New Perennial Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture

Download or read book New Perennial Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture written by Sarita Jane Bennett and published by ISBS. This book was released on 2003 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The farming systems of southern Australia currently rely on annual legume-based pastures to provide nitrogen for the following crop, particularly wheat. In recent years with increasing levels of salinity, acidity and rising watertables it has been acknowledged that such a system is unsustainable, with a requirement for a system that uses more water, such as a more perennial-based system. Lucerne is currently the only major perennial herbaceous legume in use in Mediterranean Australia. There is therefore an urgent need to find other perennial legumes that would fit into the farming systems of southern Australia. This book is a comprehensive review of the current knowledge of perennial legumes for Mediterranean areas. It is divided into three sections. The first section describes the background to the problems in Mediterranean Australia, the role of perennial legumes in the Mediterranean Basin, and the adaptation of perennial plants to dry areas. The second focuses on the natural distribution and agricultural potential of some of the major legume genera including Medicago and Trifolium, and the importance that rhizobia has in extending the distribution of these genera for agriculture. The final section describes case studies where perennial legumes are in use, including Italy, North Africa and Inner Mongolia. The book is of value to researchers working in the fields of grassland and rangeland improvement, Mediterranean farming systems, genetic resources, and pasture and forage ecology.