat. For example, Elymus scaber or common wheatgrass is widely distributed in southern Australia and would be worth further investigation.”

“Perennial crops could reduce production costs — less weed control, fuel and energy usage and nutrient requirements,” he explained.

Australia is also the centre for diversity of Glycine, including many perennial species that could be valuable for development of perennial soybeans.

Perennial plants also have a greater capacity for carbon sequestration than their annual counterparts.

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“However, in some environments perennial wheat might not persist for long; or it might only persist in some years and not others, depending on rainfall and other factors. “In those situations, the use of perennial wheat may be tactical, providing forage for livestock in some seasons and grain in others. “Scientists in the US envisage an ‘ultimate’ system designed to imitate their native prairies, where a perennial cereal crop, such as wheat, is grown in a mixture with a perennial legume and a perennial composite, such as sunflower.

ABOVE: The significant difference a perennial plant can make to water use and soil stabilisation is illustrated by this picture, which appeared in the Science article on perennial crops. For each section, the plant on the left is annual wheat and the plant on the right is a perennial wheatgrass species. (Photo: Land Institute, Selina, Kansas)

However Dr Bell confirms there are several challenges for perennial crops in Australian agricultural systems, not least, frequent and severe water deficits, poor and infertile soils and management of pests and diseases (see box story). “There are various perennial relatives of wheat that have the significant advantages over annual wheat in terms of their tolerance to many pests and diseases, their tolerance of soil acidity and salinity, as well as capacity to overcome water deficits,” he said. “We also have similar plants, temperate perennial forage grasses, such as tall fescue, phalaris or cocksfoot, which could guide us as to where perennial wheat might be most successful. These species demonstrate desirable characteristics, such as summer dormancy, that increase their persistence in drier regions, which could be targeted in perennial wheat.”

Perennial crops in modern farming systems Although the development of a commercial perennial wheat could be 10 to 20 years away, assuming there is continued investment in its development, the focus of scientists in Australia and overseas is clearly on the production system — not just the plant. “The obvious use of a perennial wheat would be to harvest it every year until the plant dies out, or plant numbers drop to a level where harvesting is no longer viable,” Dr Bell said. “Or maybe it’s there forever and you keep harvesting! That’s the most tangible way for people to think about perennial wheat initially.

for dry environments. Many of the native legume species possess characteristics that would be useful in marginal grain growing environments but several issues would need to be addressed first. For example, some species have a twining growth habit but this was overcome in the development of several other modern grain legumes, such as Glycine and Vigna. There would also need to be substantial increases in seed size and removal of seed dormancy for several species but this has been overcome previously by plant breeding.

“Each crop may be harvested at different times. Such a system is probably a long way off and there are many agronomic issues to address for it to be achievable but it demonstrates the potential for a farming system to change for the better.”

In addition to potential development as food grains, some of the plants examined had bioactive compounds that could be used as natural medicines. However, some plants also have compounds that could be problematic and need to be removed.

Native legumes another perennial option

The paper identified several species with immediate potential to be examined further for their potential as grain legumes, but further analysis and comparison of species is required before the domestication process could start.

Australia’s native legumes could contain genetics that scientists need to develop crops better suited to nutrient-poor soils and dry climates. Researchers Dr Lindsay Bell, Dr Megan Ryan (UWA) and Dr Richard Bennett (CSIRO) have prepared a review: The potential of herbaceous native Australian legumes as grain crops to be published in Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems later this year. The review examines the potential of native legumes to be developed as grain crops

More information Dr Lindsay Bell, CSIRO T: (07) 4688 1221 E: lindsay.bell@csiro.au

