Resilient, water- and energy-efficient forage and feed crops for - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Paolo Annicchiarico

Resilient, water- and energy-efficient forage and feed crops for Mediterranean agricultural systems (REFORMA)

Research Centre for Fodder Crops and Dairy Productions, Lodi, Italy

• efficient cycling of nutrients, crop residues, sub-products
• reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy use

(by legume N-fixation and reduced feed transport)

• improved soil fertility, structure and water holding capacity (pennials and legumes)
• lower soil erosion and hydrogeological risk (perennials)
• greater diversification and biodiversity of farming systems

Ecological services of forage/feed crops and crop-livestock systems

Economic importance of forage/feed crops (particularly legumes)

• Greater feed security
• Lower import costs and exposure

to price volatility, for high-protein feed and N fertilizer

Soybean cake import (.000 t; FAO Stat)

Countries 1995 2008 France, Italy, Spain 7273 9864 +36% Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia 409 1080 +64%

N-fertilizer annual increase

• f price (%) (FAO , 2008)

Sustain to:

• animal product chains with high added value

(with economic and social implications)

• organic product chains (high feed self-production)
• GM-free production chains (legumes)

Socio-economic importance of crop-livestock systems in the northern regions

Greater farmers’ economic stability, by:

• buffering against economic shocks and crop failures

(through animal sale)

• spreading labour

Response to increasing demand for animal products and highly nutritious food Socio-economic importance of crop-livestock systems in the southern regions

Annual growth production 1995-2007 (%) Country Meat Milk Eggs France –1.9 –0.5 –2.4 Italy 0.0 –0.3 –0.6 Spain 2.5 0.9 3.1 Mean 0.2 0.0 0.0 Algeria 1.4 2.9 2.1 Morocco 3.5 4.5 –1.2 Tunisia 2.6 4.6 2.4 Mean 2.5 4.0 1.1

FAO, 2009

Export – Import balance for livestock products in 2006 (million $) France 2257 Italy –5309 Spain 536 Algeria –869 Morocco –42 Tunisia –45

FAO Stat

Intensive poultry production has increasing importance in Maghreb countries

Protein from livestock Share of total protein (g / person /day) from livestock (%) Country 1995 2005 1995 2005 France 64 60 55 52 Italy 49 52 46 46 Spain 52 54 49 50 Mean 55 55 50 50 Algeria 18 20 22 23 Morocco 12 14 15 16 Tunisia 16 20 19 22 Mean 15 18 19 20

FAO, 2009

Challenges for crop-livestock systems Overgrazing and desertification

Source: UNEP, 1997

Overgrazed pasture in Morocco

Increasing drought due to lack of irrigation water and climate change FAO, 2012 Alfalfa grown in an oasis

Temperature difference (°C) of 2008-10 vs. 1940-80 (FAO, 2012) Predicted precipitation change (%) in 2020 and 2050 (Parry, 2005)

• 50 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 50

2020 2050

Saline soil, and saline irrigation water Algerian soils affected by salinization

Resilient, water- and energy-efficient forage and feed crops for Mediterranean agricultural systems (REFORMA) General objective Strengthening the economic and environmental sustainability of Mediterranean crop-livestock and feed systems, also by enhancing their self-sufficiency for feed proteins and their ability to adapt to and to mitigate climate change This is pursued by developing more resilient and more water- and energy-efficient systems based on genetically-improved forage and feed legumes

