Adaptation of Grain Legumes to Terminal Drought after Rice Harvest in Timor-Leste

In Timor-Leste, most paddy fields are abandoned after rice harvest due to limited water resources for another rice production cycle, particularly in lowland coastal areas. There is substantial scope for including legumes and other crops in the rice–fallow system in Timor-Leste. This study investigated the adaptation of grain legumes to terminal drought. The experiment was undertaken in 2018 and 2019 at field sites in Vemase and Laleia, respectively, on the northeast coast of Timor-Leste. The experiments used a split-plot design with two factors (water treatment and species) and three blocks (Vemase site) or four blocks (Laleia site). In 2018, the water treatments were well-watered control (W0), water withheld from flower initiation to maturity (W1), and water withheld after seedling establishment to maturity (W2). In 2019, the water treatments were well-watered control (W0) and water withheld from flower initiation to maturity (W1). Grain legumes were mungbean and soybean tested against grass pea (cv. Ceora), a well-known drought-adapted grain legume. The measured parameters included soil water content, crop phenology, plant growth and development, yield and yield components. The experiments revealed that mungbean is the most suitable grain legume crop after rice harvest under moderate drought conditions, while soybean is the preferred option under severe drought. Grass pea could be the best adaptive grain legume under severe drought in Timor-Leste when combined with the worsening conditions of climate change.

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Response of Grain Legume Species to Terminal Drought in Timor-Leste

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2019036201 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 201

Author(s):

Marcal Gusmao ◽

Delfim Da Costa ◽

Angelo Da Costa Freitas ◽

Kadambot H. M. Siddique ◽

Robert Williams

Keyword(s):

Seed Yield ◽

Seed Weight ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Grain Legumes ◽

Grain Legume ◽

Terminal Drought ◽

Matter Production ◽

Timor Leste ◽

Water Treatments ◽

Plot Design

Growth, development and yield of three-grain legumes (mung bean [F1], soybean [F2] and grass pea [F3]) following rice crop to enhance grain production was studied in a paddy field in the northern Timor-Leste. A split plot design was used with three water treatments (well-watered [W0], water withheld at flowering [W1] and after germination [W2]). Interaction between water treatments and species on dry matter production (p < 0.001) and seed yield (p = 0.005) was observed. In control, the highest seed yield was F1 (1.2 t/ha) followed by F2 (1.1 t/ha) and F3 (0.4 t/ha) respectively. There was a steady reduction in seed yield in F1 from W0 to W2, but almost fifty percent reduction in F2 under W1 and W2 compared to W0. F3 had little difference between water treatments. The W1 and W2 reduced number of filled pods per plant in all species compared to control (W0). Between the species, F3 had the highest filled pods per plant followed by F2 and F3. The W1 and W2 reduced seeds per pod of F1; however, it did not effect F2 and F3. There were interactions between water treatment and species on 100 seeds weight. The heaviest seeds were in F2 in the control plants, but in the F2 drought treatments (W1 and W2) seed weight were less than F3. The lowest seed weight was in F1, but there was no impact of the terminal droughts on its seed weight.

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Yield and Fruit Quality of Strawberry Cultivars under Different Irrigation Regimes

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020261 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 261

Author(s):

María Teresa Ariza ◽

Luis Miranda ◽

José Antonio Gómez-Mora ◽

Juan Jesús Medina ◽

David Lozano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fruit Quality ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Production Cycle ◽

High Productivity ◽

Yield Efficiency ◽

Significant Yield ◽

Water Treatments ◽

Strawberry Cultivars

Strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duch.) production requires the input of large amounts of water provided by irrigation during the entire production cycle. However, water availability is shrinking in many important strawberry cropping areas, such as Huelva (in Europe), compromising the environmental sustainability and economic viability of strawberry production. Besides technical approaches, water-saving strategies are necessary for improving strawberry water productivity such as the use of low water-consumptive cultivars with high productivity or cultivars allowing deficit irrigation (DI) strategies. A two-year field experiment was conducted to compare the physiological and agronomical response of six commercial strawberry cultivars (‘Sabrina’, ‘Fortuna’, ‘Splendor’, ‘Primoris’, ‘Rabida’ and ‘Rociera’) to six different water treatments ranging from 65% to 140% of estimated ‘Sabrina’ evapotranspiration (ETcSab; ~224–510 mm year−1). Cultivars differed substantially in yield and water consumption linked to their biomass partitioning into reproductive/ vegetative organs, determining different yield efficiency (YE). Their water needs (IN) conditioned their response to different water supplies, involving significant yield losses in DI treatments (<20% IN) but not decreasing fruit quality. The highly-consumptive and productive ‘Rabida’ and ‘Rociera’, reduced yields by DI (<40%) but were still profitable; the low-water-consumptive but still productive ‘Fortuna’, ‘Splendor’ and ‘Primoris’ represent significant water-savings (<20%) in strawberry cultivation.

