Physiological and Agronomic Strategies to Increase Mungbean Yield in Climatically Variable Environments of Northern Australia

Abstract

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) in Australia has been transformed from a niche opportunistic crop into a major summer cropping option for dryland growers in the summer-dominant rainfall regions of Queensland and New South Wales. This transformation followed stepwise genetic improvements in both grain yields and disease resistance. For example, more recent cultivars such as 'Crystal', 'Satin II', and 'Jade-AU' have provided up to a 20% yield advantage over initial introductions. Improved agronomic management to enable mechanised management and cultivation in narrow (<50 cm) rows has further promised to increase yields. Nevertheless, average yields achieved by growers for their mungbean crops remain less than 1 t/ha, and are much more variable than other broad acre crops. Further increases in yield and crop resilience in mungbean are vital. In this review, opportunities to improve mungbean productivity have been analysed at four key levels including phenology, leaf area development, dry matter accumulation, and its partitioning into grain yield. Improving the prediction of phenology in mungbean may provide further scope for genetic improvements that better match crop duration to the characteristics of target environments. There is also scope to improve grain yields by increasing dry matter production through the development of more efficient leaf canopies. This may introduce additional production risks as dry matter production depends on the amount of available water, which varies considerably within and across growing regions in Australia. Improving crop yields by exploiting G × E × M interactions related to cultivar photo-thermal sensitivities and make better use of available water in these variable environments is likely to be a less risky strategy. Improved characterisation of growing environments using modelling approaches could also better define and identify the risks of major abiotic constraints. This would assist in optimising breeding and management strategies to increase grain yield and crop resilience in mungbean for the benefit of growers and the industry.

Assessment of Nitrogen Fixation by Mungbean Genotypes in Different Soil Textures Using 15N Natural Abundance Method

“…Differences among mungbean genotypes were also observed by Mondal et al (2012) and Haider et al (2020) due to greater leaf area, branches per plant, and increased crop growth. Chauhan and Williams (2018) attributed variations in biomass accumulation in mungbean to leaf area index, light extinction coefficient, duration of light interception, and radiation use efficiency. In our study, genotypes producing more biomass tended to have a higher shoot N content and increased soil N uptake, indicating that both parameters might be influenced by crop growth and development.…”

Adaptation of Grain Legumes to Terminal Drought after Rice Harvest in Timor-Leste

“…Drought stress reduces crop growth, development, yield, and yield components [7]. The extent of yield losses depends on the duration and intensity of the stress [8] and varies between species and cultivars and climatic variations, as reported for Agronomy 2021, 11, 1689 2 of 12 mungbean [9]. In grass pea (cv.…”

Phenolic profiles and nutritional quality of four new mungbean lines grown in northern Australia

“…The long-term average yield for the mungbean crop in Australia is approximately 0.9 t/ha, with annual averages ranging from 0.6 to 1.1 t/ha between 2005 and 2017 (Chauhan & Williams, 2018). However, in 2019-the year that this trial was conducted-the Australian mungbean industry average yield was exceptionally low due to severe drought stress, ranging from 0.3 to 0.5 t/ha (Lyon, 2019).…”

“…Mungbean (Vigna radiata) has traditionally been considered a relatively minor crop in the Australian pulse sector, with around 120,000 tonnes harvested annually (Chauhan & Williams, 2018). However, its popularity among producers has increased considerably in recent years, with the market value of Australian mungbean industry rapidly approaching $100 million p.a.…”