Partner institutions

1) CRA-FLC, Centro di Ricerca per le Produzioni Foraggere e Lattiero-Casearie, Lodi 2) CNR-ISPAAM, Istituto per il Sistema Produzione Animale in Ambiente Mediterraneo, Sassari 3) INRA-URP3F, Unité de Recherche Pluridisciplinaire Prairies et Plantes Fourragères, Lusignan 4) INRA-UMRLEG, Unité de Recherches en Génétique et Ecophysiologie des Légumineuses à Graines, Dijon 5) INRAA, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique d’Algérie, Alger 6) ENSA, École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique, Alger 7) INRA, Institut Nationale de la Recherche Agronomique , Centres de Marrakesh and Rabat 8) IRA, Institut des Régions Arides, Médenine 9) The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Target legume species for breeding work Lucerne [Alfalfa] (Medicago sativa) Pea (Pisum sativum) Ideal species: 1) widely adapted to soil, climatic, management conditions in Mediterranean areas 2) wide flexibility of utilization 3) drought tolerance and water use efficiency (intrinsically and by winter-spring cycle) 4) being already known by farmers 5) not targeted by ICARDA 6) promising on grounds of available germplasm, prior knowledge, genomic resources

Specific objectives Development of new germplasm:

• lucerne varieties with tolerance to severe drought, salinity, heat and grazing
• pea varieties with drought tolerance, for grain and forage production

Development of innovative selection methods for lucerne and pea:

• cost-efficient marker-assisted selection (MAS) procedures
• ecologically-based breeding strategies

Development of innovative lucerne- and pea-based forage crops (taking account of legume plant types, associated grass or cereal species, drought stress level of the site, acceptability by farmers, forage quality, target utilization)

Genetic improvement of forage and feed legumes WP 1: Ecological breeding strategies and variety selection WP 2: Genomics and definition

• f marker-assisted selection

procedures WP 3: Assessment and

• ptimization of innovative

legume-based crops Resilient and productive lucerne-grass and pea-cereal forage crops Ruminant feeding (cattle, sheep, etc.) Poultry and monogastric feeding High energy and water efficiency of crops; mitigation of climate change; limitation of overgrazing; diversification and flexibility of farming systems; improved feeding quality; greater feed security Resilient and productive pea grain crops Research Work Packages (WP)

Lucerne phenotyping (WP 1): CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, INRAA, ENSA, IRA, INRA-URP3F Future genetically- improved lucerne and pea varieties Agronomic and feeding optimization of lucerne- and pea-based crops (WP 3): CNR-ISPAAM, INRA-MOR, INRAA, INRA-URP3F Pea phenotyping (WP 1): CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, ENSA Lucerne genotyping (WP 1): SNRF, INRA-URP3F, CRA-FLC Pea genotyping (WP 1): INRA-UMRLEG Lucerne selection (WP 1): CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, INRAA, ENSA, IRA, Pea selection (WP 1): CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, ENSA Novel strategies for lucerne breeding (WP 1 e WP 2): CRA-FLC, SNRF, INRA-URP3F Novel strategies for pea breeding (WP 1 e WP 2): CRA-FLC, INRA-UMRLEG More productive, efficient and resilient forage and feed crops

Participation to WP and relationships of Partners

Pea grain crops Pea-cereal forage crops Lucerne-grass forage crops Target livestock systems for the improved forage and feed crops

Lucerne Selection, and definition of marker-assisted and ecological breeding strategies, for:

• tolerance to severe drought (CRA-FLC; INRAA; ENSA; INRA-MOR; Noble F.) (1)
• tolerance to saline soil and irrigation water (IRA; Noble F.; CRA-FLC) (1)
• adaptation to moisture-favourable conditions (CRA-FLC; Noble F.) (1)
• tolerance to continuous grazing (CRA-FLC; INRA-URP3F) * (2)
• adaptation to mixed cropping with grasses (INRA-URP3F) ** (3)
• forage quality as high leaf-to-stem ratio (CRA-FLC; Noble F.) *** (1)

* Phenotyping funded by the Italian project RGV-FAO ** Phenotyping and part of the genotyping funded by the French project EXPOLEG *** Phenotyping partly funded by the Italian project QUAL&MEDICA

(1) 154 parents from a widely-based mapping population developed from elite germplasm, evaluated according to their half-sib progenies. Genotyping-by-Sequencing, or SNP + SSR markers. Genomic selection, besides marker –trait association study (2) 110 cloned genotypes for each of two F1 mapping populations . SSR and SNP or DArT