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Feed legumes for truly sustainable crop-animal systems

Italian Journal of Agronomy ◽

10.4081/ija.2017.880 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paolo Annicchiarico

Keyword(s):

Unit Area ◽

Research Effort ◽

Grain Legumes ◽

Protein Yield ◽

White Lupin ◽

Grain Legume ◽

N Fixation ◽

Genetic Progress ◽

High Feed ◽

Feed Protein

Legume cultivation has sharply decreased in Italy during the last 50 years. Lucerne remains widely grown (with about 12% of its area devoted to dehydration), whereas soybean is definitely the most-grown grain legume. Poor legume cropping is mainly due to the gap in yielding ability with major cereals, which has widened up in time according to statistical data. Lucerne displays definitely higher crude protein yield and somewhat lower economic gap with benchmark cereals than feed grain legumes. Pea because of high feed energy production per unit area and rate of genetic progress, and white lupin because of high protein yield per unit area, are particularly interesting for Italian rain-fed environments. Greater legume cultivation in Europe is urged by the need for reducing energy and green-house gas emissions and excessive and unbalanced global N flows through greater symbiotic N fixation and more integrated crop-animal production, as well as to cope with ongoing and perspective raising prices of feed proteins and N fertilisers and insecurity of feed protein supplies. The transition towards greater legume cultivation requires focused research effort, comprehensive stakeholder cooperation and fair economic compensation for legume environmental services, with a key role for genetic improvement dragged by public breeding or pre-breeding. New opportunities for yield improvement arise from the ongoing development of cost-efficient genome-enabled selection procedures, enhanced adaptation to specific cropping conditions via ecophysiological and evolutionary-based approaches, and more thorough exploitation of global genetic resources.

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Drought Stress in Grain Legumes: Effects, Tolerance Mechanisms and Management

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11122374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 2374

Author(s):

Marium Khatun ◽

Sumi Sarkar ◽

Farzana Mustafa Era ◽

A. K. M. Mominul Islam ◽

Md. Parvez Anwar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drought Stress ◽

Drought Tolerance ◽

Association Studies ◽

Stomatal Closure ◽

Grain Legumes ◽

Grain Legume ◽

Developmental Cycle ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Tolerance Mechanisms ◽

Drought Tolerant

Grain legumes are important sources of proteins, essential micronutrients and vitamins and for human nutrition. Climate change, including drought, is a severe threat to grain legume production throughout the world. In this review, the morpho-physiological, physio-biochemical and molecular levels of drought stress in legumes are described. Moreover, different tolerance mechanisms, such as the morphological, physio-biochemical and molecular mechanisms of legumes, are also reviewed. Moreover, various management approaches for mitigating the drought stress effects in grain legumes are assessed. Reduced leaf area, shoot and root growth, chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, CO2 influx, nutrient uptake and translocation, and water-use efficiency (WUE) ultimately affect legume yields. The yield loss of grain legumes varies from species to species, even variety to variety within a species, depending upon the severity of drought stress and several other factors, such as phenology, soil textures and agro-climatic conditions. Closure of stomata leads to an increase in leaf temperature by reducing the transpiration rate, and, so, the legume plant faces another stress under drought stress. The biosynthesis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is the most detrimental effect of drought stress. Legumes can adapt to the drought stress by changing their morphology, physiology and molecular mechanism. Improved root system architecture (RSA), reduced number and size of leaves, stress-induced phytohormone, stomatal closure, antioxidant defense system, solute accumulation (e.g., proline) and altered gene expression play a crucial role in drought tolerance. Several agronomic, breeding both conventional and molecular, biotechnological approaches are used as management practices for developing a drought-tolerant legume without affecting crop yield. Exogenous application of plant-growth regulators (PGRs), osmoprotectants and inoculation by Rhizobacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promotes drought tolerance in legumes. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs), genomic selection (GS), marker-assisted selection (MAS), OMICS-based technology and CRISPR/Cas9 make the breeding work easy and save time in the developmental cycle to get resistant legumes. Several drought-resistant grain legumes, such as the chickpea, faba bean, common bean and pigeon pea, were developed by different institutions. Drought-tolerant transgenic legumes, for example, chickpeas, are developed by introgressing desired genes through breeding and biotechnological approaches. Several quantitative trait loci (QTLs), candidate genes occupying drought-tolerant traits, are identified from a variety of grain legumes, but not all are under proper implementation. Hence, more research should be conducted to improve the drought-tolerant traits of grain legumes for avoiding losses during drought.

