Kedar Adhikari

The University of Sydney · Department of Plant and Food Sciences

Context: Feeding a growing human population with limited arable land requires greater crop yield that is, in turn, driven by improved agronomy, better varieties, and their synergy. Here we focus on faba bean, Vicia faba L., an under-researched grain legume for which on-farm yield in Australia has increased at 0.8 % y􀀀 1 since 1990. Objective: We ai...

Faba bean is grown globally for human consumption and animal feed and is a significant rotation crop in cereal-dominant areas in many countries, including Australia. It is sensitive to several abiotic stresses, such as drought, frost, and high temperatures, especially at the reproductive stage. However, little is known of the upper and lower temper...

Faba bean is grown globally for human consumption and animal feed and is a significant rotation crop in cereal dominant areas in many countries including Australia. It is sensitive to several abiotic stresses, such as drought, frost and high temperatures, especially at the reproductive stage. However, little is known of the upper and lower temperat...

Public lands including forests and community pastures are still crucial means of local livelihood, social security, and environmental conservation in many developing countries including Nepal. However, these resources are increasingly managed primarily to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of developed countries. The new management has exacerbated...

Faba beans (Vicia faba L.) constitute a partially outcrossing species requiring an isolation distance to maintain genetic purity when more than one variety is grown in field conditions. This information is crucial for seed growers and faba bean breeders. A study was conducted at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding Institute, Narrabri, over tw...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a partially outcrossing species requiring an isolation distance to maintain genetic purity when more than one variety is grown in field conditions. This information is crucial for seed growers and faba bean breeders. A study was conducted at the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding Institute, Narrabri over two years to...

Seed is the most important input in crop production, determining yield and affecting food and nutrition security. The ultimate gain of genetics and plant breeding efforts can be realized only when good quality seed is available to farmers for production. This chapter aims to analyze strengths and weaknesses in seed policies, programs, strategies, a...

Identification and validation of biomarkers and bioindicators to select genotypes with superior tolerance to water deficit (WD) under field conditions are paramount to plant breeding programs. However, the co-occurrence of different abiotic stresses such as WD, heat, and radiation makes it difficult to develop generalized protocols to monitor the p...

Many critical problems are intensified in rural Nepal despite the policy advice and financial support from international agencies to alleviate them. This study attempted to explain the causes and policy solutions to the problems based on secondary sources of data and the authors’ insights. It identified that international agencies involved actively...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a widely grown cool season grain legume crop for human consumption and animal feed. It is one of the oldest domesticated crops dating back to the Neolithic era around 9,000–10,000 B.C. Although area under the crop has decreased significantly over the years, its productivity has increased making it the third largest cool...

Faba bean is a cool-season grain legume crop, which is grown worldwide for food and feed. Despite a decrease in area under faba bean in the past, the interest in growing faba bean is increasing globally due to its high seed protein content and its excellent ecological service. The crop is, however, exposed to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses cau...

Frost is one factor that causes extensive yield losses globally. A study was conducted to evaluate frost damage under field conditions and assess the genetic variation of flowers converting into pods. Diverse faba bean genotypes were evaluated under four growing seasons in a randomized complete block design: three at the University of Sydney, Narra...

Faba bean is gaining attention in Australia as a rotation grain legume where most of the country’s produce is exported. Rust, caused by Uromyces viciae-fabae, is a major constraint to Faba bean production in eastern Australia and its chemical control results in increased cost of production. The deployment of diverse sources of resistance in new cul...

Development of gene-based linkage maps and identification of quantitative trait loci for rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae) resistance in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) Shimna Sudheesh , Shivraj Braichl, Kedar Adhikari2, Sukhjiwan Kauri 1. Biosciences Research, Agriculture Victoria, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, 5 Ring Road, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Aus...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.), a member of the Fabaceae family, is one of the important food legumes cultivated in cool temperate regions. It holds great importance for human consumption and livestock feed because of its high protein content, dietary fibre, and nutritional value. Major faba bean breeding challenges include its mixed breeding system, un...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.), a member of the Fabaceae family, is one of the important food legumes cultivated in cool temperate regions. It holds great importance for human consumption and livestock feed because of its high protein content, dietary fibre, and nutritional value. Major faba bean breeding challenges include its mixed breeding system, un...

Water deficit (WD), a major contributor to yield reductions in faba bean (Vicia faba), is a complex phenomenon that varies across daily to seasonal cycles. Several studies have identified various morphological and physiological indicators of WD tolerance which generally show limited water use during WD. Limited information is available on the impac...

Grain legumes are commonly used for food and feed all over the world and are the main source of protein for over a billion people worldwide, but their production is at risk from climate change. Water deficit and heat stress both significantly reduce the yield of grain legumes, and the faba bean is considered particularly susceptible. The genetic im...