Perennial crops — a paradigm shift

t was while completing a scoping study during 2006, investigating the potential for perennial crops in Australia that Dr Bell visited key research institutes involved in such work and met with many of the scientists who authored the perennial crops paper in Science. The study led to the current FFI-initiated Perennial wheat feasibility project to assess perennial wheat germplasm from three international cereal breeding programs. According to project leader, Dr Phil Larkin (CSIRO), the germplasm being evaluated at Cowra and Woodstock, NSW, is derived from crosses between either durum or bread wheat and perennial relatives such as Thinopyrum intermedium (called intermediate wheatgrass), Th. ponticum (tall wheatgrass) or Lophopyrum elongatum. “A small proportion of these lines have shown the ability to regrow for a second year,” Dr Larkin explained. “This confirms the potential of this breeding approach. Interestingly, the lines which can perenniate without exception are those carrying a whole set of extra

chromosomes from the perennial donor parent. One way to think of this is that it is similar to making a triticale from crosses between wheat and rye. “So far there is little evidence of summer dormancy, but that is not surprising given the parentage of this material.” More promising, Dr Larkin believes, is the impressive rust and virus resistance observed in many of the lines, which are probably a consequence of the perennial parent. “We are greatly encouraged that a perennial wheat is a realistic goal and a graze and grain plant type would find a valuable niche in Australian agriculture. “It is evident that to make this a reality a home-grown breeding program is required that starts with adapted wheat and wheatgrass parents. A successful new perennial grain crop needs dedicated and ongoing commitment to achieve genetic improvement.”

More information Dr Philip Larkin T: (02) 6246 5060 E: philip.larkin@csiro.au

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Retiring research scientist leaves perennial mark

olleagues from across Australia recently gathered at the University of Western Australia (UWA) to reflect on the illustrious career of Dr Mike Ewing — the retiring Future Farm Industries CRC Research Director. The valedictory symposium in honour of Dr Ewing’s retirement took attendees on a near-half-century journey that celebrated his achievements as an agricultural scientist — a journey that coincided with an expanded use of perennial pastures throughout Australia. As speakers shared their recollections of pivotal perennial pasture milestones, a clear message evolved — Dr Ewing’s admirable strengths in foresight, collaboration, persuasion and leadership have proven invaluable to outcomes that will impact

i key points • A recent valedictory symposium

celebrated the achievements of retiring FFI CRC Research Director Dr Mike Ewing

• Speakers shared their

recollections of working alongside Dr Ewing and praised his foresight, ability to work collaboratively across disciplines and international borders

• Dr Ewing’s impressive career

spanned more than four decades of exciting developments in perennial pasture research across Australia.

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By Catriona Nicholls Kondinin Group

Australian mixed farming systems for years to come. The day-long symposium closely tracked Dr Ewing’s career from his time as a PhD student at UWA, to a research officer based at the WA-based Merredin Dryland Research Institute (DAFWA) during its peak as an international leader in plant breeding. It was here that Dr Ewing and his colleagues David Morrison, Ross Kingwell and David Pannell were involved with the conception of the powerful MIDAS economic model, which is still being used today to demonstrate the synergies of perennials in the whole-farm system. Dr Ewing’s subsequent involvement with the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) and the former CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity (Salinity CRC) as Deputy CEO and as well as Research Director of the current FFI CRC has seen Dr Ewing play an instrumental role in the development of new perennial options for the Australian landscape and the adoption of perennial pastures.

Perennial pioneers During the symposium, colleague and Senior Principal Research Scientist Dr Brian Dear (Industry & Investment NSW), provided a snapshot of the changing role of perennial pastures in the southern wheatbelt of Australia during the past four decades. Dr Dear explained that during the 1970s, the use of the big four perennial grasses — phalaris, cocksfoot, tall fescue and perennial ryegrass struggled to compete against more

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ABOVE: Speakers at the valedictory event reminisced fondly about Dr Ewing’s many talents and passions, including cricket, as well as his dedication to collaborative research for the past 40 years.

appealing cropping options. And the wool crisis of the 1970s saw interest decline further with lucerne emerging as the only perennial pasture plant with potential. However, the arrival of the lucerne aphids during the late 1970s devastated the perennial pasture legume and its adoption on farming systems throughout Australia’s southern wheatbelt.