• markers. Validation on genotypes of other two phenotyped mapping populations

(3) Genotypes of three connected mapping populations. SSR and SNP or DArT markers

Lucerne Genetic variation for, and modelling of, response to high temperatures (INRA-URP3F) Pea Selection, and definition of marker-assisted and ecological breeding strategies, for tolerance to severe drought (CRA-FLC; ENSA; INRA-MOR; INRA-UMRLEG) *

* Preparation of plant material and genotyping partly funded by the Italian project ESPLORA

(1) Three connected sets of 90 recombinant inbred lines each, from three elite parents. About 1000 SNP markers (1) Three sets of 30 lines issued from stratified mass selection applied from F2 to F4 under controlled severe drought in managed environments. Bulk segregant analysis

• f selected vs. non-selected material . About 1000 SNP markers

Emphasis on marker-yield association

Genotype adaptive responses Adaptive traits Molecular markers to assist selection Individual genes

Artificial environment used for stratified mass selection of pea, from emergence (left) to harvest (below) of the plants file di piante di bordo eliminate

Gene- ration Water Sep-May (mm) Mean yield (t/ha) Selected fraction F2 250 2.08 30% F3 200 1.41 20% F4 180 1.58 10%

Strata of block 1 for the first cross (in blue); 15 strata for each of 2 blocks; 10 plants per stratum

Ecological breeding aspects 1) Lucerne and pea. Usefulness of selection in managed drought-stress environments for geographically-distant target environments 2) Lucerne. Adaptation strategies for stress Mediterranean regions: breeding for wide

• r specific adaptation to severe drought, saline and moisture-favourable conditions

3) Pea. Usefulness of evolutionary modified-bulk selection under severe drought stress vs. single-seed descent selection, for stress environments drought tolerance of lucerne

Lucerne drought tolerance in a managed environment

WP 3 multi-site experiment Research work Testing rainfed pure stands, binary mixtures and complex mixtures of:

• lucerne (erect or semi-erect), with grass (cocksfoot or tall fescue)
• pea (tall or semi-dwarf) or vetch (common or Narbon), with cereal (triticale or oat)

for forage yield and quality over 3 years and farmer participatory evaluation, with crops in rotations with wheat (with possible assessment of soil fertility aspect) Testing sites: 1) Sassari (Sardinia); 2) Sétif (Algeria) ; 3) Sidi Allal Tazi (Morocco) Objectives: a) Optimizing annual and perennial forage crops as a function of:

• the agro-climatic Mediterranean region
• the legume plant type (for lucerne and pea) and species
• the associated grass or cereal species
• the level of mixture complexity
• the usefulness in animal diets
• the acceptability by farmers

b) Comparing best annual vs. perennial forage crops c) Defining the agricultural contexts in which each crop may be preferred

Block 1 Block 2 Block 3 Block 4 Plots of perennials Plots of annuals in 1st and 3rd year (2nd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 2nd year (1st and 3rd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 2nd year (1st and 3rd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 1st and 3rd year (2nd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 2nd year (1st and 3rd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 1st and 3rd year (2nd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 2nd year (1st and 3rd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 1st and 3rd year (2nd year: wheat) Plots of perennials Plots of perennials Plots of perennials

Example of WP 3 experiment

Example of Block 1 in the 2

nd

year

L1 = Lucerne erect (Mamuntanas) L2 = Lucerne semi

• prostrate

C = Cocksfoot (Jana) F = Tall fescue (Flecha)

Durum wheat (N

• fertilized, except for one plot)

P1 = Pea semi

• dwarf

P2 = Pea tall N = Narbon vetch V = Common vetch O = Oat T = Triticale

WM L1 C L2 C L1 F L2 C F L1 L2 F C L2 F L1

WM

N = N

• fertilized

wheat monoculture

WM

0 = No N wheat

monoculture P1 O V T V O N T O P2 V N V O T P2 O N P1 V P1 T N O P1 P2 O T P2 T WM WM

