Improving the Availability of Organic Forage Seed in Wales

The EU regulation requiring organic farmers to use 100% organic herbage seed is looming closer. Currently they are ‘enjoying’ a derogation from this because suitable seed is not available. For 2004 seeds mixtures had to contain at least 50% organic seed. This breathing space before full 100% organic seed is required is giving the organic industry time to improve the availability of suitable species and varieties. Historically there was a viable herbage seed production industry in the lowland and southern areas of Wales. This area turned to livestock production during its more profitable periods, with specialist arable and herbage seed production switching largely to south east England. The agronomic potential remains in Wales but now needs to be developed to meet specific organic needs. A recent survey of organic farmers in Wales (see Gwlad issue 26) identifiedpersistence, total annual yield and early spring growth as the most important characters in a seeds mix. Sourcing organic seed of such forage varieties is essential for the continued development of the organic sector. Following a series of farmer discussion group meetings where these concerns were highlighted a feasibility project funded by Farming Connect, is looking at the potential of producing organic forage seed in Wales. Experimental plot work at IGER has been addressing some of the challenges in organic forage seed production. Four farmers from organic discussion groups, with a range of farm types and systems are involved in developing this work by hosting field scale demonstration plots. Field plots, designed with farmer involvement, have focused on the feasibility of different approaches to forage grass seed production (plans are in Appendix A). Initially the emphasis has been on weed control, crop nutrition and integration of forage seed production into the farming systems using seed crops of perennial ryegrass, hybrid ryegrass and timothy. Harvesting, drying and cleaning of seed have also been addressed. The first demonstration area of the hybrid ryegrass variety AberLinnet was successfully harvested in 2003, with further areas harvested in 2004. To involve all stakeholders, the project included Organic and Seed Certification bodies, as well as seed companies to progress organic forage seed production in Wales and to develop a better understanding of the challenges involved. Achievements to date: • Successful farmer participation and development of this as a route to developing organic herbage seed production agronomy and harvesting techniques. • Inclusion of other stakeholders in meetings • Herbage seed yields at potentially commercially viable levels on most sites • Identification of areas for further work • Publication of results and project progress at a range of levels from Gwlad and organic e- bulletin to scientific and farmer conferences in Wales, UK, Europe and Australia. (Details in Appendix B) • Dissemination of results obtained at farmer group meetings in England and Wales. • An overview factsheet is in progress Identification of the gaps: • Lack of farmer confidence to proceed to commercial enterprise. • A need to address further technical issues highlighted as a result of the initial work (eg clover variety, weed control). • Designing sound rotations that meet with certification standards (organic and seed) needs to be addressed. • Integration of seed production into a range of arable and or livestock systems is important to the viability and practicality of organic herbage seed production. • The expertise and confidence of the organic growers needs to be developed. • Developing farm scale harvesting, drying, distribution and marketing with farmers, and other stakeholders. • Lack of active organic seed processor and marketing presence in the area The next Phase This should be viewed in two parts; in the short term we need to ensure continuity of cropping on the farm sites and dissemination of information, building on the successes of the initial project; the longer term aims are the development of infrastructure, cooperation of interested stakeholders (eg seed companies, machinery rings, certification bodies) and scaling up to a commercially viable level from the farm

Variation in Response to Moisture Stress of Young Plants of Interspecific Hybrids between White Clover (T. repens L.) and Caucasian Clover (T. ambiguum M. Bieb.)

Backcross hybrids between the important forage legume white clover (Trifolium repens L.), which is stoloniferous, and the related rhizomatous species Caucasian clover (T. ambiguum M. Bieb), have been produced using white clover as the recurrent parent. The effect of drought on the parental species and two generations of backcrosses were studied in a short-term glasshouse experiment under three intensities of drought. Plants of Caucasian clover maintained a higher leaf relative water content and leaf water potential than white clover at comparable levels of drought, with the response of the backcrosses generally intermediate between the parents. Severe drought significantly reduced stolon growth rate and leaf development rate of white clover compared to the control, well-watered treatment, whilst differences between these two treatments in the backcross hybrids were relatively small.   The differences between parental species and the backcrosses in root morphology were studied in 1m long vertical pipes. The parental species differed in root weight distribution, with root weight of Caucasian clover significantly greater than white clover in the 0.1 m to 0.5 m root zone. The backcrosses exhibited root characteristics intermediate between the parents. The extent to which these differences influence the capacity to tolerate drought is discussed

Modelling the ability of legumes to suppress weeds

The ability of different legume cover crops to suppress annual weeds during the early establishment phase was compared using a simulation model of inter-plant competition and field observations. Height, partitioning parameters, extinction coefficients, crop density and time of emergence were recorded for 11 species sown in monocultures. A naturally occurring population of fat hen (Chenopodium album) was present on the experiment. The competition model was run to compare the expected suppressive ability of the different species on this weed. Samples of C. album were also taken from each plot immediately prior to cutting to provide some empirical observations. Predicted suppressive ability was correlated with seed size and height with large seeded, tall species such as white sweet clover being the most competitive. However, these species may recover poorly from mowing compromising their potential to suppress perennial weeds and a mixture of contrasting species may provide the optimum weed control

