Dr Luca De Prato1, Mr Rob Harrison1,2, Dr Emma Steel1, Prof John Howieson1, Mr Chris Poole1, Ass Prof Ron Yates1,2
1Murdoch University, Perth, Australia, 2Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Perth, Australia
Biography:
Dr Luca De Prato is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Murdoch University. He obtained his PhD at Murdoch University working in remote tropical Western Australia investigating the challenges of growing high value crops on a transition from mining to agriculture on unfertile soils with multiple constraints under an ARC Linkage project. He has experience in hemp physiology, cultivation, agronomy, mining rehabilitation, and sustainable agriculture. He published several peer reviewed papers, presented to national and international conferences, liaised with farmers and grower groups, and supervises PhD and research students.
Abstract:
Farm management and profitability have become difficult to achieve for landholders due to increased costs. In Western Australia (WA), where low-nutrient soils are common, improvement in farming system efficiency is needed. Increasing nutrient efficiency by biological means, such as the incorporation of legumes in the farming rotation, is a prime example of sustainably improving system resilience. Agricultural legumes provide nitrogen (N) by means of a symbiotic process with root-nodule bacteria (rhizobia) commonly termed biological N fixation. Importantly, their incorporation into crop rotations reduces inherent risk in the farming system by decreasing expenditure on fertiliser N, and allowing better management of weeds, pests and diseases. However, there has been a consistent decline of legume plantings in global dryland farming systems, including WA.
To counter this decline, an advancement in species choice has emerged with the development of aerial seeding pasture legumes (ASPL’s). Accessions of these species have been selected to produce and hold seed above ground so seed can be easily harvested on-farm, resulting in an inexpensive source of seed to be stored and planted in subsequent years. However, most WA agricultural areas require the development of additional ASPLs choices that specifically match combinations of soil types and rainfall zones to optimise legume production.
Currently, under the Harvestable Annual Legume Options (HALO) project, research has commenced to discover more ASPL’s options and associated rhizobial strains adapted to different agro-ecological zones of WA. Some of the new options have been included in a series of four-year rotational trials to measure potential benefits to farming systems, with a particular focus on both the quantity and quality of grain.