The pathogen Uromyces viciae-fabae causes rust (a fungal disease) on faba bean (Vicia faba). This disease limits faba bean production in Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. The development of resistant cultivars to U. viciae-fabae is the optimal solution for sustainable disease management. However, unknown virulence in Australian U. viciae-fabae po...

Uromyces viciae‐fabae, rust of faba bean, parasitises other legume crops such as lentils (Lens culinaris) and field peas (Pisum sativum) in some environments. In this study we examined the host range of two Australian isolates of U. viciae‐fabae collected and purified from a faba bean crop and classified as U. viciae‐fabae ex V. faba. Field pea (Pi...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a significant rotation crop in northern New South Wales. However, drought limits yield, and the reproductive structures of faba bean are sensitive to high temperatures and frost. Although early sowing can avoid terminal heat and drought stresses, the accumulation of large amounts of vegetative biomass may result in low...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important cool-season legume crop that ranks fourth after chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris L.) in terms of total production. The global production of faba bean was 4.8 Mt in 2017, with China, Ethiopia and Australia being the largest producers (1.8, 0.93 and 0.37 M...

Background: Yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.) is a promising grain legume for productive and sustainable crop rotations. It has the advantages of high tolerance to soil acidity and excellent seed quality, but its current yield potential is poor, especially in low rainfall environments. Key adaptation traits such as phenology and enhanced stress tol...

Sustainable agriculture development is a popular phrase these days due to profound effect of climate change, degraded land and environment, but at the same time there is a need for producing enough nutritious food to the growing population. More often sustainable agriculture is viewed as traditional subsistence agriculture, but this cannot be true...

Faba bean is one of the major cool season grain legumes and provides a good source of protein for human and animal consumption. It is considered as a staple food for Middle-East and North-African countries. It makes symbiotic association with the N-fixing bacteria and provides a natural source of fixed atmospheric nitrogen to the soil. Faba bean pr...

The ongoing rise in global temperatures owing to climate change is likely to aggravate the negative effects of hot and dry climatic conditions on faba bean farming. Programs aiming at genetic improvement of the drought resistance of this crop by both classical breeding and molecular breeding methods are hampered due to lack of high throughput scree...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important grain legume used as food and feed. Its production is threatened by abiotic stresses and diseases, of which rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae) is one of the major diseases in East and North Africa, China and the northern grain growing region of Australia. Understanding the genetic and physiological mechanisms of...

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) causes undesirable darkening in wheat products such as Asian noodles. The inheritance of PPO activity was investigated in a doubled haploid (DH) population derived from a hybrid between a null PPO genotype VAW08-A17 and Australian wheat variety QALBis. The observed genetic ratio indicated three genes controlling high PPO ac...

Molecular mapping of rust resistance genes was investigated in the doubled haploid (DH) population derived from a hybrid between a line DM5637*B8 and an Australian wheat variety H45. The DH population was grown at the University of Sydney's Plant Breeding Institute site at Cobbitty in 2006 and 2007. The Diversity Array Technology (DArT) approach wa...

High throughput, cost effective, non-invasive tools for the rapid and reliable evaluation of field based plant health is of critical importance to plant breeder across a range of natural systems. Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C) at the leaf level has been proposed as a method for evaluating water use efficiency (WUE) in C3 plants and as a preci...

أجريت دراسة حقلية على ٢٤ صنف من الفول في معهد تربية النباتات التابع لجامعة سيدني (نارابراي، ولاية نيو ساوث ويلز، أستراليا) خلال موسمي النمو ٢٠١٥ و٢٠١٦. كانت الدراسة على ثلاثة مواعيد زراعة (١٧/٤، ٧/٥ و٢٨/٥/٢٠١٥ – ٢٩/٤، ١٢/٥ و ٣١/٥/٢٠١٦) وثلاث مكررات بهدف معرفة تأثير موعد الزراعة على الفينولوجيا وسلوك نمو النبات والتحقق من مساهمة مكونات المحصول في زي...

أجريت دراسة حقلية على ٢٤ صنف من الفول في معهد تربية النباتات التابع لجامعة سيدني (نارابراي، ولاية نيو ساوث ويلز، أستراليا) خلال موسمي النمو ٢٠١٥ و٢٠١٦. كانت الدراسة على ثلاثة مواعيد زراعة (١٧/٤، ٧/٥ و٢٨/٥/٢٠١٥ – ٢٩/٤، ١٢/٥ و ٣١/٥/٢٠١٦) وثلاث مكررات بهدف معرفة تأثير موعد الزراعة على الفينولوجيا وسلوك نمو النبات والتحقق من مساهمة مكونات المحصول في زي...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the oldest domesticated plant species and an important food crop worldwide. The main faba bean breeding objectives include yield and seed quality improvement as well as resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Among biotic stresses, rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae) is a common fungal disease that can cause up to 70...