The acid touch Around the same time soil acidity raised its ugly head, with a strong link to prolonged super applications on annual pastures, so there was an opportunity for researchers to showcase the benefits of perennials. Research teams were developed in most states to solve the acid soil problem and a coordinated approach to tackling the issue identified that acidification rates were highest under annual pastures and nitrate leaching in shallow rooted annual pastures contributed to acidification. “Fence line studies in NSW and Victoria showed that perennial-based pastures acidified more slowly and required less lime,” Dr Dear said. “This finding was the first non productionbased justification for incorporating perennial grasses into farming systems. Interest mainly centred on the higher rainfall regions where soil acidification was greatest and many arguments were raised why perennial grasses were not an option in a crop rotation.

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“They would not survive the dry summers, they would carry crop diseases, they were too difficult to remove before cropping, they would reduce nitrogen fixation for following crops.”

The rise of salinity By the 1990s, dryland and river salinity had emerged as a new national priority and perennials had gone from being a means of reducing acidification to also being beneficial in improving river health. The next major initiative arose during early 2000 along with the concept to develop the Salinity CRC. “The major theme of this CRC was to increase the perenniality of the landscape with the view of limiting the damage from dryland salinity,” Dr Dear explained. Under the leadership of Dr Ewing as Deputy CEO, one of the many programs established focused on developing new woody and herbaceous perennial forages suitable for the wheatbelt. The herbaceous component of the program grew to be one of the largest sub programs in the CRC with an annual budget largely sourced from industry of more than $1.2 million per year.

farm profit is an essential step in achieving adoption of perennials. “Given the complexities of possible rotations and need to integrate the multiple effects of perennials on whole-farm productivity, the only feasible way to achieve this within the limited time frame of a CRC was the use of whole farm bio-economic modelling,” Dr Dear explained. “From its conception during Mike’s time at Merredin Dryland Research Institute to it’s full-blown development, the longevity of the MIDAS model is a testament to the important role it’s still playing a quarter of a century later. “With support of researchers and colleagues as passionate and skilled as Dr Ewing, the potential for perennials to assume a more important role as Australia tackles the challenges of climate change, achieving increased groundcover, soil organic carbon and soil structure and better management and use of rainfall seems bright. “We have a long way to go before we have the suite of well-adapted perennials to meet these goals but I believe the diversity of traits are there once we garner the financial and scientific determination to exploit them,” Dr Dear said.

“The scope of the ambitious multi-faceted plant improvement program included breeding salt-tolerant wheat, aluminiumtolerant lucerne, higher-seed-yielding Lotus corniculatus, better adapted cocksfoot and fescue cultivars and salt-tolerant annual legumes,” Dr Dear said.

“We have hardly touched the tip of the iceberg in exploiting the range of genetic material potentially available.”

“However it didn’t just focus on existing species but also set out to explore the seed collections of the Genetic Resource Centres (GRCs) to identify new genera and species to widen the pool of perennials and the environments they were adapted to. “The program under Mike’s leadership established the most comprehensive germplasm evaluation program ever carried out across southern Australia.

“Lucerne has become more widely sown in WA, the use of subtropical grasses is expanding in WA and northern NSW, and the CRC has new drought-tolerant cocksfoot and fescue cultivars close to release. Furthermore, CSIRO has some new lowrainfall phalaris lines in final evaluation stages in the wheatbelt, new lotus cultivars are being commercialised and we have some promising new species such as Tedera under evaluation,” he finished.

“It evaluated more than 150 species from 40 genera.”

Respected input

Almost all of these accessions had to be multiplied from a few grams of seed from the small samples held by GRCs in Perth and Adelaide and Hamilton. The success of this program can now be seen in the development of 10 new pasture cultivars and more than 40 research papers. The progression from the Salinity CRC to the FFI CRC saw the focus expand to getting perennials adopted into farming systems. As FFI CRC Research Director, Dr Ewing again played a central role in project development in the new CRC and the continuity for the successful transition of the programs.

Dr Dear believes there are many reasons for optimism about the role of perennials in the future.

As speakers shared their experiences across the vast range of research projects and their personal involvement with Dr Ewing in his many and varied roles, several common threads appeared, which were succinctly summarised by final speaker, Dr Alex Campbell, former Salinity CRC Chair. “Alan Robson, Mike’s former PhD supervisor and now UWA Vice Chancellor, highlighted Mike’s knack of working across many fields bringing things together,” Dr Campbell said. Alan’s observations included Dr Ewing’s abilities to do this in a humble manner.