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Elevated CO2 and Temperature Resetting the Expression of Resistance, Pest Incidence, Geographical Distribution and Physiology in Insect-pests of Grain Legumes: A Review

Indian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.18805/ijare.a-5799 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

B.L. Jat ◽

P. Pagaria ◽

A.S. Jat ◽

H.D. Choudhary ◽

T. Khan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Geographical Distribution ◽

Elevated Co2 ◽

Crop Production ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Grain Legumes ◽

Grain Legume ◽

Nutritional Content ◽

High Co2 ◽

Elevated Co2 And Temperature

The most important factor that affects the crop production in terms of nutritional content of foliar plants is the global climate change. Herbivore’s growth, development, survival and geographical distribution all are determined by elevated CO2 and temperature. The interactions between herbivores and plants have changed due to increasing level of CO2 and temperature. The effect of high CO2 and temperature on grain legume plant which change in to plant physiology (e.g., nutritional content, foliage biomass) and how it change in herbivory metabolism rate and food consumption rate. Plant injury is determined by two factors viz. resistance and tolerance and both are influenced by greater CO2 and temperature. Legumes are an important source of food and feed in the form of proteins and also improve the soil environment. The repercussions of the abiotic factors mentioned above needs discussion among the scientific community. We may able to limit the negative repercussions of stated factors in future breeding projects by harnessing the practical favourable impacts and by including such influences of elevated CO2 and temperature on pulses productivity. The extensive research is necessary to overcome the negative effects of high CO2 and temperature on insect-plant interaction.

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Spectrophotometrical pod colour measurement: a non-destructive method for monitoring seed drying?

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859605005216 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 143 (2-3) ◽

pp. 183-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

F. COSTE ◽

M. P. RAVENEAU ◽

Y. CROZAT

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Sharp Decrease ◽

Quality Criteria ◽

Visual Assessment ◽

Grain Legumes ◽

Grain Legume ◽

Seed Filling ◽

Wide Range ◽

Non Destructive ◽

Seed Water Content

A non-destructive indicator of seed water content could significantly help crop scientists with assessment of the effects of environmental conditions during drying on grain qualities or on seed physiological quality. This is particularly important for grain legumes which simultaneously bear pods of different ages. Visual assessment of pod colour has so far been used to date grain legume stages, but now colour can be easily and accurately measured with a portable spectrophotometer. Relationships between the spectrophotometer measurements and the pod and seed water contents were tested in various climatic contexts (3 years: 2000, 2001, 2002; field or greenhouse, two or three sowing dates) for two bean cultivars (Booster and Calypso) and also for one pea cultivar (Baccara) in 2003 near Angers, France. Among the different spectrophotometer measurements, hue angle (h) clearly shows the transition from green (h=180 °) to yellow (h=90 °) and then to red (h=0 °). In each context, h and seed water content (SWC) relationships showed the same pattern of three linear phases: first a steady state; then a sharp decrease from green (h=106–108 °) to yellow (h=85–93 °) just before the end of the seed filling stage for Booster or between the end of the seed filling phase and the beginning of seed drying for Calypso and pea; finally, a slow decrease from yellow to ochre (h=75–78 °) during seed drying. For each bean cultivar, the parameters of the linear relationships showed no differences between maturation conditions. Therefore, 6 h classes matching six SWC classes could be defined over a wide range of SWC between 0·56 and 0·2 g/g for Booster. However for Calypso and pea, only 3 h classes could be defined because of the tight relationships between h and SWC during the end of seed drying, which can be explained by pod walls drying faster than seeds. Hence, spectrophotometer measurements, if calibrated for a given cultivar of a species, could now be used to select pods with seeds of the same water content and therefore to study environmental effects on quality criteria either in controlled conditions or in the field.