The ongoing rise in global temperatures owing to climate change is likely to aggravate the negative effects of hot and dry climatic conditions on faba bean farming. Programs aiming at genetic improvement of the drought resistance of this crop are hampered due to lack of high throughput screening methodologies for this crop (1). Genotypic variation...

Faba bean is affected by frost both at vegetative and reproductive stages. Yield losses due to frost depend on several aspects such as duration of frost, frequency, intensity, crop sensitivity and plant growth stage. A field experiment was carried out at The University of Sydney, Plant Breeding Institute, Narrabri to identify (1) the effect of fros...

Why is this research important? Faba bean has a poor harvest index (HI) due to low biomass conversion to grain production. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify genetic variation in biomass partitioning into grain yield. Variation exists among faba bean genotypes for biomass distribution to grain filling organs which can benefit grain yie...

Faba bean rust is a major fungal disease in the north-west grain growing region of Australia. It is caused by a biotrophic fungus Uromyces viciae-fabae. It usually infects at a later stage of crop development in the southern region and the damage may not be significant, but early infection occurs in the northern region which can result in up to 70%...

A field experiment was conducted at PBI, Narrabri to understand the mechanism of biomass partitioning into grain yield in faba bean. Ten diverse faba bean genotypes were evaluated under three different sowing dates (17 April, 7 May and 28 May 2015) in three replications. Significant differences of genotype and sowing time were observed on plant hei...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the oldest grain legumes and is grown in many countries for both human consumption and animal feed. Faba bean rust, caused by Uromyces viciae-fabae, is a serious disease of faba beans in the subtropical agricultural region of Australia. Experiments were conducted to assess the genetic variation for rust resistanc...

While evaluating genotypes for yield in multi-environment tests, the variation can only be observed in the relative yield performance of genotypes across environments. Eighteen (18) wheat genotypes, along with two standard farmer check varieties, were tested under normal and late sowing conditions for yield comparison, heritability, and selection r...

Faba bean rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae) is one of the major fungal diseases in most of the faba bean growing regions in the world. It is a major disease in the northern grain growing region of Australia where farmers need to spray fungicides 2-3 time in a season to protect the crop from rust. The development of rust resistant varieties can reduce th...

Breeding resistant cultivars relies on the ability to detect the resistant genes and understanding the genetic bases of their resistance. Diallel crosses without reciprocals were made among three resistant (AC1227#14908, AC 1655 and Doza#12034) and one susceptible (Fiord) genotypes and their segregating populations from F2 to F3 were analysed as se...

Multi-crop and variety trials were conducted over strips of ‘medium’ and ‘high’ Pratylenchus thornei (Pt) pressure. Site characterised by generally high crop yields (cereals~4-5.5t/ha, chickpeas ~3.5-4.0t/ha) combined with lower levels of Pt yield impact. Negligible decline in Pt population during the 21 month fallow leading up to the winter trials...

Radiation frost is an important abiotic stress affecting grain yield in faba bean. The purpose of this study was to find frost tolerant genotypes and investigate whether frost damage can be managed by adjusting sowing time. A selection of 15 diverse faba bean genotypes were evaluated under three different sowing dates (16 April, 7 May and 26 May 20...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important cool-season grain legume because of the high nutritional value in their seeds. Matching phenology of a crop to the environment is an important key to improving adaptation and increasing yields. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at Narrabri in New South Wales, Australia. Ninety-six diverse faba bea...

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the oldest grain legumes grown in many countries. Faba bean rust, caused by Uromyces viciae-fabae, is a serious disease of faba beans in most faba bean growing areas in the world. Experiments were conducted to assess the genetic variation for rust resistance in Australian faba bean germplasm and to determine the...

Summary Radiation frost is an important abiotic stress affecting vegetative and reproductive stages in faba bean. Reproductive stage is the most susceptible phase and temperatures less than -2 °C can be harmful. The severity of frost damage depends on timing of the frost event, period and frequency of exposure, intensity of frost and genotypes. Var...

Blackspot, caused by Didymella pinodes (Berk. & Blox.)Vestergr., is one of the most important diseases of field pea, causing significant reduction in seed yield and quality in southern Australia and in other parts of the world. Development of resistant germplasm has been slow because of the low level of resistance found in the available germplasm,...

White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) is an important grain legume crop in Australia. The anthracnose incursion in the mid 1990s wiped out the white lupin industry in Western Australia (WA). Since then incorporation of anthracnose resistance has been a major focus in white lupin breeding. After a series of experiments and targeted breeding in WA, high yie...

