About

A four-year research investment is seeking partners to accelerate development of acid-soil-tolerant faba bean varieties to improve performance on acidic Australian soils (pH (CaCl2) <5.0). Faba bean production is constrained by soil acidity in Western Australia, South Australia, southern New South Wales and parts of Victoria, reducing root growth, nodulation, nitrogen fixation, crop vigour and grain yield; this project will deliver germplasm, genetic knowledge and breeding tools by identifying and validating novel tolerance sources from Australian and international germplasm, improving understanding of the physiological, biochemical and genetic mechanisms of tolerance, and translating discoveries into breeder-ready lines. The program will use controlled-environment screening, field-based validation and modern genomic approaches to identify traits linked to root growth, nodulation, nitrogen fixation, establishment and yield, address both surface and sub-surface acidity, develop validated high-throughput phenotyping methods, screening protocols and molecular markers, and validate germplasm across representative production environments with supporting genetic, phenotypic and marker datasets to enable immediate use in breeding programs. Breeder-ready germplasm should demonstrate at least a 10% yield advantage over benchmark varieties on acid soils (pH (CaCl2) below 5.0) and outputs must be developed in strong collaboration with Australian commercial and public faba bean breeding programs to support rapid incorporation into breeding pipelines.