The rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system is the largest agricultural production system worldwide, and is practised on 24 Mha in Asia. Many factors have threatened the long-term sustainability of conventional rice–wheat cropping systems, including degradation of soil health, water scarcity, labour/energy crises, nutrient imbalances, low soil organic matter contents, complex weed and insect flora, the emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds, and greenhouse-gas emissions. Options for improving the yield and sustainability of the rice–wheat cropping system include the use of resource-conservation technologies such as no-till wheat, laser-assisted land levelling, and direct-seeded aerobic rice. However, these technologies are site- and situation-specific; for example, direct-seeded aerobic rice is successful on heavy-textured soils but not sandy soils. Other useful strategies include seed priming, carbon trading and payment, the inclusion of legumes, and eco-friendly and biological methods of weed control. Irrigation based on soil matric potential using tensiometers can be useful for saving surplus water in direct-seeded, aerobic rice. These options and strategies will contribute to resolving water scarcity, saving labour and energy resources, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, increasing soil organic matter contents, and improving the soil-quality index. Seed priming with various substances that supplement osmotic pressure (osmotica) is a viable option for addressing poor stand establishment in conservation rice–wheat cropping systems and for increasing crop yields. To strengthen the campaign for using resource-conservation technologies in rice–wheat cropping systems, carbon-payment schemes could be introduced and machinery should be offered at affordable prices. The persistent issue of burning crop residues could be resolved by incorporating these residues into biogas/ethanol and biochar production. Because rice and wheat are staple foods in South Asia, agronomic biofortification is a useful option for enhancing micronutrient contents in grains to help to reduce malnutrition.

We tested the hypothesis that lengthening the duration between the terminal spikelet stage of development and anthesis (referred to here as the construction-phase duration, CPD) will increase yield per unit area in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Field experiments were undertaken at 17 sites across the high-rainfall zone of south-eastern and Western Australia in 2014 and 2015. In total, 205 wheat genotypes were grown. Genetic material included a set of near-isogenic lines (NILs) varying in photoperiod and vernalisation alleles; commercial wheat cultivars and breeding lines; and lines selected from the Multiparent Advanced Generation Inter Cross population. As such, this is the only comprehensive dataset in which the effect of variation in CPD on grain yield in field plots has been evaluated in diverse field environments. Within an optimum anthesis window of 10 days, longer CPD significantly increased grain yield by >11% at two sites and tended to increase grain yield at another 11 sites (not statistically significant). The average yield increase across these sites was 5.5%. There was no consistent trend whereby a specific yield component was responsible for the increase across sites. We suggest that CPD can be extended by genetic selection and by sacrificing some of the vegetative period without any detriment to grain yield. We also found that CPD is increased by extending the duration from sowing to flowering through earlier sowing, which may be associated with increased yields in some environments. We conclude that, for the same anthesis date, a longer CPD may be beneficial in moderately favourable rainfed environments with a relatively even distribution of rainfall. We explore the basis of these relationships and implications for growers and plant breeders.

Waxy proteins play a key role in amylose synthesis in wheat. Eight lines of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) carrying mutations in the three homoeologous waxy loci, Wx-A1, Wx-B1 and Wx-D1, have been classified by near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Sample spectra from wheat seeds were collected by using a NIR spectrometer in the wave rage 1600–2400 nm, and then Raman spectrometer in the wave range 700–2000 cm^–1. All samples were split randomly into a calibration sample set containing 284 seeds (∼35 seeds per line) and a validation sample set containing the remaining 92 seeds. Classification of these samples was undertaken by discriminant analysis combined with principal component analysis (PCA) based on the raw spectra processed by appropriate pre-treatment methods. The classification results by discriminant analysis indicated that the percentage of correctly identified samples by NIR spectroscopy was 84.2% for the calibration set and 84.8% for the validation set, and by Raman spectroscopy 94.4% and 94.6%, respectively. The results demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy combined with chemometrics as a rapid method is superior to NIR spectroscopy in classifying eight partial waxy wheat lines with different waxy proteins.

