Growth, yield and neurotoxin (ODAP) concentration of three Lathyrus species in mediterranean-type environments of Western Australia

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
KHM Siddique ◽  
SP Loss ◽  
SP Herwig ◽  
JM Wilson

The growth, phenology, grain yield and neurotoxin (ODAP) content of Lathyrus sativus, L. cicera and L. ochrus were compared with a locally adapted field pea (Pisum sativum L.) to examine their potential as grain legumes in Western Australian farming systems. About 17 lines of each species were obtained from ICARDA, Syria, and grown at 3 agro-climatically different sites. In general, the 3 species were later flowering than field pea, especially L. cicera and L. ochrus; however, L. sativus was the last species to mature. The best Lathyrus lines produced biomass near flowering similar to field pea. At the most favourable site, grain yields were up to 1.6, 2.6 and 1.7 t/ha for L. sativus, L. cicera and L. ochrus respectively, compared with a field pea grain yield of 3.1 t/ha. There was considerable genotype and environmental variation in ODAP concentration in the seed. On average, the ODAP concentration of L. ochrus (6.58 mg/g) was about twice that of L. sativus, and L. cicera had the lowest ODAP concentration (1.31 mg/g). Given that Lathyrus spp. have not had the same breeding effort as field pea and other grain legumes in Australia, these results encourage further selection or breeding. In the shor-tseasoned, mediterranean-type environment of Western Australia, harvest indices and grain yields could be improved with early flowering. Low ODAP concentration should also be sought.


1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 515 ◽  
Author(s):  
GK McDonald

The grain yield of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) between 1959-60 and 1991-92 was examined in selected Hundreds in important peagrowing regions of South Australia. Over the 33 years, the rates of increase in grain yield have been substantial, ranging from 20 to 48 kg/ha.year. The rate of increase in the State average for the same period was 22 kg/ha. year. The largest rates of increase have occurred mainly in the Hundreds in the higher rainfall areas. Yields have increased irregularly. During the 1960s grain yields rose relatively slowly, but from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, large increases occurred. Since then, yields have increased relatively little or, in some Hundreds, declined. With one exception, grain yield was positively and significantly correlated with seasonal (April-October) rainfall in each Hundred, but there were few significant correlations with rainfall in individual months. Yield was often correlated with winter and autumn rainfall but not with spring rainfall. The efficiencies of seasonal water use in the Hundreds ranged from 2.7 to 4.8 kg/ha.mm; these were lower than the maximum values recorded for other winter grain legumes, suggesting that water use efficiencies can improve substantially.



1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 587 ◽  
Author(s):  
KHM Siddique ◽  
SP Loss

The growth and seed yield of 5 vetch (Vicia) cultivars representing Vicia sativa, V. benghalensis and V. villosa were compared at 8 sites over 2 years in south-western Australia. The vetches showed considerable potential as grain and forage legume crops in the low to medium rainfall areas of the Western Australian cereal belt. Cultivars of V. sativa showed the most potential in terms of dry matter and seed yield, and on average across sites and seasons both Languedoc and Blanchefleur produced over 2.5 t/ha of dry matter at flowering: Machine-harvested seed yields were over 1.6 t/ha. Cultivars of V. benghalensis and V. villosa produced considerably less dry matter at flowering and had lower harvest index (0.14-0.42) and seed yield < 4 t/ha) when compared with the V. sativa cultivars, possibly due to their poor growth rates and delayed phenology. Early Purple, an early flowering and maturing selection from the V. benghalensis cultivar Popany, showed improved adaptation and seed yield at many low rainfall sites. Nevertheless, Languedoc, Blanchefleur and Early Popany are all considered late flowering (up to 126 days) compared with grain legumes adapted to this environment, and further improvement in vetch species could be achieved by selecting for more rapid development. Both soft-seededness and non-shattering pods should also be high priorities for vetch selection and/or breeding programs. It is concluded that vetch species may have a role in farming systems in Western Australia for the production of fodder, hay, grain or green manure while providing the other rotational benefits of legumes on fine-textured neutral to alkaline and shallow duplex soils where narrow-leafed lupin is poorly adapted.



Euphytica ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. S. McMurray ◽  
J. A. Davidson ◽  
M. D. Lines ◽  
A. Leonforte ◽  
M. U. Salam


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 1368 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Bakker ◽  
G. J. Hamilton ◽  
D. J. Houlbrooke ◽  
C. Spann ◽  
A. Van Burgel

