From: Raúl SEVAMEXICO
To: <MULCH-L@cornell.edu> (MULCH-L)
Subject:: tarwi seed
Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005
Steve:I’m interested on getting Lupinus mutabilis seeds. The idea is to get enough seeds to reproduce them and later distribute it among a group of regional farmers that just started to work with AV/CC. I read you are aware of a source for Tarwi. Could you help me on this matter?
Best Regards,
Raúl Medina de Wit
Trabajamos con la naturaleza, no en contra de ella
SEVA /Agrorganicos de México, S.P.R. de R.L.
Av. Revolución # 23-D, La Barca
C.P. 47910, Jalisco, México
______________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005
From: Steven Vanek
Subject: Tarwi seed
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu (MULCH-L)
Hi Raul, and sorry so late in responding. There are probably thousands of kilos of tarwi produced in the region where I work, so no problem getting the seed. It is as close as the market 15 blocks from here. Transport may be the challenge, and somewhat extra-legally, unless you have friends in the seed import business or at universities, research institutes etc. I don't know if tarwi is well enough studied to know what seed-borne diseases might come along if we sent some w/o treatment -- that's a question prob. worth thinking about. Do you know anyone traveling Mex/Cochabamba these days?In Peru and Ecuador there are people who work with varieties of tarwi, which is not as common here, so you might want to try contacts there. The most that is done here is selecting seed of tarwi with all white seeds (no mancha), so that the crop comes out more white than manchado (higher value in the market). Tarwi is notorious for out-crossing and not maintaining its varietal traits, so you may be better off with the "common" variety grown here or elsewhere anyway, esp for AVCC use. In Ecuador they have an early variety, Andino 450, with more uniform maturation, which I think successfully isolates it from outcrossing. Eduardo Peralta with INIAP/ecuador and the Universidad Catolica si no me equivoco, would be the person to google on that, or I can dig up a reference.
A few years back I saw an interesting publication from a smaller tec. univ. in Mexico, on the internet only as far as I know, and the link is now dead, of a licenc. or grad student who had found that tarwi was highly effective in maintaining the availability of added P fertilizer, compared to plain bulk soil where P fertilizer was fixed. He or she called it an "efecto coadyuvante", a pesticide metaphor... That is part of the story that I'm researching in Potosi, is Tarwi and other legume's interesting relationship with soil P.Saludos por alla --
SteveSteven Vanek
Graduate Student
Soil and Crop Science, Cornell University
Casilla 3183, Cochabamba BOLIVIA______________________________________________________________ From: Steven Vanek
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Lupin diseases
Raul et al.:
The book "Enfermedades de los cultivos bolivianos" (Calderon, J.A.; 1984) lists at least one seed-borne tarwi disease, a downy mildew caused by Phytophthora sp. Seed treatment might be a good idea. Does anyone else have experience with this?There is also anthracnosis and a fungal leaf spot listed, each with various causal organisms.
Best, Steve
______________________________________________________________ From: "H. David Thurston"
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: Lupin diseases
Hi Steve,
According to this article, tarwi is not attacked by Phytophthora erythroseptica. Perhaps other species of Phytophthora may be a problem. You will find a number of references to tarwi using this URL -my database - http://tapp.mannlib.cornell.edu/
Lupins, a New Host of Phytophthora erythroseptica in Spain
A. Trapero-Casas, A. Rodríguez-Tello, and W. J. Kaiser, Departamento de Agronomía, ETSIAM, Universidad de Córdoba, Apartado 3048, 14080 Córdoba, Spain
Posted 9 June 2000. Plant Health Progress doi:10.1094/PHP-2000-0609-01-HN.
Reproduced, with permission, from Plant Disease, April 2000.
