Evaluation of a germplasm collection of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum).
K. M. McCormick¹, R. M. Norton¹ and H. A Eagles ^2
1 Joint Centre for Crop Improvement, Longerenong College, University of Melbourne, Horsham, Victoria, 3401.
² Joint Centre for Crop Improvement, Victorian Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Horsham, Victoria, 3401.

Abstract

Two hundred and seven accessions of Fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum from 20 countries were grown in the Victorian Wimmera and compared for flowering time and duration, growth habit and seed yield. Flowering commencement ranged from 98 days after sowing to 147 days after sowing. Flowering duration ranged from 14 to 52 days and growth habits ranged from prostrate to erect. Seed yield varied from 0 kg/ha to 3487kg/ha with the currently grown genotype yielding only 1278 kg/ha. Significant variation occurred among the lines for all traits and the variation among countries was also significant.

Trigonella foenum-graecum has been grown to a limited extent in Australia since the mid 1980s. This leguminous species is used as a green manure crop, for seed production for the Asian condiment market or as a forage species. One major factor restricting the expansion of Fenugreek production is the limited evaluation of genetic material of the species. One advantage of Fenugreek over other "new crops" is its variety of uses at different crop stages. The objective of this study was to assess a collection of Trigonella foenum-graecum accessions for its morphological and physiological diversity in order to develop plant selection criteria for green manure, seed and pasture types suited to temperate climatic conditions. This paper reports the diversity exhibited for flowering time, growth habit and seed yield.

Materials and methods

Two hundred accessions of Trigonella foenum-graecum originating from 20 countries were sown in June, 1997, at Longerenong College, Dooen, Victoria on alkaline, grey, self-mulching clay. Seeds were inoculated with Rhizobium meliloti Trigonella strain before propagation in seedling trays. The accessions were transplanted 11-20 days after sowing into two row plots in an augmented in-complete block design. Flowering commencement was recorded when 50 % of plants in a plot had commenced flowering. Flowering duration was recorded as number of days from the start to finish of flowering. Growth habit during early flowering was scored on a 1 to 5 scale where 1 was very prostrate and 5 was very erect. Nodulation of the plant roots was scored at flowering time on a scale of 0 to 5, where 0 indicated the absence of nodules and 5 indicated an abundance of healthy nodules. Total plot yield was recorded and yield components were determined on 5 plants per plot. Data were analysed by Residual Maximum Likelihood (REML) analysis using Genstat Version 3.1.

Results and discussion

Table 1 summarises the estimated means and ranges for flowering commencement, flowering duration, growth habit and yield. Significant variation (P< 0.05) occurred among all accessions for the characters observed and there were significant differences among lines originating from different countries. Flowering commencement occurred over 7 weeks from mid September to early November, while flowering lasted between 14 and 52 days with most accessions flowering for 30 to 40 days. Growth habits ranged from very prostrate (1) to very erect (5). There was a strong relationship between growth habit and flowering commencement with late flowering lines more prostrate (r = -0.55, P<0.01). Russian and Afghan lines were quite late flowering, whereas Middle Eastern countries contained some very early flowering lines. The prostrate, late flowering types are not suitable for seed production but could be useful as pasture species, however some of the lines displayed poor vigour and do not appear to adapted to this environment.

Table 1: Flowering, growth habit and yield data for fenugreek accessions grouped by country of origin.

Origin	Number of accessions	Days from sowing to first flower		Flowering duration (days)		Growth habit score		Seed yield (kg/ha)
		Range	Mean	Range	Mean	Range	Mean		Range	Mean
All	207	98-147	111	14-52	40	1-5	3		0-3487	1613
Check Line1	1	-	110	-	39	-	4		-	1278
Afghanistan	11	113-129	122	27-40	36	1-3	1		721-2068	1524
Algeria	3	112-114	113	35-52	39	1-3	2		236-1288	621
Egypt	22	102-110	106	38-51	44	2-5	4		377-2688	1274
Ethiopia	16	103-125	109	37-47	42	1-4	3		200-2228	1300
India	30	103-112	108	33-44	39	1-4	3		467-3003	1873
Iran	33	98-123	114	33-50	41	1-4	3		814-3483	1788
Morocco	5	105-110	108	36-44	41	3-3	3		1353-3279	2484
Oman	13	106-113	110	34-45	40	3-5	4		475-1683	1025
Pakistan	23	103-125	110	31-45	38	1-4	2		575-2619	1796
Spain	4	112-147	122	14-40	32	1-2	2		2-2369	1469
Syria	3	103-110	106	38-43	41	2-3	3		1357-3122	1967
Turkey	19	109-120	111	35-47	40	1-3	3		233-2903	2075
USSR	9	113-133	118	20-44	41	1-4	2		221-1424	697
1 Check Line was supplied by Revell seeds Dimboola, and is the dominant line grown commercially in Victoria

Seventy-five accessions yielded 150 % or more, of the check line seed yield. Forty-seven of these accessions flowered early (at the same time or before the mean) and had semi-erect or erect growth habits (score ≥ 3). These lines could be suitable for seed production in the Wimmera and the drier Mallee environment. Most lines tested previously in the Mallee have been too late flowering and therefore poor yielding in that environment (G. Castleman pers. comm.). Accessions from Iran, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco and Syria yielded well (Table 1). Several lines have been selected for testing in multi-location trials in 1998. Table 2 describes five of the high yielding accessions. These lines exhibited greater branching and more pods per plant than the Check Line and had greater root nodulation except for one accession.
Table 2: Characteristics of higher yielding lines compared to the Check Line

Accession	Origin	Seed yield  (kg/ha)	Yield as % of check-line (%)	Days from sowing to first flower	Growth Habit	Nodulation Score  (1-5)	Branches per plant	Pods per plant
Check Line	Unknown	1278	100	110	4	2	10	57
A147	Iran	3483	272	103	2	4	18	98
A277	Egypt	2688	210	102	4	4	16	90
A169	India	2714	212	110	4	4	9	66
A297	Syria	3122	244	103	3	4	20	153
A265	Morocco	2549	199	110	3	1	19	151

Conclusion

This collection of Trigonella foenum-graecum contains accessions that vary widely in growth habit, flowering time and seed yield with more than half the collection yielding higher than the currently grown genotype. This is a good starting point for selecting lines, or providing breeding material with traits suited to the south-eastern Australian cropping environment.