CSIRO Publishing Books Journals About Us Shopping Cart You are here: Journals > Crop & Pasture Science   
Crop & Pasture Science
  Plant Sciences, Sustainable Farming Systems & Food Quality
 
Search
 
 
  Advanced Search
   

Journal Home
About the Journal
Editorial Board
Contacts
Content
Current Issue
Just Accepted
All Issues
Most Read Papers
Special Issues
Research Fronts
Farrer Reviews
Sample Issue
For Authors
General Information
Notice to Authors
Submit Article
Open Access
For Referees
General Information
Review Article
Annual Referee Index
For Subscribers
Subscription Prices
Customer Service
Print Publication Dates

 Early Alert
Subscribe to our email Early Alert or RSS feeds for the latest journal papers.

 Connect with us
facebook   youtube

 PrometheusWiki
PrometheusWiki
Protocols in ecological and environmental plant physiology

 

Article << Previous     |     Next >>   Contents Vol 57(7)

Root and shoot attributes of indigenous perennial accessions of the wild mungbean (Vigna radiata ssp. sublobata)

G. J. Rebetzke A, R. J. Lawn B C

A Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072; present address: CSIRO Plant Industry, PO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
B School of Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811 and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Davies Laboratory, Townsville, Qld 4814, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: robert.lawn@jcu.edu.au
 
PDF (273 KB) $25
 Export Citation
 Print
  


Abstract

Root and shoot attributes of 12 indigenous perennial accessions of the wild mungbean (Vigna radiata ssp. sublobata) were evaluated in early and late summer sowings in the field in SE Queensland. All but one of the accessions were obtained from the Townsville–Charters Towers region of NE Queensland. In both sowings, the accessions developed thickened tap and lateral roots, the taproot thickening extending to a depth of 0.20–0.30 m below the soil surface, depending on accession. The thickened lateral roots emerged from the taproot within 0.10 m of the soil surface, and extended laterally up to 1.10 m, remaining close to the soil surface. Differences among the accessions in gross root morphology and phenology were relatively small. There were differences among the accessions in the production of seed, tuberised root, and recovered total plant biomass. Depending on accession and sowing date, the tuberised roots accounted for up to 31% of recovered plant biomass and among accessions, the root biomass was positively correlated with total plant biomass. In contrast, seed biomass represented only a small proportion of recovered plant biomass, up to a maximum of 14%, depending on accession and sowing date. Among accessions, the proportion of seed biomass tended to be negatively correlated with that of tuber biomass. The perennial trait appears to be unique to Australian accessions of wild mungbean obtained from coastal-subcoastal, speargrass-dominant woodlands of NE Queensland. Although the ecological significance of the trait remains conjectural, field observation indicates that it facilitates rapid plant re-growth following early summer rainfall, especially where dry-season fire has removed previous-season above-ground growth.

Keywords: bush tucker, environmental adaptation, legume germplasm, root tubers.


   
Subscriber Login
Username:
Password:  

    


 
Top  Email this page
 
Legal & Privacy | Contact Us | Help

CSIRO

© CSIRO 1996-2012