MIDAS — a model solution

“While some people will cross the road and then send you a letter to tell you about it, Mike never tells you about his successes.”

According to numerous speakers on the day, one of Dr Ewing’s key attributes is his deep awareness that a strong economic case quantifying the impact of perennials on

“Mike is well renowned for his ability to always be thinking ahead of the game and for his capacity to work with and guide people across research disciplines.”

ABOVE: Dr Ewing’s passion for getting out and about will continue with his involvement with the WA-based Cottesloe Coastcare Group. (Photo: Kevin Goss)

Dr Ewing’s skill at collaboration have often stretched far wider than industry and national boundaries, as evidenced during his time in Libya when part of a research team searching for potential new pasture species. “Alan described how Mike made contact with groups that Australian researchers didn’t even know existed,” Dr Campbell said. “According to WA farmer, Mick McGuiness, Mike was a powerhouse of collaboration.” Throughout his career, Dr Ewing was admired as a mentor by peers and in later years by the CRC’s many PhD students, particularly for his ability to extend relationships beyond the trial paddock. “Mike’s longevity, research skills, leadership, application and passion for farming systems research underpin the significant milestones reached in pasture research in this country during the past four decades,” Dr Campbell said. “You are a true paddock man, a true research driver and I can just picture you sitting round the table taking to a group of researchers to gain a common understanding of where things should go to take us forward — to a career well done, we all salute you.” While Dr Ewing has stepped down as the FFI CRC Research Director, he will no doubt continue to make an active contribution to whatever he turns his hand to. One activity he can now dedicate more time to is his involvement with Cottesloe Coastcare — a volunteer group actively restoring nature areas in the costal suburb to improve the region’s biodiversity. Currently, Dr Ewing is on the road with his wife Megan enjoying the sun and winter warmth of the Pilbara.

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Lucerne persistence — chasing the nodules

ecent trial results could see the adoption of lucerne spread into areas previously unsuitable, as the race for acidtolerant rhizobia and plant strains nears the finish line. While lucerne has proven its worth as a high-quality source of pasture and fodder, poor acid tolerance by both the plant and its associated rhizobia are limiting its performance in hostile soils. Admittedly, the race is not over, but field trials across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales are now starting to provide researchers with some encouraging results according to senior rhizobiologist, Ross Ballard (SARDI). “Our trials are showing us the pH limitations to nodulation in the field. They have also provided an indication of improved nodulation on some of our experimental strains,” Ross said.

i key points • Lucerne persistence is often •

thwarted in acid soils by a combination of poor plant and rhizobia tolerance A two-year trial across 13 sites is yielding interesting results in the search for improved rhizobial strains to boost root nodulation under acidic conditions

• At one trial site the best strains

are nodulating 67 per cent of plants, compared with an average of 31% for two selected commercial strains.

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ABOVE: Matt Denton from the University of Adelaide examining the nodules of young lucerne plants in the field. INSET: Trial plots of lucerne at McLaren Vale, SA. (Photos: Ross Ballard, SARDI)

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Looking for options Lucerne is a valuable component in many mixed farming systems because of its ability to provide high-quality out-of-season feed and fodder. Its even growth pattern provides a positive contrast to annual pasture legumes and Mediterranean grasses, which provide most of their growth during late winter and spring. “The inclusion of lucerne improves the flexibility and risk management of wholefarm feed budgeting,” Ross said. And while lucerne is poorly adapted to acidic soils, the lack of other suitable options means it is often grown in challenging environments (soil with pHCa<5), even though it is likely to underperform. A team of scientists across funded by the FFI CRC have been looking to improve lucerne performance on such soils by finding plants and rhizobia that better tolerate soil acidity. According to Ross, previous results from solution culture experiments, where pH was tightly controlled, indentified there was room for improvement in both the rhizobia’s and plant’s ability to nodulate at low pH. “Nodulation by the commercial strain of rhizobia (RRI128) dropped off dramatically when pH was less than 5,” Ross explained. “As such, lucerne grown on soils with a pH of 5 or lower are poorly nodulated with rhizobia, and fix little nitrogen, ultimately reducing the productivity and persistence of the stand.”

