Natasha Teakle
Australian Meat Processor Corporation Award Winner
Expanding our horizons
To satisfy the increasing global demand for food, Australian farmers are under pressure to raise their production levels. Often the only option, particularly for livestock production, is to spread farming activities onto marginal land affected by salinity and waterlogging.
Farmers who ply the ‘salt lands’ need crops and pastures that can tolerate these extraordinary conditions—and their choice is very limited, usually to saltbush-based pastures. Unfortunately, saltbush-based pastures alone cannot meet the nutritional requirements of livestock and supplementary feed must be provided.
But Natasha Teakle, a research scientist from University of Western Australia, believes that Melilotus siculus—a salt tolerant legume that thrives in waterlogged conditions—may hold the key to increasing productivity on salt-affected land.
Natasha is using her award to study the physiological and genetic traits of legumes that can tolerate marginal soils.
“By learning more about how the legume Melilotus siculus survives in salty, waterlogged conditions, we will be able to identify crop and pasture species that are better suited to some of Australian agriculture’s particularly difficult situations,” said Natasha.
“I’ll be collaborating with American scientists, using the latest microarray technology and genomic information to identify the salt and waterlogging tolerant genes.
“Then by identifying more suitable plants, we will be able to improve the productivity, viability and profitability of salt land pasture systems.”
As well as helping livestock producers expand into marginal areas by using currently available plants, Natasha’s research could contribute to the development of new salt tolerant crop and pasture species.