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Potential and realities of enhancing rapeseed- and grain legume-based protein production in a northern climate

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s002185961200038x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 151 (3) ◽

pp. 303-321 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

P. PELTONEN-SAINIO ◽

A. HANNUKKALA ◽

E. HUUSELA-VEISTOLA ◽

L. VOUTILA ◽

J. NIEMI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soybean Meal ◽

Crop Production ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Grain Legumes ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Grain Legume ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Realistic Potential ◽

Pests And Diseases ◽

Self Sufficiency

SUMMARYCrop-based protein self-sufficiency in Finland is low. Cereals dominate the field cropping systems in areas that are also favourable for legumes and rapeseed. The present paper estimated the realistic potential for expanding protein crop production taking account of climatic conditions and constraints, crop rotation requirements, field sizes, soil types and likelihood for compacted soils in different regions. The potential for current expansion was estimated by considering climate change scenarios for 2025 and 2055. By using actual regional mean yields for the 2000s, without expecting any yield increase during the expansion period (due to higher risks of pests and diseases), potential production volumes were estimated. Since rapeseed, unlike grain legumes, is a not a true minor crop, its expansion potential is currently limited. Thus, most potential is from the introduction of legumes into cropping systems. The current 100000 ha of protein crops could be doubled, and areas under cultivation could reach 350000 and 390000 ha as a result of climate warming by 2025 and 2055, respectively. Such increases result mainly from the longer growing seasons projected for the northern cropping regions of Finland. Self-sufficiency in rapeseed could soon increase from 0·25 to 0·32, and then to 0·50 and 0·60 by 2025 and 2055, respectively. If legume production expands according to its potential, it could replace 0·50–0·60 of currently imported soybean meal, and by 2025 it could replace it completely. Replacement of soybean meal is suitable for ruminants, but it presents some problems for pig production, and is particularly challenging for poultry.

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What is the Difference between the Response of Grass Pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) to Salinity and Drought Stress?—A Physiological Study

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10060833 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 833 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Barbara Tokarz ◽

Tomasz Wójtowicz ◽

Wojciech Makowski ◽

Roman J. Jędrzejczyk ◽

Krzysztof M. Tokarz

Keyword(s):

Drought Stress ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Lathyrus Sativus ◽

Soil Drought ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Chemical Stress ◽

Plant Tolerance ◽

Grass Pea ◽

Physiological Level ◽

Lathyrus Sativus L

Understanding the mechanisms of plant tolerance to osmotic and chemical stress is fundamental to maintaining high crop productivity. Soil drought often occurs in combination with physiological drought, which causes chemical stress due to high concentrations of ions. Hence, it is often assumed that the acclimatization of plants to salinity and drought follows the same mechanisms. Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a legume plant with extraordinary tolerance to severe drought and moderate salinity. The aim of the presented study was to compare acclimatization strategies of grass pea seedlings to osmotic (PEG) and chemical (NaCl) stress on a physiological level. Concentrations of NaCl and PEG were adjusted to create an osmotic potential of a medium at the level of 0.0, −0.45 and −0.65 MPa. The seedlings on the media with PEG were much smaller than those growing in the presence of NaCl, but had a significantly higher content percentage of dry weight. Moreover, the stressors triggered different accumulation patterns of phenolic compounds, soluble and insoluble sugars, proline and β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diamino propionic acid, as well as peroxidase and catalase activity. Our results showed that drought stress induced a resistance mechanism consisting of growth rate limitation in favor of osmotic adjustment, while salinity stress induced primarily the mechanisms of efficient compartmentation of harmful ions in the roots and shoots. Furthermore, our results indicated that grass pea plants differed in their response to drought and salinity from the very beginning of stress occurrence.

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Small grain screenings in wheat: interactions of cultivars with season, site, and management practices

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar03265 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 55 (7) ◽

pp. 797 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

D. L. Sharma ◽

W. K. Anderson

Keyword(s):