In total, a field of more than 250 strains of rhizobia were tested for their ability to form nodules under acidity stress, in solution culture. “The best strains were really given the acid test and we selected 10 for further testing,” Ross said. The best of these had an improved acidity tolerance of 0.4 of a pH unit. The next hurdles the chosen few had to jump included demonstration of their symbiotic effectiveness, soil colonisation, as well as showing improved acidity tolerance in the field — only seven made the final cut. “When the nitrogen fixation capacity of the 10 strains was examined with five lucerne cultivars in the greenhouse, three of the strains were scratched,” Ross said. “But the rest showed excellent levels of fixation — they were just as good as the commercial strain, which has previous form to show it is outstanding in this regard.” The other interesting finding from glasshouse trials was that best strains always performed well, regardless of the lucerne cultivar.

Tracking performance Field performance was the next stage, with 15 experiments sown across the three states.

Testing the field

It was an even start for all runners according to Ross, with little difference between the strain treatments at each site; at least in the establishment year. This was to be expected, since all the rhizobia treatments were lime pelleted to ensure establishment.

The team of pasture researchers started looking for new strains of rhizobia by isolating them from lucerne plants that had persisted in highly acidic soils in southern NSW.

The exception to this was the un-inoculated control treatment, which was handicapped by a lack of rhizobia and fell over at the start.

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“This emphasises the importance of effective nodulation under harsh conditions.” The race has now entered its second year. Nodulation assessments have been completed for the four major trials and the field is starting to spread. “Strain SRDI672 is slightly in front of RRI128 with regard to several measures of nodulation,” Ross said. “What we are essentially seeing is some of the better strains maintaining their nodulation, while the commercial strain is dropping off the pace. “Interestingly, we started two versions of the commercial strain in the trials (one inoculant produced by SARDI, the other a bought packet) and we were expecting a dead heat. “But the bought version didn’t perform as well, and so replacement of the strain form being used commercially may be more critical than previously thought.”

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90 Percentage of plants nodulated

“These plots had almost 30 per cent less seedlings at the first assessment, just a few months after sowing,” Ross said.

Figure 1 Nodulation of SARDI Ten lucerne at four sites in SA and Victoria. The pH of each site is shown in water (blue) and calcium chloride (yellow).

Uninoculated control RRI 128 (commercial strain) NC 128 (commercial strain) SRDI 672 SRDI 736

80 70 60

“We know there is variation in the nodulation capacity of different plants,” Ross said. “And similarly observed differences occur in plant nodulation in the field.” Many of the 3500 plants that were dug up and assessed had less than 10 nodules and many had none. “But a small number of plants had up to 150 nodules and a dozen of these fieldselected plants have been saved for further studies,” Ross explained. The four main field sites are providing a solid contrast of pH stress and nodulation level. “The going is certainly tougher in Victoria at the lower pH sites (pH 4.2Ca) where both nodulation and plant density are lower,” Ross said. “The race is not over, but the field trials are now starting to provide us with some encouraging results, showing us the pH limitations to nodulation in the field and providing an indication of improved nodulation by some of the experimental strains. “For example, at McLaren Flat in SA, where soil pHca has recently been measured to be less than 4.5, the best strains are nodulating 67% of plants compared with an average of 31% for the two entries of the commercial strain,” (see Figure 1). The team is monitoring plant density and given the presence of a significant relationship between nodulation and density across all the sites, some differentiation

4.69 C

4.24 C

50 4.76 W 4.12 C

40 30

4.82 W

4.10 C

10 0 Boorhaman North

Barnawartha

McLaren

Kersbrook

Source: Ross Ballard, SARDI

between the strain treatments for this parameter should develop shortly. A detailed study of strain colonisation will be completed at the Kersbrook site in SA, during the next couple of months.

