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Genetic Resources of Mediterranean Pasture and Forage Legumes pp 9–19Cite as

Introduction: Role of pasture and forage legumes in mediterranean farming systems

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Part of the book series: Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture ((PSBA,volume 33))

Abstract

This paper describes the contexts in which pasture and forage legumes are used. It points out that the main use of legumes in the Mediterranean basin is on the communally-owned grasslands, and that improvement of these grasslands are constrained by socio-economic factors. However, pasture and forage legumes also have roles to play in arable land where, especially in dry areas, they have the potential to replace fallow in cereal-producing farming systems through their capacity to fix nitrogen. Examples of both grassland and fallow improvement are given.

In contrast to the Mediterranean basin annual legumes are used widely in southern Australia in a ‘ley farming system’. Ley farming consists of consecutive phases of pasture and crop where the pasture regenerates spontaneously. It is a modification of the north African weedy fallow system except that annual legumes have largely replaced weeds. It is based on two groups of species: subterranean clover and the annual medics. Unfortunately ley farming has become unsustainable in southern Australia in four ways: it uses insufficient water resulting in rising water tables and dryland salinity; it results in soil acidification because of the leaching of excess nitrate and the removal of cations during cropping; an increased dependence on herbicides has resulted in herbicide resistant weeds; and finally there is widespread pasture deterioration due to many factors operating independently and together.

Several remedies are proposed. The first requires the introduction of perennial species to increase water use. While some species are available and likely to be suitable there is a need for new germplasm especially for acid soils. Phase farming is likely to replace ley farming where longer periods of pasture are required and this will require new germplasm of which the seed can be produced cheaply. Aerial seeding clovers, of which there are many, and new genera such as Ornithopus and Biserrula will be of value. Finally, to arrest pasture deterioration two remedies are proposed: firstly the use of species mixtures in which the components use a range of reproductive strategies; and secondly the selection of species that are widespread in the Mediterranean basin. In addition to being widespread the latter are often dominant in the most arid environments, those environments which, in Australia, have proven to be the most intractable.

It is concluded that new germplasm is needed in both the Mediterranean basin and in Australia and that the Mediterranean basin is a rich source of new germplasm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture and Co-operative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, 6907, Australia

    P. S. Cocks & Sarita Jane Bennett

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  1. P. S. Cocks
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  2. Sarita Jane Bennett
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Co-operative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia

    Sarita Jane Bennett

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia

    P. S. Cocks

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Cocks, P.S., Bennett, S.J. (1999). Introduction: Role of pasture and forage legumes in mediterranean farming systems. In: Bennett, S.J., Cocks, P.S. (eds) Genetic Resources of Mediterranean Pasture and Forage Legumes. Current Plant Science and Biotechnology in Agriculture, vol 33. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4776-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4776-7_1

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