News section
CLIMA collection mission to Morocco brings back germplasm which is likely to benefit Australia’s pasture industry for years to come
November 16, 2004

Following a GRDC-supported collection mission to Morocco, Department of Agriculture pasture genetic resource curator, Richard Snowball said many species with potential for Australia verged on extinction, while many may have been lost.

Despite this, he returned to the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) with 326 accessions, including 56 species and 17 genera.

“The germplasm we gathered is likely to benefit Australia’s pasture industry for years to come, but CLIMA and the GRDC must actively encourage and support sustainable conservation of genetic resources in Morocco.

“The subsequent development of new pasture species that are aerial seeded for easier harvesting and better adapted to hostile soils and short pasture phases will have a major impact on the future sustainability and profitability of WA farming systems,” Mr Snowball said.

GRDC Grain Flash

Other news from this source

10,507

Back to main news page

The news release or news item on this page is copyright © 2004 by the organization where it originated.
The content of the SeedQuest website is copyright © 1992-2004 by
SeedQuest - All rights reserved
Fair Use Notice