Edaphic constraints to perennial grasses: Change the plant to suit the soil or vice versa?

Abstract

Abstract This paper outlines the main edaphic constraints to the growth of perennial grasses that are likely to be encountered in temperate Australia. It is argued that soil management is often the appropriate means of minimising constraints such as nutrient deficiencies. However, breeding and selection for tolerance to low concentrations of essential nutrients can be beneficial where nutrients are required in subsoil soil solutions to maintain root membrane and cell integrity (phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), boron (B), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn)). Tolerance to toxicities of aluminium (Al), Mn, hydrogen ions (H+), and B is economically justified as a major breeding objective where these problems are present and the costs of soil treatment are relatively expensive e.g., ameliorating subsoils and soils supporting production systems with low gross margins per hectare. Success in breeding for salinity tolerance in pasture species has been minimal. More work is needed at the plant physiological level to defin...