Western Australia
June 13, 2007
Collaboration, innovation and
legume performance remain the focus of Phase Three of the
Centre for Legumes in
Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) as it continues to provide
Western Australian graingrowers with sustainable and profitable
outcomes.
Centred at the University of Western Australia (UWA) from July
1, CLIMA continues to collaborate with the Department of
Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), CSIRO and
Murdoch University, plus its international partners, to maintain
the flow of new germplasm into Western Australian farming
systems.
As his June 30 retirement approaches, CLIMA Director, Professor
Neil Turner said the future of CLIMA rested in germplasm
enhancement for breeders, training of postgraduate students and
further linkages with international projects.
“Maintaining strong links with other Australian and overseas
legume research groups creates opportunities to explore new
germplasm technology that can improve yields and returns for
Western Australian growers,” he said.
Professor Turner recently represented CLIMA in China to create
better linkages with scientists working in dryland agricultural
research to help develop profitable grain and pasture legumes
for both China and Australia.
At the recent UWA ‘CLIMA: Past, Present & Future’ Forum, he said
CLIMA’s strengths included developing core germplasm
collections, interspecific chickpea and lupin hybridisation and
doubled haploid chickpea and field pea development.
“All CLIMA partners are involved in developing a core collection
of around 10,000 subterranean clovers to retain the diversity of
genes for future selection and breeding,” he said.
“Chickpea interspecific hybridisation includes investigating
chilling tolerance at pod set and in-vitro embryo rescue and for
lupins it includes developing greater pearl or mutabilis lupin
adaptation using new genes from South American species.
“Breeders will also benefit from faster breeding and greater
variation due to doubled haploid development in chickpeas and
field peas,” Professor Turner said.
Other promising projects include examining the benefits of early
vigour in lupins, understanding the genetics of salinity
tolerance, maintaining genebanks and increasing capacity
building through East Timor’s Seeds of Life research.
UWA’s Dr Heather Clarke and Dr Kioumars Ghamkhar, DAFWA’s Dr
Phil Nichols, CSIRO’s Dr Jens Berger and Murdoch’s Professor
Richard Oliver also presented at the forum.
UWA’s selection panel is in the process of appointing a new
CLIMA Director.
Professor Turner, who spent more than 30 years with CSIRO, has
been involved with CLIMA since its inception, becoming its
Director in August 2006.
“I’ve enjoyed my time with CLIMA and I welcome the appointment
of a new Director who can provide fresh ideas and take CLIMA in
new directions,” he said.
Professor Turner looks forward to spending several months in the
Kimberleys with his wife, Dr Jennifer Turner, immediately after
his retirement. |
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