Western Australia
July 1, 2009
Research conducted by The
University of Western Australia
(UWA) School of Plant Biology and
Institute of Agriculture
has demonstrated that several herbaceous legumes may be viable
alternatives to lucerne under low phosphorus conditions for West
Australian farmers in areas where lucerne performs poorly.
The research compared the growth of 10 native and exotic
herbaceous legumes to lucerne growing in glasshouses, supplied
with different levels of phosphorus.
The study found that four species, Bituminaria bituminosa,
Glycine canescens, Kennedia prostrata, and K. prorepens, grew
better than lucerne in low phosphorus conditions and that two
species, B. bituminosa and G. canescens, used phosphorus applied
to soil more efficiently than other species where low phosphorus
was a problem.
Funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), Department of
Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) and Heritage
Seeds, the research could have important implications for WA
farmers, according to Research Associate, Dr Jiayin Pang, School
of Plant Biology,UWA.
Other project collaborators include ChemCentre, Facey Group and
Mingenew Irvin Group.
| |
 |
|
Dr
Jiayin Pang monitoring soil moisture content, using
Diviner2000 soil moisture probe, of novel pasture legume
species at UWA glasshouse experiments. |
“Developing new perennial pasture
legumes that take up or use phosphorus more efficiently than
lucerne is important in the face of dwindling global phosphorus
reserves and the rising cost of fertilisers,” Dr Pang said.
“As well as this, many farmers need a viable alternative to
lucerne because it’s poorly adapted to acidic sandy soils,
waterlogging and salinity and doesn’t do well in hot and dry
conditions.”
Dr Pang said many of the legumes tested were native species well
adapted to local environmental conditions, such as low rainfall,
acidic soils and low fertility.
The research also found that exotic perennial legumes, such as
B. bituminosa, could also fill low phosphorus niches where
lucerne production was poor.
“Although promising, the results of this glasshouse study will
need to be validated with long term field studies,” Dr Pang
said.
“That will identify if native perennials will accumulate large
amounts of phosphorus from heavily fertilised, high phosphorus
soils.”
Many native legumes regulate phosphorus uptake poorly when soil
phosphorus supply is increased, resulting in phosphorus
toxicity.
“It will also determine if native and exotic legumes can use
phosphorus already in the soil more efficiently, thereby
reducing the need for additional fertiliser application,” Dr
Pang said.
Large scale use of phosphorus has seen a rapid depletion of
global reserves, which are expected to halve by 2060.
This poses a significant challenge for Australian agriculture
with its phosphorus deficient soils and the heavy use of
phosphorus fertiliser.
Australian native and novel exotic perennial legumes, such as
those identified and currently being developed by Future Farm
Industries CRC and UWA, could alleviate this problem. |
|