Waterlogging of duplex soils in Western Australia has long been recognised as a major constraint to the production of agricultural crops and pastures. The work described in this paper examines the application of raised beds to arable land that is frequently waterlogged for the production of crops such as wheat, barley, field peas, lupins and canola. Raised beds are 138 cm wide, seed beds separated by 45 cm wide furrows 183 cm apart. These beds were made with a commercial bed former. Seven sites were selected across the south-eastern wheat belt of Western Australia with the experimental areas varying in size from 10 to 57 ha. These large sites were used to accommodate commercial farm machinery. Each site had raised beds formed with a commercial bedformer. The production from the bedded areas was compared with crops grown conventionally on flat ground under minimum tillage as the control. The experiments were established in 1997 and 1998 and the sites were monitored for a maximum of 5 years. In 11 of the 28 site-years of the experiments, grain yields on the raised beds were statistically significantly higher than the yield from crops grown on the control, with an average yield increase of 0.48 t/ha. Across the whole dataset, growing crops on raised beds did not produce significantly lower yields. Below average rainfall was received for much of the experimental period at several sites. Growing season rainfall had a large effect on grain yield and high rainfall over a period of 40 days after seeding significantly increased the grain yield difference between the raised bed and the control. These data indicate that the use of raised beds lead to higher grain yields when seasonal conditions are appropriate.



1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 687 ◽  
Author(s):  
RF Brennan

The effectiveness of copper oxychloride (CU2Cl(OH)3, 52% Cu) and chelated Cu (Cu-EDTA, 15% Cu) were compared with the effectiveness of copper sulphate (CuSO4, 25% Cu) as foliar sprays for alleviating Cu deficiency and obtaining maximum grain yields of wheat (1.93-2.5 t/ha). The experiments were conducted over 4 years at 4 sites in the Lake Grace and Newdegate districts, about 300-350 km south-east of Perth, Western Australia. Each source was sprayed at 6 or 7 rates of Cu to define the relationship between grain yield and the amount of foliar Cu applied for wheat grown on soils where Cu had not been previously applied. The levels of Cu sprayed in experiment 1 were 0, 21, 63, 125, 250, and 375 g/ha, and for experiments 2,3 and 4, the levels of Cu were 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 g/ha. The relative effectiveness of foliar-applied chelated Cu and CU2Cl(OH)3, compared with CuSO4, was 1.72-2.24 and 0.47-0.63, respectively. Although the relative effectiveness of each product was different, similar quantities of each were required to achieve maximum wheat grain yield because of the difference in the Cu contents of each source of Cu. The amounts of Cu product sprayed for maximum grain yields of wheat varied within the ranges 0.9-1.8 kg/ha, 0.8-1.2 kg/ha and 0.8-1.8 kg/ha for CuSO4, chelated Cu and CU2Cl(OH)3, respectively.



2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 913 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Brennan ◽  
M. D. A. Bolland

Copper (Cu) is a common deficiency of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), the major crop grown in south-western Australia. The Cu requirements of wheat are well known for soils in the region, but are not known for field pea (Pisum sativum L.) grown in rotation with wheat on alkaline soils in the region. The Cu requirements of field pea and spring wheat were compared in a glasshouse experiment, using 2 alkaline soils from south-western Australia. The Cu was either incubated in moist soil at 22°C for 100 days before sowing (incubated Cu) or applied just before sowing (current Cu). Comparative Cu requirements were determined from yields of 43-day-old dried shoots for: (i) Cu already present in the soil (indigenous Cu); (ii) the amount of added Cu required to produce the same percentage of the maximum (relative) yield of dried shoots; and (iii) the Cu content of dried shoots (Cu concentration multiplied by yield of dried shoots). The critical concentrations of Cu in youngest mature growth and in dried shoots were also determined. As determined from yield of shoots, both species used indigenous Cu about equally effectively. Compared with spring wheat, field pea was about 12% less effective at using current and incubated Cu to produce dried shoots. It was about 15% less effective at using current and incubated Cu to increase Cu content in dried shoots. Relative to current Cu, the effectiveness of incubated Cu declined by about 60% for both wheat and field pea in both soils. The critical Cu concentration in the youngest tissue, associated with 90% of the relative yield, was 1.4 mg Cu/kg for spring wheat and 2.0 mg Cu/kg for field pea. The critical value for the rest of the dried shoots was about 3.0 mg Cu/kg for both species.



1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 259 ◽  
Author(s):  
RF Brennan

The area of rhizoctonia bare patch and the incidence and severity of rhizoctonia root rot (caused by Rhizoctonia solani Khnn) were reduced by the application of ammonium nitrate fertiliser. Residual copper (Cu) from a Cu fertiliser treatment in 1967 had no effect on the area of rhizoctonia bare patch or the incidence and severity of root rot. With no applied nitrogen (N), 17.6% (mean of residual Cu levels) of the plot was affected by patches while the area of plot affected by patches declined to 4.2% where 92 kg N/ha had been applied. The incidence and severity of rhizoctonia root rot declined from 45.9 and 27.0% to 32.7 and 9.1%, respectively, with the application of N fertiliser. The grain yield of wheat supplied with adequate Cu increased although the level of N fertiliser exceeded that considered adequate for plant nutrition. The response is explained by the control of rhizoctonia bare patch. The area of rhizoctonia patches and the incidence and severity of rhizoctonia root rot decreased with the application of N, and with adequate Cu fertiliser (2.2 kg Cu/ha), the grain yields increased. However, with marginal and deficient levels of applied Cu fertiliser, the application of N fertiliser induced Cu deficiency in wheat plants, and the grain yields declined although rhizoctonia patches were reduced.



