Future cropping systems will require more reliance on economic and environmental friendly practices. Grain legumes, which do not require nitrogen fertiliser and produce seeds that have many uses as food, feed, and industrial feedstock, are proposed to have an increasing role in cropping systems. Expansion of grain legume species will have major benefits for farmers and consumers in both developed and developing countries around the world.

Physiological characters are useful surrogates for selection for yield in wheat under drought conditions. The understanding of genetic inheritance of these characters is crucial for planning wheat breeding programs. This paper is dealing with genomic analysis of these characters which help the breeders to plan wheat breeding programs.

Winter wheat could provide a valuable feed resource for livestock production in western China. This paper shows that wheat can be cut in autumn or early spring without greatly reducing grain yield; however, if cutting is delayed then large reductions in grain yield can occur. Using winter wheat in this way has the potential to transform traditional grain-only wheat production in western China into a new dual-purpose graze-and grain system to improve livestock production.

Rice productivity depends on field water availability and the length of growing period is a measure to provide the geographical dimensions of soil hydrological patterns for various growth environments. This paper describes the use of a soil water balance model in conjunction with GIS to map drought-prone and drought-free zones for rainfed lowland rice. The map can be used to provide guidelines for determination of appropriate crop management strategies and for investment decisions on inputs for increasing productivity in the Mekong region.

Powdery mildew is a devastating fungal disease in wheat worldwide, and use of resistant wheat varieties is an important approach to control the disease. In the present study, five adult-plant resistance genes were identified in an Italian wheat variety Libellula, designated QPm.caas-2DS, QPm.caas-4BL.1, QPm.caas-6BL.1, QPm.caas-6BL.2, and QPm.caas-7DS. The resistance genes and their linked molecular markers could be useful in wheat breeding targeting for durable resistance to powdery mildew and stripe rust.

We have assessed genetic variation for 12 traits among 43 lentil genotypes comprising improved varieties and promising breeding lines. Two genotypes for shorter root length and poor dry root weight (DRW) and three genotypes for longer root length and high DRW were identified with stable performance. SPAD value showed significantly positive correlation with DRW and root length and thus. Three donors identified for the longer root length and high DRW traits can be utilized for the development of mapping population to identify QTLs associated with these traits for marker assisted breeding of drought tolerant high yielding varieties in lentil.

In forages and cover crops, amphicarpy offers the dual potential benefits of enhanced persistence through underground seed combined with ease of harvest of aerial seed. In three native tropical legumes (including one in which the trait has not been reported previously) and an exotic species, we found consistent morphological differences between the two types of seed but not in the plants grown from them. We suggest that amphicarpy promotes persistence of the endemic species where seed predation is high and in drier inland areas with spatially heterogeneous soils.

Australian agricultural systems are reliant on plants imported from the Mediterranean basin. This article describes a series of investigations into the ecology, agronomy and rhizobiology of bladder clover (Trifolium spumosum), a recently domesticated species for commercial agriculture. Traits that make bladder clover suited to pasture systems include: high levels of forage production, plenty of easily harvested seed and dormancy that allows it to regenerate after a cropping rotation. This paper discusses the history and process of pasture improvement for the mixed crop/livestock zone of southern Australia.