A new emphasis on root traits for perennial grass and legume varieties with environmental and ecological benefits

Grasslands cover a significant proportion of the agricultural land within the UK and across the EU, providing a relatively cheap source of feed for ruminants and supporting the production of meat, wool and milk from grazing animals. Delivering efficient animal production from grassland systems has traditionally been the primary focus of grassland‐based research. But there is increasing recognition of the ecological and environmental benefits of these grassland systems and the importance of the interaction between their component plants and a host of other biological organisms in the soil and in adjoining habitats. Many of the ecological and environmental benefits provided by grasslands emanate from the interactions between the roots of plant species and the soil in which they grow. We review current knowledge on the role of grassland ecosystems in delivering ecological and environmental benefits. We will consider how improved grassland can deliver these benefits, and the potential opportunities for plant breeding to improve specific traits that will enhance these benefits whilst maintaining forage production for livestock consumption. Opportunities for exploiting new plant breeding approaches, including high throughput phenotyping, and for introducing traits from closely related species are discussed

Rapid UHPLC-MS metabolite profiling and phenotypic assays reveal genotypic impacts of nitrogen supplementation in oats

IntroductionOats (Avena sativa L.) are a whole grain cereal recognised for their health benefits and which are cultivated largely in temperate regions providing both a source of food for humans and animals, as well as being used in cosmetics and as a potential treatment for a number of diseases. Oats are known as being a cereal source high in dietary fibre (e.g. β-glucans), as well as being high in antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. Recently, oats have been gaining increased global attention due to their large number of beneficial health effects. Consumption of oats has been proven to lower blood LDL cholesterol levels and blood pressure, thus reducing the risk of heart disease, as well as reducing blood-sugar and insulin levels.ObjectivesOats are seen as a low input cereal. Current agricultural guidelines on nitrogen application are believed to be suboptimal and only consider the effect of nitrogen on grain yield. It is important to understand the role of both variety and of crop management in determining nutritional quality of oats. In this study the response of yield, grain quality and grain metabolites to increasing nitrogen application to levels greater than current guidelines were investigated.MethodsFour winter oat varieties (Mascani, Tardis, Balado and Gerald) were grown in a replicated nitrogen response trial consisting of a no added nitrogen control and four added nitrogen treatments between 50 and 200 kg N ha-1 in a randomised split-plot design. Grain yield, milling quality traits, β-glucan, total protein and oil content were assessed. The de-hulled oats (groats) were also subjected to a rapid Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) metabolomic screening approach.ResultsApplication of nitrogen had a significant effect on grain yield but there was no significant difference between the response of the four varieties. Grain quality traits however displayed significant differences both between varieties and nitrogen application level. β-glucan content significantly increased with nitrogen application. The UHPLC-MS approach has provided a rapid, sub 15 min per sample, metabolite profiling method that is repeatable and appropriate for the screening of large numbers of cereal samples. The method captured a wide range of compounds, inclusive of primary metabolites such as the amino acids, organic acids, vitamins and lipids, as well as a number of key secondary metabolites, including the avenanthramides, caffeic acid, and sinapic acid and its derivatives and was able to identify distinct metabolic phenotypes for the varieties studied. Amino acid metabolism was massively upregulated by nitrogen supplementation as were total protein levels, whilst the levels of organic acids were decreased, likely due to them acting as a carbon skeleton source. Several TCA cycle intermediates were also impacted, potentially indicating increased TCA cycle turn over, thus providing the plant with a source of energy and reductant power to aid elevated nitrogen assimilation. Elevated nitrogen availability was also directed towards the increased production of nitrogen containing phospholipids. A number of both positive and negative impacts on the metabolism of phenolic compounds that have influence upon the health beneficial value of oats and their products were also observed.ConclusionsAlthough the developed method has broad applicability as a rapid screening method or a rapid metabolite profiling method and in this study has provided valuable metabolic insights, it still must be considered that much greater confidence in metabolite identification, as well as quantitative precision, will be gained by the application of higher resolution chromatography methods, although at a large expense to sample throughput. Follow up studies will apply higher resolution GC (gas chromatography) and LC (reversed phase and HILIC) approaches, oats will be also analysed from across multiple growth locations and growth seasons, effectively providing a cross validation for the results obtained within this preliminary study. It will also be fascinating to perform more controlled experiments with sampling of green tissues, as well as oat grains, throughout the plants and grains development, to reveal greater insight of carbon and nitrogen metabolism balance, as well as resource partitioning into lipid and secondary metabolism