Promising options for improving performance and proanthocyanidins of the forage legume sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop)
Open access
Date
2017-08Type
- Review Article
Abstract
Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is an underutilized perennial forage legume with high potential as a forage source for ruminants in grassland based livestock production systems. The species is also particularly valued for its content of proanthocyanidins (PA; also known as condensed tannins), which have been shown to improve animal health by reducing bloat, and by diminishing gastro-intestinal parasites, can reduce nitrogen losses through excreted urine and may also have the potential to lower methane emissions. However, sainfoin cultivation is not widespread today, mainly due to the limited availability of high performing cultivars and agronomic constraints such as slow establishment, poor competitive ability and limited yield stability. In this paper, we give an overview on the importance and the potential of sainfoin and review recent findings regarding cultivation practices and the variability observed for agronomic and quality traits. A special focus is placed on the potential and implications for targeted improvement through breeding. Results show that stability of sainfoin yields can be significantly improved when grown in mixtures with appropriate companion species and it was shown that the choice of cultivar, management practices and drought could have an impact on PA content and composition. Various studies demonstrate large variability in agronomic performance, PA concentration and PA composition among and within sainfoin accessions, highlighting the big potential to improve this species by breeding. In addition, we highlight recent advances in breeding research such as high rates of self-fertilization in this generally allogamous species and the development of molecular genetic resources, which build the basis for novel breeding strategies and the targeted exploitation of sainfoin germplasm in the future. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000171595Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
EuphyticaVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
SpringerSubject
Forage legume; Condensed tannins; Cultivation practices; Marker assisted breeding; Self-fertilizationOrganisational unit
03969 - Studer, Bruno / Studer, Bruno
Related publications and datasets
Is part of: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.168239
Notes
It was possible to publish this article open access thanks to a Swiss National Licence with the publisher.More
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