Paolo Annicchiarico

Resilient, water- and energy-efficient forage and feed crops for

Mediterranean agricultural systems (REFORMA)

CRA - Research Centre for Fodder Crops and Dairy Productions, Lodi, Italy

Research Centres

and Units,

Council for Agricultural

Research and Economics

(CRA)

Research Centre for Fodder Crops and Dairy

Productions (CRA-FLC) - Main station of Lodi

Sustain to:

- animal product chains with high added value

(with economic and social implications)

- organic product chains (high feed self-production)

- GM-free production chains (legumes)

Socio-economic importance of crop-livestock systems in the northern regions

Greater farmers’ economic stability, by:

- buffering against economic shocks and crop failures

(through animal sale)

- spreading labour

Meet the increasing demand for animal products

and highly nutritious food

Socio-economic importance of crop-livestock systems in the southern regions

Protein Share of total protein

(g / person /day) from livestock (%)

Country 1995 2005 1995 2005

France 116 115 55 52

Italy 107 113 46 46

Spain 106 108 49 50

Mean 110 112 50 50

Algeria 82 87 22 23

Morocco 80 88 15 16

Tunisia 84 91 19 22

Mean 82 89 19 20

FAO, 2009

Average increase per year, 2000-2011 (%)

Country Algeria Morocco Tunisia

Meat, national production a 1.8 5.2 0.9

Meat, import a 31.6 42.4 13.6

Eggs + dairy national prod. a 6.2 1.1 1.1

Dairy, import a 2.5 4.0 1.1

Soybean (cake + grain), import b 29.5 19.2 17.1

a FAO Statistical Yearbook 2014; b FAO Stat

Soybean import in Southern Europe 2000-2011 (FAO Stat)

Soybean cake price 2000-2015 (Chicago Futures)

Intensive animal production:

based on imported feed

Extensive animal production:

based on waste land and crop residues

- efficient cycling of nutrients, crop residues, sub-products

- reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy use

(by legume N-fixation and reduced feed transport)

- improved soil fertility, structure, water holding capacity (perennials and legumes)

- lower soil erosion and hydrogeological risk (perennials)

- reduction of cereal monoculture

Ecological services of forage/feed crops and crop-livestock systems

Urea price 2000-2015 (Chicago Futures)

Challenges for Mediterranean crop-livestock systems

Overgrazing and desertification

Source: UNEP, 1997

Overgrazed pastures in Morocco

Increasing drought due to lack of irrigation water and climate change

FAO, 2012

Lucerne grown in an oasis

Temperature difference (°C) 1964-2014

based on linear trends

(http://www.columbia.edu/~mhs119/Temperature/)

Predicted precipitation change (%)

in 2020 and 2050 (Parry, 2005)

-50 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 50

2020

2050

Saline soil, and saline irrigation water

Algerian soils affected by salinization

Resilient, water- and energy-efficient forage and feed crops

for Mediterranean agricultural systems (REFORMA)

General objective

Strengthening the economic and environmental sustainability of Mediterranean

crop-livestock and feed systems, by enhancing their self-sufficiency for feed

proteins and their ability to adapt to and to mitigate climate change

This is pursued by developing more resilient and more water- and energy-efficient

systems based on genetically-improved forage and feed legumes

First ArimNet project call: 86 submitted projects, 10 selected

Partner institutions

1) CRA-FLC, Centro di Ricerca per le Produzioni Foraggere e Lattiero-Casearie, Lodi

2) CNR-ISPAAM, Ist. per il Sistema Produzione Animale in Ambiente Mediterraneo, Sassari

3) INRA-URP3F, U.R. Pluridisciplinaire Prairies et Plantes Fourragères, Lusignan

4) INRA-UMRLEG, U.M.R. en Agroécologie, Dijon

5) INRAA, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique d’Algérie, Alger

6) ENSA, École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique, Alger

7) INRA, Institut Nationale de la Recherche Agronomique, Centres de Marrakesh et Rabat

8) IRA, Institut des Régions Arides, Médenine

9) The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Target legume species for breeding work

Lucerne [Alfalfa]

(Medicago sativa)

Pea (Pisum sativum)

Ideal species:

1) widely adapted to soil, climatic, management conditions of Mediterranean areas

2) wide flexibility of utilization

3) drought tolerance and water use efficiency (intrinsically, and by winter-spring cycle)

4) already known by farmers

5) not targeted by ICARDA

6) promising on grounds of available germplasm, prior knowledge, genomic resources