Faba bean is one of the oldest grain legumes grown in many countries for both human consumption and animal feed. Rust, caused by Uromyces viciae-fabae, is a serious disease of faba beans in sub-tropical New South Wales and southern Queensland. Although faba bean rust is a major disease in this region, limited information is available on the genetic...

With 2 figures and 2 tables Lupin is a long-day plant, and its flowering time can be affected by prolonged exposure to cold, ambient temperatures and photoperiod. The vernalization response was investigated in three species of lupins, Lupinus albus L., L. luteus L. and L. mutabilis Sweet., under varying vernalization regimes in glasshouse condition...

Yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.) is a high-protein grain legume growing well in a range of acid soil types. However, the lack of herbicide tolerance for effective weed control has limited its adoption in broad acre farmingsystems. In order to breed herbicide-tolerant cultivars, a source of resistance needs to be identified. This paper reports the i...

A key goal in the breeding for aphid resistance of cultivated lupins is to manipulate the levels and distributions of alkaloids. Lupin alkaloids are known to be responsible for resistance to herbivorous insects, but the total seed alkaloid level must remain under 0.02% for animal and human consumption. Yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.) is being inve...

Yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus L.) is a high-protein grain legume growing well in a range of acid soil types. However, the lack of herbicide tolerance for effective weed control has limited its adoption in broad acre farming systems. In order to breed herbicide-tolerant cultivars, a source of resistance needs to be identified. This paper reports the...

With 3 tables Lupin anthracnose [caused by Colletotrichum lupini (Bondar) Nirenberg, Feiler & Hagedorn] first occurred in commercial crops in Western Australia (WA) in 1996 and severely affected the lupin industry, particularly in the northern grain belt of WA. Subsequent studies led to the identification of good sources of resistance to the diseas...

With 2 tables Abstract Albus lupin ( Lupinus albus L.) is an important grain legume for fertile and well‐drained loamy soils of Western Australia (WA). WA experiences constant terminal drought and early flowering varieties are essential to avoid the drought stress. Inheritance of flowering time was studied in two breeding populations by examining...

Lupin anthracnose [caused by Colletotrichum lupini (Bondar) Niren-berg, Feiler & Hagedorn] first occurred in commercial crops in Western Australia (WA) in 1996 and severely affected the lupin industry, particularly in the northern grain belt of WA. Subsequent studies led to the identification of good sources of resistance to the disease in narrow-l...

Anthracnose is a major disease of lupins in Western Australia (WA). The disease wiped out the WA albus lupin industry in 1996 and since then, anthracnose resistance has been a major focus for WA lupin breeding. In an endeavour to find a source of resistance to anthracnose, all available germplasm in WA was screened against anthracnose in New Zealan...

Selection for anthracnose disease resistance is one of the top priorities in white lupin (Lupinus albus) breeding programs. A cross was made between a landrace P27174 (resistant to anthracnose) and a cultivar Kiev Mutant (susceptible). The progeny was advanced to F8 recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Disease tests on the RIL population from field tri...

Seeds and plants of wild type Lupinus albus are bitter and contain high level of alkaloids. During domestication, at least three genes conferring low-alkaloid content were identified and incorporated into commercial varieties. Australian lupin breeders exclusively utilize one of these sweetness genes, “pauper”, in all varieties to prevent possible...

Lupin Anthracnose (caused by Colletotrichum lupini) first occurred in commercial crops in Western Australia in 1996 and severely affected the lupin industry, particularly in the northern grainbelt of Western Australia. Subsequent studies led to the identification of good sources of resistance to the disease in Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus albu...

Agricultural crops and their wild progenitors are excellent candidates for ecophysiologal research because germplasm collections are often extensive and well described, and in its dissemination the crop may explore new habitats. The advent of high resolution climate models has greatly improved our capacity to characterize plant habitats, and study...

Agricultural crops and their wild progenitors are excellent candidates for ecophysiologal research because germplasm collections are often extensive and well described, and in its dissemination the crop may explore new habitats. The advent of high-resolution climate models has greatly improved our capacity to characterise plant habitats, and study...

We report the first genetic linkage map of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.). An F8 recombinant inbred line population developed from Kiev mutant × P27174 was mapped with 220 amplified fragment length polymorphism and 105 gene-based markers. The genetic map consists of 28 main linkage groups (LGs) that varied in length from 22.7 cM to 246.5 cM and spa...

Genetic studies were conducted on nine triticale cultivars and lines lo determine the presence and identity of stem rust resistance genes. The lines were intercrossed and their F2 and F3 generations were tested with selected pathotypes of Puccinia graminis tritici. Segregation in seedling tesis showed the presence of two new genes SrLal and SrLa2 i...