Back to the start Regardless of rhizobial performance, a winning outcome is the result of both horse and rider — the plant remains a critical partner in the race.

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More information Ross Ballard, SARDI T: (08) 8303 9388 E: ross.ballard@sa.gov.au

Lucerne guidelines for WA

comprehensive guide is now available for Western Australian growers looking to incorporate lucerne into their farming systems.

by annual crops and pastures can build resilience and sustainability through better use and management of natural resources according to Dr Revell.

A first of its kind, Lucerne Guidelines for Western Australia showcases the experiences of local researchers and farmers, allowing readers to assess whether lucerne can add value and increase the profitability and sustainability of their own farming business.

“Lucerne is a high-quality pasture that produces green feed out of season and contributes to the management of dryland salinity,” he said.

Pasture Science Project Manager Dr Clinton Revell, Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) and FFI CRC Program Leader said while lucerne has been successfully incorporated into farming systems for centuries, its potential in WA has not yet been fully realised, despite its far-reaching benefits for soil fertility and groundwater utilisation. “Lucerne’s adoption in WA has been limited by soil constraints, such as poor acid tolerance, and negative grower perceptions about establishment and grazing management,” Dr Revell explained. “However, research during the past decade has addressed many of these concerns, which paves the way for greater adoption in WA.”

Resilient farming systems Including a perennial legume such as lucerne into a farming system dominated

“It is true, however, that lucerne is not without its challenges — farmers need to match and adapt their management and farming system with the plant’s requirements.” The management principles outlined in the Guidelines, together with the implementation of appropriate extension programs, will aid further adoption of lucerne and other perennials pastures being developed for WA farming systems. Lucerne Guidelines for Western Australia was produced with support from DAFWA, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), FFI CRC and the National Landcare Program. The publication can be downloaded from www.futurefarmonline.com.au

More information Dr Clinton Revell, DAFWA T: (08) 9368 3596 E: clinton.revell@agric.wa.gov.au

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New tools for tropical grass growers

uture Farm Industries CRC is gearing up to release a series of guides to aid farmers establishing and using tropical perennial grasses in northern New South Wales. Predicted wetter summers and drier autumns are set to increase the role of tropical perennial grasses in northern inland NSW. The potential of these pastures has been under the research-spotlight for the past 10 years for their ability to respond quickly to summer rainfall. As part of two projects, spanning a collective five years, FFI CRC research carried out by scientists from Industry & Investment NSW has looked at the issues that have made producers reluctant to sow tropical grasses and help them gain confidence establishing and using this highly-productive and persistent pasture option. The Tropical Perennial Grass Management Guides aimed at producers and agronomists will provide technical information on a range of establishment and agronomy issues. Industry & Investment NSW scientist Dr Suzanne Boschma is one of the research and extension team who worked on the Tropical Perennial Grasses project and along with Dr Greg Lodge (Industry & Investment NSW) are now developing the new management guides. “The main issues restricting the use of tropical grasses in northern NSW were

i key points • Tropical perennial grasses are

persistent, respond quickly to summer rainfall and produce large amounts of herbage

• Tropical perennial grasses have

the potential to help producers adapt to climate variability

• A series of Tropical Perennial

Grass Guides will advise farmers on how to get the most from this pasture option.

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ABOVE: Learning more about tropical grass management. (Photo: S Murphy, Industry & Investment, NSW)

By Laureta Wallace

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Kondinin Group

identified through discussions with producers. Research was then carried out to specifically address these issues; that is establishment, seasonal production, forage quality and water use efficiency,” Dr Boschma said.

In contrast, tropical grass pasture response to summer rainfall has been invaluable, particularly when there has been a lack of follow-up rain. They have also shown good persistence under extended dry periods and a wide range of grazing regimes.

She also said climate variability was a major issue facing producers as they tried to maintain production from their feed base.

Pasture instructions

“Our climate is highly variable but this variability can be better managed with flexibility within livestock enterprises and by using a range of forage sources that produce high-quality feed at different times of the year and in response to different environmental conditions. In northern inland NSW, tropical perennial grass pastures have a role in this mix.”

