Pasture selection & plant breeding

AWI is commercialising new breeds of annual legumes, perennial legumes and phalaris cultivars which will be more productive and resilient in conditions ranging from droughts to waterlogged soils, acid soils and salinity.

  • Pastures Australia

    Pastures Australia represents an industry-wide effort to create the most efficient vehicle for future investment in annual grasses, perennial grasses, legumes, shrubs and herbs to best benefit Australian agriculture.

  • NAPLIP

    Finalising in 2006, the NAPLIP - National Annual Pasture Legume Improvement Program - and its predecessors, delivered to Australian producers more than 50 different types of commercially available legumes specifically designed to improve farm output.

  • Phalaris

    Phalaris is the most widely-sown, deep-rooted, temperate perennial grass for the inland high-rainfall zone and adjacent cropping areas in southern Australia. AWI and CSIRO are currently developing new cultivars to improve phalaris performance.

  • Lotus

    AWI is currently investigating new means to spread the usage of Lotus and increase its tolerance to acid and waterlogged soils.

  • Evergreen

    The Evergreen program is investigating and encouraging the use of tropical and sub-tropical perennial pastures to alleviate issues such as salinity, whilst increasing the feed profile.

  • Rhizobium

    Each legume species has a specific rhizobium bacteria strain which, through attaching itself to plants roots, maximises the ability of legumes to fix soil nitrogen and hence drive productivity of the whole pasture.

Overview

Sustainable pasture production and utilisation is the foundation on which profitable wool production is based.

High quality wool with good staple strength, low vegetable fault and high yield is absolutely dependent on the supply of quality pasture on a year-round basis.

The benefits of proactive pasture management can spread across every facet of woolgrowing: from drought preparation to maximising the genetic potential of wool. By optimising the conditions in which the right pastures flourish, and ensuring their longevity through careful management, Australian woolgrowers can maximise the productivity of their land.

AWI investments in pasture selection and plant breeding are focussed on providing wool growers with a suite of varieties for pasture improvement.

AWI invests in the development of annual legumes through programs such as NAPLIP, perennial grasses (e.g. Phalaris) and legumes (e.g. Lotus) to provide woolgrowers with highly productive pasture species that will thrive across a variety of rainfall zones and environmental conditions.

Recent AWI investments have been focussed on a range of pasture cultivars that are;

  • Able to grow in waterlogged conditions
  • Persistent through drought
  • Tolerant of acidity or salinity.

For high productivity and nitrogen fixation, legumes require an association with rhizobium bacteria. For each legume variety there is a specific rhizobium which optimises production from the pasture. AWI also invests in the development of rhizobium that will increase the productivity of new legume cultivars released to the market

Through our commercial partners, woolgrowers have access to a wide variety of pasture cultivars. Sowing introduced pastures is expensive and carries risk of failure if the wrong pasture mix is chosen.

AWI projects, such as Pastures Australia and Evergreen, will increase the quality and quantity of information available on pasture varieties, their suitability to different environments and agronomy and management techniques to optimise production

Resources

Contact

Ms Lu Hogan

Program Manager Sustainable Production Systems
Tel: +61 2 8295 3100
Contact via email

 

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