Dr Amanuel Bekuma1, Dr Brenton Leske1, Michelle Boyd1, Nathan Height1, Dr Kefei Chen3, Dr Sukhjiwan Kaur4, Dr Zibei Lin4, Dr Alem Gebre4, Mrs Olive Onyemaobi2, Mrs Jane Brownlee2, Kelly Whisson2, Dr Kristy Hobson5, Dr Ahsan Asif5, Dr Darshan Sharma1
1DPIRD, South Perth, Australia, 2CSIRO, Floreat, Australia, 3Curtin University, Bentley, Australia, 4Agriculture Victoria, Bundoora, Australia, 5Chickpea Breeding Australia, Tamworth, Australia
Biography:
Dr. Amanuel Bekuma is a research scientist within the department of primary industries and regional development. His expertise lies in the complex field of frost and chilling tolerance in grains. Amanuel completed his PhD at Murdoch University in 2017, focusing on rhizobium and nitrogen fixation. His current research is centered on bacteria-induced frost injury in cereals, aiming to uncover how these bacteria contribute to increased frost damage. Additionally, Amanuel leads the national chickpea chilling tolerance project, which evaluates different chickpea introgressions for their ability to remain productive under cold stress.
Abstract:
Cold temperatures (average daily temperature of <15°C) that frequently occur during winter and early spring have been shown to reduce grain yield in chickpea. Limited cold tolerance has been identified in the primary gene pool of domesticated chickpea which has hampered the development of tolerant varieties. To identify new sources of cold tolerance, there is a need to explore the wild relatives such as Cicer echinospermum and Cicer reticulatum, that are usually better adapted to colder environments. In 2022 and 2023, field trials were established at the DPIRD Dale frost research site, Western Australia to screen more than 370 interspecific lines developed from commercial varieties crossed with wild Cicer, including parental lines to investigate their response to low temperature during reproductive stages. Phenology measurements including time of flowering and pod initiation were collected. Lines producing pods when average daily temperatures were <13°C (defined as chilling temperatures) were identified using a novel phenotyping method developed in this study. Improved chilling tolerance was defined as a plant’s ability to set pods and produce grain (viable pod) under chilling temperatures. Over two years, the project identified up to 20 genotypes, including interspecific lines, which consistently showed >80% pod viability under chilling period. These key genotypes will be introgressed into elite backgrounds to develop breeder ready germplasm with improved cold tolerance using a genomics-assisted speed breeding approach. Increasing the cold tolerance of chickpea could lead to improved productivity nationally and the expansion of chickpea cultivation in southern regions of Australia.