![Rajeev Varshney, Murdoch University, is excited about a new research project. Photo supplied. Rajeev Varshney, Murdoch University, is excited about a new research project. Photo supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/5Q2j7ezUfQBfUJsaqK3gfB/e19938c0-1717-4a9b-8810-e1d02237d5ba.png/r0_45_971_591_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Pulse producers are likely to have access to better varieties over the coming decade thanks to two separate research projects.
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Murdoch University researchers, with funding from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), have signed up to a $11 million project, with $6 million from the GRDC.
The project leaders hope to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up the breeding process for chickpea, lentil and faba bean crops, with yield gains and better disease resistance key targets.
Meanwhile, a separate La Trobe University project has identified a genetic "off switch" that shuts down the process in which legume plants convert atmospheric nitrogen into nutrients for the first time.
Both bits of news are promising for Australia's burgeoning pulse sector, which has seen massive increases in production of crops such as lentils in recent years.
The Murdoch Uni project will see pulse breeders across the country gain access to advanced knowledge, tools and technologies, and novel sources of germplasm to broaden genetic diversity in pulse cultivars and ultimately drive yield gain.
Project leader Rajeev Varshney, director of the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation at Murdoch University, said the work was critical, given current constraints in breeding due to a lack of suitable germplasm.
Professor Varshney said chickpea, lentil and faba bean production is currently hamstrung due to limited genetic diversity, resulting in meagre yield improvement of less than 0.5 per cent each year.
"Ultimately, we want to develop high-yielding, climate-resilient chickpea, lentil and faba bean varieties which can deliver greater profitability to growers across Australia," he said.
"With this investment, we will be able to implement modern genomics approaches coupled with huge genetic diversity.
He said project leaders would work with international researchers to identify promising genetics.
"We are partnering with the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, a CGIAR global research centre, to import new diverse germplasm for the three target crops.
From there, he said the germplasm would be analysed and DNA catalogues developed, then researchers will be able to use genomic prediction, artificial intelligence and speed breeding to identify and stack novel and superior DNA variants for yield and yield-related traits.
"By incorporating genetic diversity from other landraces and employing the aforementioned advanced breeding techniques and AI, we believe we can achieve a 1.5 per cent increase in genetic gain, which would be unprecedented."
The La Trobe work will help growers keen to see better rates of nitrogen fixation.
Pulses are well regarded for their ability to fix nitrogen, however the biological process is reduced when nitrogen is already abundant in the soil either through natural processes or through the application of synthetic fertiliser.
The latest discovery of the genetic regulator that turns off nitrogen fixation when soil nitrate levels are high allowed scientists to remove the gene in model legumes, ensuring they continued to fix nitrogen regardless of the soil environment.
Increasing the biological ability of legumes to fix nitrogen could help increase crop growth and yield while also reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers, which contribute to agriculture's environmental footprint.
Dugald Reid, who was the lead author on a La Trobe University paper published recently on the topic, said it was a promising discovery.
"From an agricultural perspective, continued nitrogen fixation could be a beneficial trait that increases nitrogen availability, both for the legume and for future crops that rely on the nitrogen left behind in the soil after legumes are grown," Dr Reid said.
"This helps lay the foundations for future research that provides new ways for us to manage our farming systems to reduce nitrogen fertiliser use, increase farm incomes and reduce the impact of nitrogen fertiliser use on the environment."