Project Opportunities

Title: Genetics studies of rust resistance in faba bean

Summary of opportunity:

Faba bean is an important grain legume in Australia. A breeding program to develop suitable varieties for the northern grain growing region of Australia is located at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding institute, Narrabri. Rust, chocolate spot and viral diseases, such as bean leaf roll virus and bean yellow mosaic virus are major biotic stresses while frost tolerance in early growing season and heat tolerance towards the grain filling period are major abiotic stresses in this region.

Opportunity synopsis:

Rust, caused by the pathogen Uromyces viciae-fabae, is a serious disease of faba beans in sub-tropical NSW and southern Queensland. Up to 30% yield loss can be expected from the disease. The current varieties, such as Doza, Warda and Icarus have some resistance to the disease and there are germplasm in the breeding program with better resistance than the current varieties. Little information is available on host resistance, virulence of the pathogen and the existence of races and their distribution. The research aspect addressed by the project may include (i) Identification of host resistance, (ii) Inheritance of resistance, (iii) Identification of pathogen variability, (iv) Host-pathogen interactions, (v) Pathogen population genetics

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Project Opportunities

Title: Understanding phenology and early pod set under high biomass conditions

Summary of opportunity:

Faba bean is an important grain legume in Australia. A breeding program to develop suitable varieties for the northern grain growing region of Australia is located at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding institute, Narrabri. Rust, chocolate spot and viral diseases, such as bean leaf roll virus and bean yellow mosaic virus are major biotic stresses while frost tolerance in early growing season and heat tolerance towards the grain filling period are major abiotic stresses in this region.

Opportunity synopsis:

Early sowing in favourable moisture conditions can lead to faba bean biomass production as high as 14 tonnes/ha. However, not enough of this biomass is converted to grain production, resulting in a poor harvest index. Understanding the mechanism of partitioning of this biomass into grain yield and its exploitation can lead to greater yield improvement. Only 15-20% of flowers develop into pods and the rest are aborted. Low temperatures result in poor pod set, whereas temperatures above 30ºC result in flower and pod abortion. Therefore, the effect of temperature on flower and seed development needs to be understood to develop varieties with appropriate phenology in the target environment.

----------Current Research Projects----------

Currently he has projects on drought tolerance, heat tolerance, rust resistance and frost tolerance in faba bean. These projects have been assisted by PhD students.

DrKedar Adhikari

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