Euphytica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Tar'an ◽  
T. Warkentin ◽  
D.J. Somers ◽  
D. Miranda ◽  
A. Vandenberg ◽  
...  


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Ebanyat ◽  
Nico de Ridder ◽  
Mateete Bekunda ◽  
Robert J. Delve ◽  
Ken E. Giller

Poor soil fertility is a major problem constraining crop productivity in smallholder farms of sub-Saharan Africa due to inadequate nutrient replenishment. Differential management of nutrients creates areas of accumulation and depletion of nutrients within farms with the latter increasing in spatial coverage. Nutrient additions are required to increase crop production in such degraded areas. We used experimental data to evaluate the potential of inorganic fertilizers and organic manures to offset finger millet yield differences or gap between degraded fields and former kraals, which are recognized as niches for obtaining the best yields within the Teso farming system in eastern Uganda. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizers were sole applied at 0, 30, 60, and 90 kg ha−1 and in combination (N+P) at equal rates of sole application, and manure (3 t ha−1) supplemented with N (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg ha−1) to degraded fields located in upper and middle landscape positions in Chelekura and Onamudian villages. A second control treatment of finger millet grown on soils of former kraal sites (high fertility niches) was included as a benchmark to evaluate the efficacy of nutrient management options on degraded field. Average grain yield ranged from 404 to 2,026 kg ha−1 and differed significantly (p &lt; 0.001) between villages and seasons. Significant effects (p &lt; 0.05) of landscape position on grain yield were observed only in Onamudian village. Although the treatments significantly increased millet yields on degraded fields above the control, they could not eliminate the yield differences between degraded fields and former kraals. The largest average grain yields on degraded fields were obtained from combined application of N+P resulting in average grain yields of 800 and 1,171 kg ha−1 in Chelekura village and Onamudian village, respectively. These yield responses resulted in only 24 and 43% of yields obtained on former kraal fields in Chelekura and Onamudian, respectively. The physiological efficiencies, agronomic efficiencies, and apparent recoveries of N and P were low; often &lt;25%. Pot experiments conducted in a greenhouse showed that Sulphur (S) and potassium (K) were additional limiting nutrients to N and P for finger millet production in Chelekura and Onamudian and may partly explain the large yield differences of finger millet between fertilized fields and former kraals in the smallholder farming systems. Nutrient management strategies for sustainable millet production in these farming systems need consideration of site-specific nutrient limitations.



Author(s):  
R. A. L. Kanton ◽  
P. V. V. Prasad ◽  
E. Y. Ansoba ◽  
A. L. Alhassan ◽  
J. K. Bidzakin ◽  
...  

Low soil fertility is the most significant agricultural production constraint also mentioned by resource-poor Farmers participating in the Annual Review and Planning Sessions organized under the auspices of the Research, Extension and Farmer Linkage Committees across Ghana. It is in an attempt to find a very cost effective but yet cheaper and most sustainable solution that this work was undertaken. A six-year field trials were conducted at the Manga Agricultural Research Station near Bawku in the Upper East Region in northern Ghana to determine the most suitable grain legume rotation partners for maize relative to continuous cultivation of maize (Zea mays L.) after maize, which is often practiced by cereal farmers under inherently poor soils conditions. The grain legumes evaluated were cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.], soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea), pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], mucuna (Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC and green gram (Vigna radiate (L.) Wilczek. The trial was established in a randomized complete block with four replications. Growth, development, grain yield and its components and some derived variables were computed. Mean grain yield of maize in the first year, preceding rotation was 2055 Mt ha-1. All the grain legumes recorded significantly greater grain yields as compared to the farmers’ practice of continuous cultivation of maize. This is consistent with the very low Carbon and Nitrogen ratios recorded under the grain legumes as compared to the continuous maize treatment. Maize after pigeon pea, groundnuts and cowpea recorded consistently superior grain yields as compared to the other grain legumes and farmers’ practice. Mean grain yield increment recorded for one of the first cycle of rotation was as high as 62% over continuous cropping of maize. Similarly, mean grain yield increment of maize after pigeon pea, groundnut and cowpea over continuous maize was 42.5, 41.5 and 31.5% respectively, over the farmer practice. It was concluded that continuous crop rotation of grain legumes with maize resulted in higher maize grain yields as reflected in the superior economic returns on a sustainable basis than the current farmers’ practice of continuous cropping of maize after over the years. This obviously has important implications on food security at the farmer household level not only in northern Ghana but equally so in other countries with similar, agro-ecology zones in the African and Asian Continents.



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