Drought Stress ◽

Yield Components ◽

Management Practices ◽

Plant Population ◽

Grain Weight ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Grain Number ◽

Terminal Drought ◽

Applied Nitrogen

Small grains that pass through a 2-mm slotted screen (sievings or screenings) are one of the most important causes of price dockages of wheat in Australia because grain size variation greatly affects flour yield and commercial value. The aims of this study were to examine the effects of season, time of sowing, plant population, and applied nitrogen, and their interactions with cultivars, on small grain screenings. Twenty-one field experiments involving 16 new cultivars and elite crossbreds, and various management variables, were conducted in the medium (annual rainfall 325–450 mm) and low (annual rainfall <325 mm) rainfall zones of the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia over 3 diverse cropping seasons (1999–2001). Rainfall events towards the end of the season were critical to the level of screenings. Screenings were higher in season 2000 with terminal drought stress, but were low in 2001 despite severe drought stress during early growth. Delayed seeding caused higher screenings in 1999 (average rainfall with even distribution) and in 2000 (terminal drought) but not consistently in 2001 when early drought stress restricted tillering and spike size thereby constraining the yield level. Strong varietal and time of sowing interactions were evident but the relationship between maturity group and the level of screenings was not consistent. Rather, the ability of cultivars to adjust yield components was more important; 82% of the total variance in small grain screenings was accounted for by a regression model based on variety-specific kernel weight, post-heading rainfall (from about 2 weeks before anthesis), and location factors. The effect of increasing plant population on screenings was mostly negative, with some minor exceptions for a few cultivars in the low-rainfall zone. As applied nitrogen was increased, screenings generally increased and cultivar influenced this trend more than rainfall zone. It is postulated that for a cultivar to be unaffected by applied nitrogen, it should have inherently higher grain weight as well as high stability of grain weight across nitrogen levels. Applied nitrogen had a significant effect on screenings only at higher plant populations. In experiments where the level of screenings exceeded 5%, the yield components that were significantly associated with screenings, in order of relative importance, were grain weight > grain number/area > grain number/head > grain yield. Cultivars differed in production of screenings in response to plant population, nitrogen fertiliser and sowing time. Harrismith was the most sensitive cultivar and Wyalkatchem was overall the most tolerant cultivar. Delayed seeding had the least effect on the screenings of cultivars Westonia, Carnamah, and Wyalkatchem. Carnamah was the most stable cultivar against higher levels of applied nitrogen, whereas Westonia required high plant numbers to contain screenings. It is concluded that cultivars can be classified according to specific sensitivities, and appropriate management practices may be suggested to growers.

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Comparison of winter cereal, oilseed and grain legume crops on the Darling Downs, Queensland

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea9860339 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 339 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J Harbison ◽

BD Hall ◽

RGH Nielsen ◽

WM Strong

Keyword(s):

Faba Bean ◽

Acid Soil ◽

Nitrogen Concentration ◽

Heavy Rain ◽

Grain Legumes ◽

Grain Legume ◽

Winter Cereal ◽

Grain Yields ◽

Pod Shattering ◽

Cereal Grain

Performances of 18 winter cereal, grain legume and oilseed crops were compared on the Darling Downs in 1976 using cultural practices appropriate for each. All crops, except for faba bean, which had a lower population than desired, established satisfactorily. The season was characterised by twice the average number (55) of heavy frosts, although only safflower appeared to be adversely affected. Heavy rain around maturity caused lodging of the prostrate crops lathyrus and field pea, some pod shattering of most grain legumes, and delays in machine-harvest, due to waterlogging, of almost all crops. Barley and canary seed were affected by powdery mildew during August and early September but recovered after rain in mid-September. Later rainfall promoted the diseases Alternaria carthami in safflower and Puccinia sp. in vetch, reducing grain yields in both crops. Except for chickpea, all grain legumes nodulated effectively. Lathyrus produced more larger ( >3 mm diameter) nodules than any other grain legume while lentil and vetch had many small (<2 mm) nodules. At floral initiation, more herbage DM was produced by triticale and oats than all other crops except barley and fieldpea. The most productive grain legumes were fieldpea, lathyrus and lentil. All oilseeds produced similar quantities of herbage DM, which were greater than those for grain legumes but less than those for cereals. Nitrogen concentration in herbage increased in the order: cereals < oilseeds <grain legumes. Machine-harvested grain yields of cereals were generally higher than those of oilseeds or grain legumes but delayed harvest caused large grain losses for many oilseeds and grain legumes. Pod shattering and crop lodging caused large yield losses in rapeseed and field peas, respectively. Lupins (cv. Ultra) produced more harvestable grain (1.6 t/ha) than any other grain legume, rapeseed, safflower or canary seed. An even higher grain yield (3.9 t/ha) was measured at a nearby site on an acid soil. Of the other grain legumes, lentil and lathyrus appear to be poorly adapted for this region while faba bean and vetch appear moderately well suited.

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