Cool‐Season Grain Legumes Production and Rhizobial Interactions in Australian Dryland Agriculture

In this chapter we review recent advances in cool-season pulse production in Australia and how rhizobial, soil, and environmental factors impact on productivity. Nationally, pulse production has continued to increase to about 2 × 106 t yr−1, but in recent years the capacity for nitrogen (N2) fixation has been limited, especially due to insufficient moisture in 2002 and through the emergence of Ascochyta blight in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) crops across southern Australia, in addition to abiotic factors such as extremes in soil pH (highly acidic or alkaline soils), temperature, soil moisture, nutrients, and chemical residues have a significant impact on N2 fixation and pulse production in Australia.