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

Transcription

1 Resilient, water- and energy-efficient forage and feed crops for Mediterranean agricultural systems (REFORMA) Paolo Annicchiarico Research Centre for Fodder Crops and Dairy Productions, Lodi, Italy

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

3 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 France, Italy, Spain % Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia % N-fertilizer annual increase of price (%) (FAO, 2008)

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

5 Socio-economic importance of crop-livestock systems in the southern 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

6 Annual growth production (%) Country Meat Milk Eggs France Italy Spain Mean Algeria Morocco Tunisia Export Import balance for livestock products in 2006 (million $) France 2257 Italy 5309 Spain 536 Algeria 869 Morocco 42 Tunisia 45 FAO Stat Mean FAO, 2009 Intensive poultry production has increasing importance in Maghreb countries

7 Protein from livestock Share of total protein (g / person /day) from livestock (%) Country France Italy Spain Mean Algeria Morocco Tunisia Mean FAO, 2009

8 Challenges for crop-livestock systems Overgrazing and desertification Source: UNEP, 1997 Overgrazed pasture in Morocco

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

10 2020 Temperature difference ( C) of vs (FAO, 2012) 2050 Predicted precipitation change (%) in 2020 and 2050 (Parry, 2005)

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

12 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

13 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

14 Target legume species for breeding work 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 Lucerne [Alfalfa] (Medicago sativa) Pea (Pisum sativum)

15 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)

16 Research Work Packages (WP) Genetic improvement of forage and feed legumes WP 1: Ecological breeding strategies and variety selection WP 3: Assessment and optimization of innovative legume-based crops Resilient and productive lucerne-grass and pea-cereal forage crops Ruminant feeding (cattle, sheep, etc.) WP 2: Genomics and definition of marker-assisted selection procedures Resilient and productive pea grain crops 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

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

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

19 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

20 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 of 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

21 Strata of block 1 for the first cross (in blue); 15 strata for each of 2 blocks; 10 plants per stratum Artificial environment used for stratified mass selection of pea, from emergence (left) to harvest (below) of the plants Gene- Water Mean Selected ration Sep-May yield fraction (mm) (t/ha) F % F % F % file di piante di bordo eliminate

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

23 WP 3 multi-site experiment Testing sites: 1) Sassari (Sardinia); 2) Sétif (Algeria) ; 3) Sidi Allal Tazi (Morocco) 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) 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

24 Example of WP 3 trial (established on a durum wheat field) Example of WP 3 experiment Block 1 Plots of perennials Plots of annuals in 1 st and 3 rd year (2 nd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 2 nd year (1 st and 3 rd year: wheat) Plots of perennials Block 3 Block 2 Plots of annuals in 2 nd year (1 st and 3 rd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 1 st L1 and 3 rd year (2 nd year: wheat) C Plots of perennials Plots of annuals in 2 nd year (1 st and 3 rd year: wheat) Plots of annuals in 1 st and 3 rd year (2 nd Example year: wheat) of Block 1 in the 2 nd year L1 L2 Plots of L1 annuals L2 in 2 nd year L2 (1 C st and F 3 rd year: C wheat) F F C Plots of annuals in 1 st and 3 rd year (2 nd year: wheat) L2 F Plots Durum of perennials wheat (N- fertilized, except for one plot) L1 Block 4 L1 = Lucerne erect (Mamuntanas) L2 = Lucerne semi - prostrate C = Cocksfoot (Jana) F = Tall fescue (Flecha) WM 0 WM N P1 O N O P2 O P1 V N V O T V T V N T P1 O V O N P2 T P2 T P1 P2 O T WM 0 P1 = Pea semi - dwarf P2 = Pea tall N = Narbon vetch V = Common vetch O = Oat T = Triticale WM N = N - fertilized wheat monoculture WM 0 = No N wheat monoculture

25 Prior knowledge generated by the EU-funded project PERMED Grasses (rainfed) Lucerne (rainfed) Lucerne (irrigated with summer water withholding) Lucerne (continuous irrigation) Sulla (rainfed) Sulla (irrigated with summer water withholding)

26 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: Fairly favourable, frequent mowing Soil salinity (EC > 5 ds/m) Fairly high to high drought stress ( mm Apr-Sep. water) S - R M - CI M - WI IA - WI IA - R CA - WI ST - WI NT - WI CA - R NT - R Fusion level Identification of physiological traits underlying plant adaptation to specific conditions

27 EC (ds m -1 ) Am, Er 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 (B) Water available (mm) Project PERMED - Annicchiarico et al., 2011, Field Crops Res. 120: Ma, Sa Am, Ma Am, Sa Am, Er De, Sa Am, De Water available (mm) Am = Ameristand 801S De = Demnat 203 Ma = Mamuntanas Si = Siriver Ab = ABT 805 Er = Erfoud 1 Sa = SARDI 10 Highlighted: genetic resources used to build a widely-based population for field selection and definition of marker-assisted selection strategies in REFORMA

28 Nominal yield (t/ha) 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: Montpellier (south France) Alger (coastal Elvas Algeria) (central Sassari Sétif (inland Portugal) (Sardinia) Algeria) Spring-summer drought stress (mm) Merchouch (central Morocco) Kasbah Delta 1 Jana Currie Ottava Medly Porto subsp. hispanica (complete dormancy) Mediterranean subsp. glomerata (facultative dormancy) Oceanic subsp. glomerata (non-dormant)

29 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

30 Some of the studies used for defining the parents (Attika; Isard; Kaspa) of 3 sets of connected recombinant inbred lines

31 Duration of each WP activity in relation to project months L = lucerne P = pea WP Activity 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

32 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 you for your attention!