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CLIMA and ICARDA to cooperate on drought and disease resistant legume crops and pastures
August 18, 2004

A new signed memorandum of understanding between the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) could open the gate to a ‘field of dreams’, including drought and disease resistant legume crops and pastures.

When recently visiting ICARDA headquarters in Syria, CLIMA Director, Kadambot Siddique reviewed some of the germplasm the memorandum will make more accessible, such as chocolate spot-resistant faba bean and drought-tolerant chickpea.

“Maturing CLIMA’s decade long collaboration with ICARDA will deliver a host of valuable traits and products to growers.

“For example, I saw several faba bean varieties expressing resistance to bean yellow mosaic virus and another 70 lines demonstrating resistance to chocolate spot. These advances hold tremendous promise for Australia’s battle against disease.”

ICARDA holds the world’s largest collection of chickpea, faba bean and lentil germplasm.

Professor Siddique noted ICARDA chickpea germplasm would soon deliver tangible benefits to WA and Australia, with the impending commercialisation of an ascochyta blight resistant variety, plus a large seeded variety for the Ord River Irrigation Area.

Ascochyta blight resistant chickpea could sustain a $160 million Australian industry.

CLIMA’s strong collaborative relationship with ICARDA had resulted in ICARDA’s decision to annually inject 20 promising chickpea lines into a CLIMA and Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) project to develop resistance to botrytis grey mould, which sporadically cut yields in Australia by up to 90 per cent.

“CLIMA and ICARDA enjoy a reciprocal relationship through trading germplasm, sharing disease nurseries to screen for various resistances, educating post-graduate students and collectively developing new technologies,” Professor Siddique noted.

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