Specific objectivesSpecific objectives

Development of new germplasm:

- lucerne varieties with tolerance to severe drought, salinity, heat and grazing

- pea varieties with drought tolerance, for grain and forage production

Development of innovative selection methods for lucerne and pea:

- cost-efficient marker-assisted and genomic selection procedures

- ecologically-based breeding strategies

Development of innovative lucerne- and pea-based forage crops

(taking account of legume plant types, associated grass or cereal species, drought

stress level of the site, acceptability by farmers, forage quality, target utilization)

Genetic improvement of

forage and feed legumes

WP 1: Ecological breeding

strategies and variety

selection

WP 2: Genomics and definition

of marker-assisted selection

procedures

WP 3: Assessment and

optimization of innovative

legume-based crops

Resilient and productive

lucerne-grass and pea-cereal

forage crops

Ruminant feeding

(cattle, sheep, etc.)

Poultry and

monogastric feeding

High energy and water efficiency of crops; mitigation of climate

change; limitation of overgrazing; diversification and flexibility of farming

systems; improved feeding quality; greater feed security

Resilient and productive

pea grain crops

Research Work Packages (WP)

Pea grain cropsPea-cereal

forage crops

Lucerne-grass

forage crops

Target livestock systems for the improved forage and feed crops

Participation to WP and relationships of Partners

Lucerne phenotyping (WP 1):

CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, INRAA,

ENSA, IRA, INRA-URP3F

Future genetically-

improved lucerne and

pea varieties

Agronomic and feeding optimization of lucerne- and

pea-based crops (WP 3): CNR-ISPAAM, INRA-MOR,

INRAA, INRA-URP3F

Pea phenotyping (WP 1):

CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, ENSA

Lucerne genotyping (WP 1):

SNRF, INRA-URP3F,

CRA-FLC

Pea genotyping (WP 1):

INRA-UMRLEG

Lucerne selection (WP 1):

CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, INRAA,

ENSA, IRA,

Pea selection (WP 1):

CRA-FLC, INRA-MOR, ENSA

Novel strategies for lucerne

breeding (WP 1 e WP 2):

CRA-FLC, SNRF, INRA-URP3F

Novel strategies for pea

breeding (WP 1 e WP 2):

CRA-FLC, INRA-UMRLEG

More productive,

efficient and resilient

forage and feed crops

INRA-UMRLEG CRA-FLC,

Lucerne

Selection, and marker-assisted selection, for adaptation to:

- severe drought (CRA-FLC; INRAA; ENSA; INRA-MOR; Noble F.) (1)

- saline soil and irrigation water (IRA; Noble F.; CRA-FLC) (1)

- moisture-favourable conditions (CRA-FLC; Noble F.) (1)

- continuous grazing (CRA-FLC; INRA-URP3F)* (2)

- mixed cropping with grasses (INRA-URP3F)* (3)

and forage quality (CRA-FLC; Noble F.)* (1)

* Partly funded by other projects (RGV-FAO; EXPOLEG; QUAL&MEDICA)

(1) Genomic selection for parent breeding value (based on half-sib progenies), by SNPs

from Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS)

(2) Genotypes for two F1 mapping populations by SSR and SNP or DArT markers;

validation on two independent populations

(3) Genotypes of three connected mapping populations; SSR and SNP or DArT markers

Genetic variation for, and modelling of, response to high temperatures (INRA-URP3F)

Lucerne

Ecological breeding aspects

1) Usefulness of selection in managed drought-stress environments for

geographically-distant target environments

2) Lucerne. Adaptation strategies for stress Mediterranean regions: breeding for wide

or specific adaptation to severe drought, saline and moisture-favourable conditions

drought tolerance

of lucerne

Lucerne drought tolerance evaluation in managed environments

Pea

Selection, and marker-assisted selection, for tolerance to severe drought

(CRA-FLC; ENSA; INRA-MOR; INRA-UMRLEG)*

* Genotyping partly funded by another project (PNSB2)

- Genomic selection by SNPs from GBS (CRA-FLC), and genome-wide association by

SNPs from Infinium Array (INRA-UMRLEG), using 315 lines from 3 connected crosses

- Bulk segregant analysis based on SNP allele frequency comparison of lines selected for

drought tolerance vs. single-seed descent (i.e. non-selected) lines. Stratified mass

selection (from F2 to F4) under controlled severe stress (for each of 3 crosses)

