ON FARM NATIONAL FEEDBASE f Look out for RESEARCH INREVIEW a new legume PROJECT NAMEAdvancing the agronomy packagefor tedera to fill feed gaps RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the former Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre FUNDING ORGANISATIONS MLA GOAL To develop a forage legume that has the ability to reduce or eliminate the need to hand feed sheep during summer and autumn will be launched later this year in WA. Aforage legume that has the gap’ during the dry season in southern DURATION ability to reduce or eliminate Australian farming systems,” Daniel said. April 2017 – August 2021 supplementary feeding of He saw this as recently as mid-May sheep in summer and autumn will KEY FINDINGS TO DATE when checking trial sites in WA’s • Tedera can fill the feed gap in late be launched later this year in WA. northern wheatbelt. Although spring and early summer. Lanza™ is the first cultivar of tedera producers were waiting for an autumn • I t is best suited to WA’s northern (Bituminaria bituminosa C.H. Stirt. vars.break and much of the landscape was wheatbelt but other varieties are albomarginata and crassiuscula) to dry, tedera stood out. being developed. be bred and released in Australia and “It looked good and, importantly, was the world. still green,” he said. amounts in February, with a full Tedera is native to the Canary Islands, Over time, a three-pronged research agronomic package. where it’s a traditional forage species approach that included animal health, “If spring is kind, we could harvest for livestock including dairy goats, grazing and more recently agronomy 400kg/ha, hopefully enough for sheep and cattle, and its commercial trials has shown tedera’s worth in 40 or 50 producers to give it a go,” release marks the culmination of environments with dry summers and Simon said. more than a decade of MLA-funded autumns. Unlike its closest competitor research. The research was led by lucerne, tedera’s main environment is Seed increase is planned to double this Daniel Real with support from the drier, lower-rainfall areas. year to just over 80ha, allowing more Department of Primary Industries and seed to be sold the following year. Regional Development (DPIRD) in WA Tedera’s ability to produce seed is and the former Future Farm Industries also an important quality, and one Simon said the development process Co-operative Research Centre. that is necessary for successful has allowed harvesting and seed commercialisation. cleaning to be refined. Daniel, a forage research officer from “We’ve also learnt that this variety is best DPIRD, first became interested in tedera“We could have selected other plants in 2000 for its ability to retain green that are better in other ways but have suited to the northern WA wheatbelt, leaves during dry periods. Following his little seed,” Daniel said. not the whole country,” he said. move from Uruguay to Australia in 2003, “Less seed makes it much more This cultivar has been found to he became a driving force in tedera expensive and limits take-up. It’s a be susceptible to frost and the field trials, breeding and now its release.compromise that we have to make in breeding program is working on tedera has agronomic the breeding program.” frost-tolerant lines. ■ Daniel said characteristics ideally suited to Landmark’s seed business Seednet Mediterranean-like climates. is commercialising Lanza™. National Daniel Real Manager Simon Crane said it was T: 08 9368 3879 “Itcan be used to extend the growing exciting to see the research culminate E: daniel.real@dpird.wa.gov.au season into late spring and early in the cultivar’s commercialisation. Simon Crane summer. It can aso reduce or eliminatel T: 0407 887 901 the need for expensive hand feeding of It will be released under the Dyna-Gro E: simon.crane@seednet.com.au grain and hay to sheep to fill the ‘feed Seed label and available in small 36