Coming into vogue Interest in tropical perennial grasses is spreading. It has been estimated from commercial seed sales in NSW that more than 250,000 hectares have been sown to tropical grasses during the past three years. Recent seasons have highlighted the productivity and resilience of tropical perennial grasses. During the same seasons, temperate perennial grasses and annual legumes have often failed to persist or respond to intermittent rainfall events, and native pastures have been persistent, but not highly productive.

The Tropical Perennial Grasses Guides written by researchers and extension specialists from Industry & Investment NSW will cover the following topics:

• Planning ahead • Pre-sowing weed control • Species selection • Seed quality • Sowing rates • Sowing time and depth • Role of fertiliser, in particular nitrogen • Pasture quality and its role in animal production

• Root depths, growth and water use efficiency.

It is anticipated the guides will be available by the end of 2010 from the FFI CRC website www.futurefarmonline.com.au.

More information Dr Sue Boschma T: (02) 6763 1202 E: s uzanne.boschma@industry.nsw.gov.au

About tropical pastures

n inland northern NSW, tropical pastures grow during the warmest months of the year. Growth starts during spring, as day temperatures rise and slows during late summer and autumn as overnight temperatures fall, ceasing when frosts commence with little to nil growth during the winter period. Therefore, tropical perennial grasses can be productive for about nine months of the year on the North and Central-West Plains, 7–8 months on the North-West Slopes, and 5–6 months on the Northern Tablelands. Tropical grasses respond well to nutrition, and grazing management is the key to maintaining forage quality. The nutritive value of tropical grasses is lower than temperate grasses at the same growth stage, however temperate and tropical grasses grow at different times of the year so direct comparisons are often irrelevant.

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Postgraduate conference brings students together

uring mid August, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wagga Wagga, NSW Campus was host to the FFI CRC’s 2010 Postgraduate Professional Development Conference. More than 30 students from around Australia converged on CSU’s scenic National Wine and Grape Industry Centre between August 17–19, to talk about their research and become more familiar with the CRC and each other. On the first day, the students took to the lectern and gave presentations about the specifics of their research projects to the audience and a panel made up of CRC Board members, academic and industry-based researchers and other people closely aligned to the CRC. After each presentation, panel members provided valuable feedback to the presenters. The official conference dinner was held on the evening after the students had finished their presentations. During the dinner, several students were acknowledged for the quality of their presentations. In particular, UWA PhD student, Chelsea Fancote was recognised for her outstanding presentation entitled: Unearthing the secrets of saltbush: potential benefits for animal health and performance, meat quality. Guest speaker Prof. Jim Pratley from CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences also provided

the students with some personal anecdotes as a researcher.

Awareness raising research Along with a forum on potential employment and further research opportunities, the conference also provided students with a better understanding of CRC communications and its weed risk policy. This included presentations by Communication Manager, Greg Lawrence, and weed risk scientist, Christine Munday (DECWA). Guest presentations by Prof. Tony Peacock, Invasive Animals CRC CEO and Prof. Andy Pitman, Co-director of the University of New South Wales’ Climate Change Research Centre, gave students insights into the public perception of risks associated with research and the expected impacts of climate change on south eastern Australia, respectively.

CRC Agribusiness Director and Leader of Program 5: Agribusiness and Education, Dr Scott Glyde, said students have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback about the conference, in particular the detailed responses they received about their presentations, and for the opportunity to mix with industry and academics alike. Special thanks to Dr John Harper (CRC Education Manager) and Dr Scott Glyde for their outstanding efforts in organising this well received event.

More information Dr John Harper, Education Manager T: (02) 6933 2837 E: jharper.csu.edu.au

After the final conference session, the students went to the Wagga Wagga Indoor Go-kart Centre and unleashed their competitive energies on the racetrack with Dion Nicol (UWA) winning a trophy for the fastest lap time. Right: CRC PhD students (from left to right) Thomas Jackson, Claire Lewis and Serenity Hill enjoy a coffee break between sessions at the Postgraduate Professional Development Conference.

