Dr C. Marino Cossani1,2,3, Dr Nicole Dron4, Dr Kristy Hobson4, Dr Lachlan Lake1,2,3, Prof. Victor Sadras1,2,3
1South Australian Research Institute – SARDI, URRBRAE, Australia, 2School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, URRBRAE, Australia, 3College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Australia, Adelaide, Australia, 4Department of Primary Industries Department of Regional NSW, Tamworth, Australia
Biography:
Research Scientist working on crop physiology and abiotic stress adaptation at SARDI. My research experience encompasses aspects of resource capture, resource use efficiency of cereals and pulse crops, and adaptation of crops to climate change. I am also interested in the use of proximal and remote sensing applied to crop management and plant breeding.
Abstract:
Australian chickpea farm yields have remained stable at an estimated 1.1 t ha-1 over the last five decades. Selection for grain quality, disease tolerance and harvestability have been major breeders’ objectives. In this study, we used 25 historical cultivars released since the late 1970s to quantify the genetic gain in chickpea yield and yield components in field experiments in South Australia and New South Wales in 2022 and 2023. Grain yield ranged from 1.3 t ha-1 to 3.5 t ha-1 across locations, seasons, and cultivars. The rate of genetic gain in grain yield of desi cultivars ranged from 0.48 to 0.59 % year-1 across experiments in NSW and was null in SA. The rate of genetic gain in kabuli grain yield ranged from -0.006 to -0.54 % year-1 in NSW and from 0.17 to 0.34 % year-1 in SA. Genetic gain in grain size was 0.4 to 0.8 % y-1 in both desi and kabuli varieties across locations. Desi varieties ranged between 141-231 mg seed-1 and kabuli varieties ranged from 274-456 mg seed-1. Grain size related negatively to grain number per unit land indicating a trade-off between both yield components that underlies the low rate of genetic gain. Physiological approaches to break this trade-off are needed to achieve both marketing requirements of seed size and larger gains in yield.