Traditional ideas about which crops can be profitably grown in the southern cropping region will be challenged by Agriculture Victoria researchers assessing the viability of alternative legumes as both winter and summer crop options.

Dr James Nuttall, project leader for the GRDC and Agriculture Victoria co-investment, says adapted legumes crop options are limited within the southern region, particularly when it comes to taking advantage of sporadic summer rainfall events through a summer crop option.

"Despite significant breeding gains made with the major grain legumes, including lentils, chickpeas, field beans and faba beans, further opportunities exist for alternative legumes in the system," Dr Nuttall says.

The team led by Dr Nuttall, who is a senior research scientist at Agriculture Victoria, will assess the viability of alternative legume crops in terms of their potential to generate farming system benefits and sustainable profits to growers.

"We are looking for legume crops that can provide a range of benefits including flexibility as both grain and fodder, fixing additional nitrogen and, in the case of summer crops, provide opportunity to utilise rainfall in late spring and summer," he says.

The legume crops being tested include:

• adzuki bean
• black gram
• black turtle
• borlotti bean
• burgundy bean
• cowpea
• guar bean
• kidney bean
• lab lab
• lathyrus
• messina
• moth bean
• mungbean
• narbon bean
• navy bean
• pigeon pea
• soybean.

In the first year of the three-year project, trials have been established across Victoria at Horsham, Dookie, Tempy, Hamilton and Inverleigh.

Sowing of the winter trials took place in March, while soil temperatures were still warm, with supplementary irrigation applied to simulate an 'early break'.

Dr Nuttall says a key consideration to the success of crops being tested is their suitability to the rainfall pattern and temperature in the respective environment.

"Most of these species are currently grown in sub-tropical conditions and it is unknown how they will respond to summer and winter growing conditions across Victoria," he says.

"We have been testing a range of current commercial varieties; we are also looking at time-of-sowing and the impact of herbicides that are used with our winter sown pulses.

"For the first trials this year, we are looking at fundamental agronomy, and then once we have completed the first winter and summer cycle, we can be more targeted within the experimental program, including understanding the nitogren and water dynamics of the best-suited alternative legume crops as well as the various pest and disease control options.

"Importantly, market opportunities and economics of growing these alternative legume crops will also be assessed."

The project, which is part of the Victorian Grains Innovation Partnership between GRDC and Agriculture Victoria, is also trapping into the Australian Grains Genebank (AGG) at Horsham - a vital resource for conserving and supplying genetically diverse germplasm for crop species.

Early sown trials at Horsham have now been established, with 812 different AGG legume accessions being tested.

Audrey Delahunty, a research scientist working on the project, says the AGG provided a valuable supply of germplasm to test for genetic adaption of the alternative legumes to the southern region.

"Testing a broad range of germplasm from the AGG, within the southern Australia environment, will also help inform researchers about the potential to adapt these species to the southern region and the key traits that will enable this," Ms Delahunty says.

One of the project's key focuses is on identifying crops that can capture value from late spring and early summer rainfall in the southern region to convert to grain or biomass.

"Sporadic, out-of-season rainfall can be poorly utilised in current Victorian grains production systems," Ms Delahunty says.

"Some of the species we are testing may help to put more of this rainfall to productive use while simultaneously fixing nitrogen for subsequent crops."

the project involves Agriculture Victoria staff from Horsham, Hamilton, Mildura, Bendigo and Rutherglen with wide ranging expertise in agronomy, disease and pest management, quality markets, remote sensing and biophysical modelling.

"We are capturing a broad expertise set from a wide range of places, which is important in the delivery of a comprehensive assessment of potential legume species," Dr Nuttall says.

"We are also linking extensively with relevant research and breeding organisations in northern Australia where these legume crops are grown.

"In undertaking these field trials, we are also working with Southern Farming Systems, Fronteir Farming Systems and FAR Australia to deliver experimental sites across a diverse set of growing environments within Victoria.

"Ultimately, we are aiming to identify crops and mangement strategies that can expand the range of legumes available to the grains industry, helping to build soil nitrogen, utilise out of season rainfall and improve farm profitability."

More information: Dr James Nuttall, james.nuttall@ecodev.vic.gov.au