N

Grasses (rainfed) Lucerne (rainfed) Lucerne (irrigated with summer water withholding) Lucerne (continuous irrigation) Sulla (rainfed) Sulla (irrigated with summer water withholding) Grasses (rainfed) Lucerne (rainfed) Lucerne (irrigated with summer water withholding) Lucerne (continuous irrigation) Sulla (rainfed) Sulla (irrigated with summer water withholding)

Prior knowledge generated by the EU-funded project PERMED

Classification of Mediterranean lucerne test environments as a function of their similarity for cultivar adaptive responses Project PERMED - Annicchiarico et al., 2011, Field Crops Res. 120: 283-291

Fusion level 4.6 3.62 2.64 1.66 0.68 S

• R

M

• CI

M

• WI

IA - WI IA - R CA - WI ST - WI NT - WI CA - R NT - R

Fairly favourable, frequent mowing Soil salinity (EC > 5 dS/m) Fairly high to high drought stress (100 - 300 mm Apr-Sep. water) Identification of physiological traits underlying plant adaptation to specific conditions

Expected pair of top-yielding lucerne cultivars based on factorial regression as a function of site electrical conductivity (EC) and mean April–September water available Project PERMED - Annicchiarico et al., 2011, Field Crops Res. 120: 283-291 Highlighted: genetic resources used to build a widely-based population for field selection and definition of marker-assisted selection strategies in REFORMA

Am = Ameristand 801S De = Demnat 203 Ma = Mamuntanas Si = Siriver Ab = ABT 805 Er = Erfoud 1 Sa = SARDI 10 0.5 2.0 6.0

EC (dS m-1)

Ma, Sa 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Water available (mm)

Am, Ma Am, Sa De, Sa Am, De Am, Er 4.0

Modelled 3-year forage yield of rainfed cocksfoot cultivars as a function of spring-summer stress (as Potential EvapoTranspiration – Rainfall)

Project PERMED - Annicchiarico et al., 2011, Env. Exp. Bot. 74: 82-89 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850

Spring-summer drought stress (mm) Nominal yield (t/ha) Kasbah Delta 1 Jana Currie Ottava Medly Porto

Montpellier (south France) Elvas (central Portugal) Alger (coastal Algeria) Sétif (inland Algeria) Merchouch (central Morocco) Sassari (Sardinia)

• subsp. hispanica

(complete dormancy) Mediterranean subsp. glomerata (facultative dormancy) Oceanic subsp. glomerata (non-dormant)

Modelled 3-year forage yield (left) and final persistence (right) of rainfed tall fescue cultivars as a function of spring-summer or annual stress (as PET – Rainfall)

Project PERMED - Pecetti et al., 2011, J. Agron. Crop Sci. 197: 12–20

Some of the studies used for defining the parents (Attika; Isard; Kaspa)

• f 3 sets of connected recombinant inbred lines

WP Activity

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36

1

L germplasm multiplication

1

L phenotyping and selection for drought, salt, etc.

1

L adaptation to high temperatures

1 L selection strategies 1

P germplasm multiplication

1

P phenotyping and selection for drought tolerance

1 P selection strategies 2 L genotyping and MAS for drought, salt, etc. 2 L genotyping and MAS for grazing 2 L MAS for mixed cropping 2 P genotyping and MAS for drought 2 MAS workshop 3

Optimization of legume-based forage crops

3

Crop feed use workshop

4

Coordination

Duration

• f each WP

activity in relation to project months L = lucerne P = pea

Training and dissemination activities

• Final workshop on marker-trait association analyses and MAS strategies
• Final workshop on crop use for animal feeding
• Free electronic handbook “Guidelines for cultivation and use in animal feeding of

lucerne- and pea-based forage and pea grain crops” (4 languages)

• Project web page
• Scientific articles; participation to scientific meetings; theses and student training
• Field days; demonstration plots; contacts with various stake-holders

Thank nk you for your attentio tion n !