New resource helps manage weed risk

he final touches are being put on the first in a series of Management Guides to Minimise Environmental Weed Risk. These guides are being developed for some of the perennial species being promoted by the FFI CRC. The guides are produced as part of the Weeds and Genetic Risk project and will help all land users, including farmers, to responsibly manage species which, through agricultural activities, have the potential to become environmental weeds. FFI CRC weed scientist, Christine Munday (DECWA) said the first guide addressed the popular perennial Kikuyu. “The Guide looks at the risk of Kikuyu becoming a weed in natural and agricultural environments, and the potential impacts on the native biodiversity.” Ms Munday said many species promoted by the FFI CRC had already undergone rigorous weed risk analysis. “To be promoted for use, species should have an acceptable rating in a weed risk assessment.”

Unfortunately, many pasture species deemed suitable for use in farming systems also have some of the characteristics of weeds. “The varieties are often chosen because of traits such as high productivity, hardiness and persistence — the same traits possessed by many weeds,” Ms Munday warned. To prevent useful pasture species becoming weeds, the Management Guides outline several recommended management practices, such as buffer zones, separating planted species from riparian areas, specific grazing management and thorough farm hygiene.

The Kikuyu Species Management Guide will be available on the FFI CRC website from September followed by distribution to landusers, agronomists and consultants.

More information Christine Munday, DECWA T: (08) 9334 0313 E: christine.munday@dec.wa.gov.au

The Guides will be updated to reflect farmer experiences, information from future research or impacts of climate variability. “The guides and the weed risk assessments which provide information for them are designed to be dynamic. Information from research and farmers with experience growing the species across a variety of changing farming systems will be used to update the guides in the future. For example, climate variability may impact on where the species are able to grow and how they perform,” Ms Munday said.

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About Focus on Perennials Focus on Perennials is a quarterly magazine that provides an update on the latest research and activities by the Future Farm Industries CRC Ltd (ACN 125 594 765). Future Farm Industries CRC was established in 2007 under the Commonwealth Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CRC Program and builds on the research of the CRC for Plantbased Management of Dryland Salinity. Future Farm Industries CRC is a unique co-investment between meat, grains and wool industry research corporations, the Landmark agribusiness company, and the combined research power of CSIRO, six State agencies and four universities. For further information about Future Farm Industries CRC visit www.futurefarmonline.com.au. Focus on Perennials draws on the work of both CRCs, to describe the potential application of Profitable Perennialsâ&#x201E;˘ to innovative farming systems and new regional industries better adapted to southern Australian dryland-farming conditions. The information contained in this newsletter has been published in good faith by Future Farm Industries CRC to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve profitability of farming and sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity. Neither Future Farm Industries CRC nor the Participants in the CRC endorse or recommend any products identified by trade name, nor is any warranty implied by the CRC and its participants about information presented in Focus on Perennials. Readers should contact the authors or contacts provided and conduct their own enquiries before making use of the information in Focus on Perennials.

Subscription/change of address: Make me a free subscriber to Focus on Perennials Do not send me Focus on Perennials Please change my subscription address Title

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Kevin Goss T: (08) 6488 2555 E: kevin.goss@futurefarmcrc.com.au

AGRIBUSINESS DIRECTOR Scott Glyde T: 0427 517 279 E: sglyde@csu.edu.au

Commercial Manager Peter Zurzolo T: (08) 6488 1429 E: peter.zurzolo@futurefarmcrc.com.au

COMMUNICATION MANAGER/EDITOR Greg Lawrence T: (08) 6488 7353 E: greg.lawrence@futurefarmcrc.com.au

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T: (08) 6488 8559 E: enquiry@futurefarmcrc.com.au W: www.futurefarmonline.com.au Design & production: Kondinin Group

Please return this form to: Future Farm Industries CRC The University of Western Australia M081 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 Tel (08) 6488 8559 Fax (08) 6488 2856 Or email: gmadson@futurefarmcrc.com.au

Front cover: Twisted River Red Gums along the Avon River at York Plains in North Central Victoria. Photo: Dom Uljanic, North Central CMA