Breeding lucerne for persistence

Abstract

<jats:p>Cultivated lucerne is the most widely grown forage legume in pastoral agriculture. Persistence is critical for most pastoral production systems and its definition includes concepts of productivity, but maintenance of adequate plant numbers is essential. There were three important eras in lucerne persistence breeding: species introduction leading to local varieties and land races (adaptation), development of multiple pest-resistant, autumn dormancy-specific cultivars, and introducing complex traits and the use of biotechnologies. Today’s persistent cultivar needs, at a minimum, adaptation, proper autumn dormancy, and targeted pest resistances. Adding complex, ‘persistence-limiting’ traits to these minimum base traits, such as tolerance to grazing, acid, aluminum-toxic soils, and drought, is successfully being achieved via traditional selection, but biotechnologies and inter-specific hybridisations are also being employed in some cases. The main issues around biotechnologies are public perception and regulatory issues which continue to hamper transgene deployment while genetic marker programs need to lower costs and concentrate on successful application. There is not one persistent ‘ideotype’ that will fill all situations, but specific ones need to be developed and targeted for geographies such as the subtropics. Finally, breeders need to understand what persistence traits lucerne producers are willing to pay a premium to obtain.</jats:p>

Forage Options for Dairy Farms with Reduced Water Availability in the Southern Murray Darling Basin of Australia

“…Lucerne is known to possess a degree of drought tolerance and to have a wide adaptation range [33,50]. This species is generally suited to lighter soils and consequently, has not been an important component of the dairy feedbase on the heavier clay soils in southern Australia [51].…”

Agro-Morphological and Forage Quality Traits of Selected Alfalfa Populations and Their Application in Breeding

“…Alfalfa is one of the most widely cultivated forage legumes, that is cut off for hay and silage and/or growth in pasture for grazing, in the world because of its high nutritional quality for livestock, high biomass production, broad adaptability to a wide range of ecological conditions and a favourable environmental impact (Herrmann et al, 2010;Bouton, 2012;Sabanci et al, 2013). Alfalfa breeding programs are mainly focused on yield increasing, enhancing forage nutritive value and improving of tolerance to abiotic/biotic stresses.…”

Forage breeding for changing environments and production systems: an overview

“…We are now aware of several concerted efforts to improve the persistence and productivity of perennial pastures under grazing; including lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) (Bouton 2012); red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) (Ortega et al 2014) and phalaris (Culvenor and Simpson 2014). In each of these cases great responses to selection have been achieved through evaluation, phenotyping and recurrent selection of plants under grazing in harsh environments as a consequence of the foresight of these breeders and those that support their research.…”