Matching Pulse crop designs to site and expected seasonal conditions to maximise yield and profit: a crop ecophyiology approach

Page last updated: Monday, 25 March 2024 - 10:41am

Growers and agronomists will have an improved understanding of pulse growth and development across a range of environments enabling the matching of pulse genotypes with soil and climate to maximise yield and profit, with manageable risk in Australian cropping systems. 

Start date: 10/01/2022
Finish date: 01/10/2025

Description: 

This project will deliver new knowledge of the impact of soil type, water availability, and canopy temperature on pulse (chickpea, lentil, faba bean and narrow-leafed lupin) growth and development in current production environments across Australia.  

This will be achieved with consistent protocols and standardised measurements on detailed and satellite experimental sites across southern, northern and western regions. It will also include data analysis and simulation.  

The project functions alongside independent regional pulse crop development and extension investments and contributes to improved Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) simulations against validated data. 

The research will address the following scientific questions: 

1. What is the water-limited yield potential of pulses in their traditional environments when grown with best practice agronomy? 

2. What is the relation between phenology, water stress, temperature and the critical period for yield formation in pulses? 

3. How should the crop design change across sites and seasons having contrasting yield potential for different profit/risk scenarios? 

4. Does nitrogen fixation switch off prematurely or reduce under water stress? How does it affect water-limited yield potential? 

Funding partners:

GRDC-PA, DPIRD, CSIRO, NSW DPI, AgVic, UQ and SARDI.

Project code:

CSP2107-011RTX 

Contact information

Stacey Power