Drought stress is one of the main limitations to crop growth and yield. Efficient nitrogen (N) nutrition may moderate the negative effects of drought stress on plants through retention of metabolic activities. The present study was conducted to investigate the biochemical responses of two millet species, foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P.Beauv.) and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), under two irrigation regimes (based on 55% and 85% soil-water depletion) and two N fertiliser levels (0 and 112.5 kg N ha^–1) at four sowing dates (22 June and 6 July 2015, 14 and 30 June 2016). Drought stress increased hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), malondialdehyde (MDA) and other aldehyde contents of the plants, ultimately leading to 52% and 55% reductions in grain yield in foxtail millet and proso millet, respectively. Antioxidant activities showed significant increases under drought stress. Nitrogen application decreased H₂O₂, MDA and other aldehyde contents and activities of antioxidant enzymes, whereas it increased chlorophyll, carotenoid, phenolic compound and proline contents as well as grain yield. Higher grain yields were obtained with early planting dates under sufficient water supply, whereas superior yields were obtained with delayed planting dates under water stress owing to lower temperatures and evaporation rates. The results suggest that N application could mitigate the adverse effects of drought stress on millet plants by promoting osmoregulation, alleviating lipid peroxidation, and improving plant physiological traits. Foxtail millet had higher antioxidant potential than proso millet, resulting in greater capacity to inhibit production of free oxygen radicals and making it the more drought-tolerant species.

Crop varieties interact with the environment, which affects their performance. It is imperative to know how the environment affects these crop varieties in order to choose carefully the optimal environment for growth. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is grown in varying environmental conditions including conventional and no-tillage under both irrigated and rainfed farming systems. Hence, genotype × environment × management interactions can affect yield stability. An experiment was conducted in north-western New South Wales, Australia, to investigate these interactions and to determine possible environment types to help focus crop improvement. Eight environments were considered and genotype plus genotype × environment interaction (GGE) biplots were generated to assess genotype stability and interactions with environment. Genotype and environment main effects and genotype × environment interactions (GEI) accounted for 12.6%, 66% and 12% of the total variation in yield, respectively. The most productive and stable environments were not tilled, irrespective of moisture status. The most stable and productive genotype was Sonali, closely followed by PBA Slasher and ICCV 96853. The eight test environments grouped into two environment types that differentiated on the basis of tillage regime. Moisture was not a determinant of site grouping.

Pulses such as faba bean (Vicia faba L.) have received significant attention in recent years because of their nutritional properties and health benefits. However, in many faba bean varieties, these nutritional qualities are hindered by the presence of anti-nutritional factors such as vicine and convicine. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the relative performance of key varieties of faba bean for a range of nutritional and anti-nutritional seed quality traits. Seed material consisting of 10 faba bean varieties grown in replicated field trials at Charlick and Freeling in South Australia over consecutive seasons (2016 and 2017) was provided by the national breeding program in Australia. Predicted variety or variety × environment means and variance parameter estimates for the final fitted models are reported for moisture (94.8–101.4 g kg^–1), seed weight (523.3–813.7 g⁻¹ 1000 seed), protein (269.5–295.3 g kg^–1), total starch (386.9–410.1 g kg^–1), amylose (126–150.3 g kg^–1), amylopectin (254–258.2 g kg^–1), percentage total starch comprising amylose (33.5–37.4%) and amylopectin (62.6–66.5%), and anti-nutritional factors vicine (4.5–7.4 mg g^–1) and convicine (1.7–3.2 mg g^–1) and combined total vicine and convicine (6.4–9.6 mg g^–1). Information from this study will contribute to better understanding of nutritional and anti-nutritional properties of faba bean and will help the national breeding program to deliver better performing varieties for Australia’s key growing regions. The information will also prove useful in the processing and development of healthy, value-added foods and ingredients, leading to increased consumer acceptance and demand for faba bean, ultimately providing benefits to growers.