Gene-

ration

Water

Sep-May

(mm)

Mean

yield

(t/ha)

Selected

fraction

F2 250 2.08 30%

F3 200 1.41 20%

F4 180 1.58 10%

In blue: 15 strata of block 1 for cross 1 (30

strata overall); 10 sown plants per stratum

Pea

Ecological breeding aspects

1) Usefulness of evolutionary bulk selection (using stratified mass selection) under

severe drought stress vs. single-seed descent selection, for stress environments

2) Usefulness of selection in managed drought-stress environments for

geographically-distant target environments

Evaluation of 315 pea lines for drought

tolerance in managed environments

WP 3 multi-site experiment

Rainfed pure stands, binary mixtures and complex mixtures of:

- lucerne (erect or semi-erect), with cocksfoot or tall fescue

- pea (tall or semi-dwarf), common vetch or Narbon vetch, with triticale or oat

for forage yield and quality over 3 years and farmer participatory evaluation,

with crops in rotations with wheat (allowing assessment of soil fertility aspect)

Testing sites: 1) Merchouch (Morocco); 2) Sassari (Sardinia); 3) Sétif (Algeria)

Objectives:

a) Optimizing annual and perennial forage crops as a function of:

- the agro-climatic Mediterranean region

- the legume plant type (for lucerne and pea) and species

- the associated grass or cereal species

- the level of mixture complexity

- the usefulness in animal diets

- the acceptability by farmers

b) Comparing best annual vs. perennial crops

c) Defining the agricultural contexts in which each crop may be preferred

Example of one block in one year of WP 3 experiments

Example of Block 1 in the 2 nd year

L1 = Lucerne erect (Mamuntanas)

L2 = Lucerne semi -prostrate

C = Cocksfoot (Jana)

F = Tall fescue (Flecha)

Durum wheat

(N-fertilized, except for one plot)

P1 = Pea semi-dwarf

P2 = Pea tall

N = Narbon vetch

V = Common vetch

O = Oat

T = Triticale

WM 0

L1

C

L2

C

L1

F

L2

C F

L1L2

F

C

L2

F

L1

WMN

= N -fertilized wheat

monoculture

WM0

= No N wheat monoculture

P1

O

V

T

V

O

N

T O

P2

VNV

OT

P2

O

NP1

V

P1

T

N

O

P1P2

OT

P2

TWM 0

WM N

Here annuals, the following year

Here durum, the following year

Grasses (rainfed)

Lucerne (rainfed)

Lucerne (irrigated with summer water withholding)

Lucerne (continuous irrigation)

Sulla (rainfed)

Sulla (irrigated with summer water withholding)

Grasses (rainfed)

Lucerne (rainfed)

Lucerne (irrigated with summer water withholding)

Lucerne (continuous irrigation)

Sulla (rainfed)

Sulla (irrigated with summer water withholding)

Prior knowledge generated by the EU-funded project PERMED

Modelled 3-year forage yield of rainfed cocksfoot cultivars as a function of

spring-summer stress (as Potential EvapoTranspiration – Rainfall)

Project PERMED - Annicchiarico et al., 2011, Env. Exp. Bot. 74: 82-89

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850

Spring-summer drought stress (mm)

No

min

al yie

ld (

t/h

a)

Kasbah

Delta 1Jana

CurrieOttavaMedly

Porto

Montpellier(south France)

Elvas (centralPortugal)

Alger (coastalAlgeria)

Sétif (inlandAlgeria)

Merchouch(central

Morocco)Sassari

(Sardinia)

subsp. hispanica(complete dormancy)

Mediterranean subsp. glomerata(facultative dormancy)

Continental subsp. Glomerata (non-dormant)

Modelled 3-year forage yield (left) and final persistence (right) of rainfed tall fescue

cultivars as a function of spring-summer or annual stress (as PET – Rainfall)

Project PERMED - Pecetti et al., 2011, J. Agron. Crop Sci. 197: 12–20

Training and dissemination activities

- Project web page: http://reforma.entecra.it/

- Workshops (current one; others on crop use for animal feeding and MAS strategies)

- Free electronic handbook “Guidelines for cultivation and use in animal feeding of

lucerne- and pea-based forage and pea grain crops” (3 languages)

- Scientific articles; participation to scientific meetings; theses and student training

- Field days; demonstration plots; contacts with various stake-holders

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you

for your attention !for your attention !for your attention !for your attention !