Supported by:

Lucerne adapted to adverse environments in China and Australia (ACIAR Project: LPS/1998/026)
by Mr Geoff Auricht, South Australian Research and Development Institute

Overview

Australian Agencies	Chinese Agencies
SARDI WA Agriculture University of Tasmania	Grasslands Research Institute (CAAS, Hohhot, IM) Gansu Agricultural University (GAU, Lanzhou, Gansu) Lanzhou University (Gansu Grasslands Ecological Research Institute, Lanzhou, Gansu) Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science (SAAS, Jinan, SD) Beijing Forestry University (BFU, Beijing)

Project dates:

Original project: 1/1/2001 to 31/12/2004

Project extension: 1/1/2005 to 31/12/2006

Aims

This project aims to improve the adaptation of lucerne in China and Australia through the development of improved germplasm and novel screening techniques.  The project targets salt and acid/aluminium tolerance as critical factors limiting lucerne use and persistence in large areas of both countries, and will also target cold and drought tolerance and other constraints in China.

Lucerne (alfalfa) is the most important pasture legume in both countries and is sown on more than 2 m Ha in China and 3 m ha in Australia. Since the inception of the project lucerne has increased in importance both countries increasing in turn the relevance of this project.

Achievements

• Establishment of a network of cooperating lucerne improvement scientists in China
• Exchange of lucerne germplasm
  • Over 200 lucernes from throughout the world collected and characterised including first significant exchanges between China and Australia
  • Includes wild types ie. M. falcata suited to grasslands
• Network of field evaluation sites sown. Now with more than 3 years of data
  • Four evaluation trials established in Australia (2 South Australia, 2 Western Australia)
  • Ten evaluation trials established in China (4 Inner Mongolia, 4 Gansu, 2 Shandong)

Results now show the best lucernes, current and prospective, for use by farmers and this forms the basis of recommendations from the agencies involved.

• Rhizobium isolation and characterisation from all Chinese trial sites
• Pest and disease assessment on selected Chinese trial sites
• Texts translated from English to Chinese
• Student training: postgraduate and undergraduate
• Novel technique for identifying acid/aluminium tolerant lucerne developed at SARDI in Adelaide. This represents a major breakthrough in lucerne improvement and is of international significance. It is an outstanding outcome of this project.
• Germplasm with improved acid/aluminium tolerance is now up to the third cycle of selection and is on track for cultivar release in 2007.
• Considerable progress towards developing techniques for identifying salinity and waterlogging tolerant lucerne (SARDI in collaboration with University of Tasmania).
• Short courses delivered in Adelaide for 7 Chinese scientists (and 1 Laotian and 1 Bhutanese scientist).
• Significant additional projects in both China and Australia have developed from the basis of this ACIAR project.
• Staff development in both China and Australia

Current activities

• Field trial analysis and publication
• Field selection of promising individual plants from trial sites
• Continuing development and validation of salinity tolerance screening method
• Continuing screening for acid/aluminium tolerance
• Publication of screening results
• Registration of promising lucerne entries in the National cultivar register
• Development of breeding strategies targeted for collaborating agencies

Future opportunities

• Forage production training in China
  • Based on the popular Australian publication 'Success with Dryland Lucerne' (which we will have translated by early 2006)
• Breeding and release of lucerne cultivars based on entries established in this project:
  • Acid/aluminium tolerant lucerne for southern China (and other sub tropical areas > 800 m elevation)
  • Aphid tolerant Chinese lucerne
  • Drought and cold tolerant Chinese lucerne
  • Salt tolerant lucerne for Australia (and Yellow River Delta)
• Development of wild lucernes for permanent pastures (grasslands in northern and western China and low rainfall environments in Australia)
• Lucerne for use in cold/dry areas (Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet) including mixed grasslands
• Improved rhizobia for Chinese lucernes