Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Crop and Pasture Science Crop and Pasture Science Society
Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality
Crop and Pasture Science

Crop and Pasture Science

Volume 72 Number 3 2021

CP20462Speed breeding in pulses: an opportunity to improve the efficiency of breeding programs

Federico Cazzola 0000-0002-5085-1685, Carolina Julieta Bermejo, Ileana Gatti and Enrique Cointry
pp. 165-172

Most of the traditional pulse breeding programs take 10–15 years to release an improved cultivar; therefore, cycle time is the most powerful parameter for increasing genetic gain. In this context, speed breeding emerges as a technology that allows increased efficiency of the programs, reducing costs and the work required. We present and review different advances in pulse breeding programs and propose a speed breeding system for pea.


Next-generation sequencing-based multiplex assay is a valuable tool for high throughput, rapid screening functional markers in wheat breeding programs. Iranian cultivars and landraces supply a rich genetic resource of resistance to diseases, high grain protein content, and gluten strength traits. Our findings provide significant insight into the genetic structure of wheat old and modern germplasm in Iran.

CP20406Nitrogen–sulfur fertilisation effects on gluten composition and industrial quality in Argentinean bread wheat cultivars differing in apparent sulfur recovery

Agustín F. Arata 0000-0002-6061-8449, William J. Rogers, Gabriela E. Tranquilli, Adriana C. Arrigoni and Deborah P. Rondanini 0000-0003-0797-2497
pp. 183-196

Industrial quality of bread wheat is relevant for global food security; therefore, baking quality and gluten composition were studied in a wide range of genotypes differing in apparent sulfur recovery, cycle length and protein pattern. Our results showed that the study of variants for protein subunits coded by particular genes should be intensified, in order to optimise genetic improvement. Responses to fertilisation of contrasting genotypes in environments with low nutrient availability becomes relevant to efforts aimed at optimising the sustainability of wheat production.

CP20403Sustainability of nutrient management in grain production systems of south-west Australia

Martin Harries 0000-0003-1307-2997, Ken C. Flower and Craig A. Scanlan 0000-0002-2199-9939
pp. 197-212

Balancing nutrient inputs and exports is essential to maintain soil fertility in Western Australia’s rainfed crop and pasture farming systems. Despite increases in fertiliser usage in recent decades, we found that nitrogen inputs in 60% of paddocks and potassium inputs in 90% of paddocks were inadequate to balance exports, whereas phosphorus and sulfur balances were positive most paddocks. Further quantifications of nutrient balances are required because crop and pasture rotations in Western Australia have altered towards more intensive cropping with reduced legume production.

CP20432The critical period for grain yield in chia (Salvia hispanica)

Josefina Diez, Juan Anuch Tiranti, Víctor O. Sadras 0000-0002-5874-6775 and Martin M. Acreche 0000-0002-3963-8883
pp. 213-222

Chia grain is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 acids, which are important for human nutrition and prevention of cardiovascular disease. This study determined the critical period for grain yield, which is relevant information for establishing management and breeding strategies. The results suggest that chia has a broad critical period spanning the time from 4–6 pairs of unfolded leaves to 10 days after flowering; the main yield component affected is grain number, and grain weight does not compensate grain number loss.

CP20269Harvesting subterranean clover seed – current practices, technology and issues

Wesley M. Moss 0000-0002-4061-9479, Andrew L. Guzzomi, Kevin J. Foster, Megan H. Ryan and Phillip G. H. Nichols
pp. 223-235

Subterranean clover is the backbone of sheep and beef pastures in southern Australia. However, harvesting subterranean clover seed is slow, difficult, and causes environmental issues, which we determined is due to the industry’s reliance on 60-year-old vacuum harvesters (which suck seed up from the ground). We evaluate current harvesting practices and machinery to support the development of new harvest systems that are urgently needed for the advancement of this important Australian industry.

CP20499Biomass harvesting leads to soil acidification: a study of mixed crop–livestock farming systems in Madagascar

M. L. Fanjaniaina, J. Larvy Delarivière, P. Salgado, E. Tillard, L. Rabeharisoa and T. Becquer 0000-0001-5846-5810
pp. 236-244

Soil acidification and drought are the main limiting factors for crop growth in the tropics. In poorly fertilised soils in sub-Saharan Africa, acidification, which is mainly due to the output of crops and fodders from the field, is not counterbalanced by manure inputs, whose quality and quantity are limited. There is an urgent need to improve management of biomass scarcity in order to increase soil health and sustainability of smallholder agricultural production systems.

Committee on Publication Ethics

Call for Papers

We are seeking contributions for Special Issues. More

Advertisement