Several lupin ( Lupinus ) species are native to southern Spain (2). The white lupin, Lupinus albus L., is the most important crop, and its seeds are used for human consumption and animal feed. Accessions of three indigenous species, L. albus , L. angustifolius L., and L. luteus L., and an introduced species from South America, L. mutabilis Sweet, were planted during October in replicated yield trials in acidic soils (pH 6.5) in the Sierra Morena Mountains (elevation 350 m) north of Córdoba. Root and crown rot disease was widespread and very serious on the indigenous lupins, particularly in several patches of white lupin cultivars. Infected plants were devoid of feeder rootlets, and the tap roots, crowns, and lower stems were necrotic and turned dark brown to black. Rotted roots were colonized heavily by fungal oospores. Many affected plants wilted and died before flowering. A Phytophthora sp. was isolated consistently from the necrotic roots and crowns of symptomatic white lupins. The same fungus also was isolated from the necrotic root tissues of the other indigenous lupin species. Isolates of the fungus from diseased white lupins were homothallic and produced oospores rapidly and abundantly on corn meal and V8 agars. Antheridia were amphigynous, and aplerotic oospores ranged from 22 to 32 µm (average 27 µm). Nonpapillate, ovoid-obpyriform sporangia were produced only in water on simple sympodial sporangiophores. Cultures on V8 agar grew at 5 to 30°C (optimum approximately 25°C). The species was identified as Phytophthora erythroseptica Pethybr. based on morphology of oospores, sporangia, and other cultural characteristics (1). Koch's postulates were fulfilled by planting seeds of white lupin cv. Multulupa in sterile potting soil infested with a blended culture on V8 agar from a white lupin isolate of P. erythroseptica and reisolating the fungus after 28 days from lesions that developed on the roots and crowns of inoculated plants incubated in a greenhouse at 16 to 26°C. The fungus was not isolated from white lupins seeded in potting soil inoculated with sterile V8 agar. In pathogenicity tests, two isolates of P. erythroseptica from white lupins caused severe symptoms on the roots and crowns of inoculated white lupin cv. Multulupa similar to those observed on white lupins naturally infected in field trials. These isolates also caused root and crown rots on inoculated L. luteus and L. angustifolius . The fungus did not infect the roots or crowns of tarwi ( L. mutabilis cv. SCG 20), alfalfa ( Medicago sativa cv. Moapa), bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Contender), chickpea ( Cicer arietinum cv. Blanco Lechoso), faba bean ( Vicia faba cv. Arboleda), lentil ( Lens culinaris cv. local), pea ( Pisum sativum cv. Lancet), soybean ( Glycine max cv. Akashi), or subterranean clover ( Trifolium subterraneum cv. Seaton-park). The tests were repeated, and the results were similar. This is the first report of P. erythroseptica infecting Lupinus spp.
References
1. D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro. 1996. Phytophthora Diseases Worldwide. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN.
2. B. Valdés et al. 1987. Flora Vascular de Andalucía Occidental. Ketres, Barcelona, Spain.H. David Thurston
Dept. of Plant Pathology
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Viva la yuca !!
http://www.tropag-fieldtrip.cornell.edu/docthurston/smokinhome.html______________________________________________________________ From: Rolando Bunch
Date: October 27, 2005
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: RE: Tarwi seed
Friends,The availability of P fertilizer in the soil is greatly increased by the addition of any large amount of green organic matter to the soil. Is there any reason to think the organic matter from tarwi would do this better than that of any other green organic matter?
Sincerely,
Roland Bunch______________________________________________________________ From: YankeePerm@aol.com
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005
Subject: Re: was Tarwi seed Phosphorous accumulation
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu (MULCH-L)
Many legumes are phosphorous accumulators. I do not know if this is the case with tarwi.
DH
Barking Frogs Permaculture Center
Florida______________________________________________________________ To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu (MULCH-L)
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 2005
From: Dennis Argall
Subject: Re: Tarwi seed
Lupins have proteoid roots, which accumulate phosphorus.http://www.tau.ac.il/~ecology/virtau/3-philip_nemoy/cluster_roots.htm
A number of Australian native plants also have this adaptation to ancient soils with very low phosphorus levels. Many of these keel over when farming adds superphosphate.
In the eucalypts there is another adaptation... I have been told in the past that eucalyptus oil is a by-product of a complexity in ATP synthesis in phosphorus deficient soils but have no source for that now. Hence the super-weed behaviour of eucalypts in some exotic poor soils situations.. poor locally maybe but rich compared with natural home soil circumstances of many eucalypts.
In our small organic garden environment, Hakea self-seed and we allow them some growth among food plants. Acacia, of course, self-seed, as do casuarina, both pioneer species on damaged soils; both nitrogen fixers, but I understand they raise rather than lower pH, unlike peas and beans (can't speak for lupins). We use fast-growing self-seeded acacia for multiple functions - deep soil opening, deep soil organic content increase, nitrogen fixation, frequent pruning for mulch, shade for things like coffee, climbing frame for beans, etc. Conventional farmers having bulldozed acacia and applied superphosphate marvel at effect, but effect over time is probably mainly three year nitrogen effect from acacias. We have trouble getting lupins to grow strongly, doubtless and inoculant absence with sequela of a weak plant-hungry slug synergy.
This is no case for use of hakea, acacia, casuarina anywhere away from home; observation of local thrivers seems best to me... I like to compare soil keeping with bee-keeping; good production depends on generous support and skilful theft in natural circumstances.
Should we seek to carry things like lupin and their bacterial associates everywhere, or work on natural local soil communities?
Dennis Argall
Austrailia
www.aplaceof.info______________________________________________________________ From: Steven Vanek
To: MULCH-L@cornell.edu
Subject: P and organic matter/plant speciesWell, it seems like an interesting discussion developing -- some thoughts --
- To me this partly boils down to the quality vs quantity "debate" (discussion, really) on soil OM or green manures -- ie, is it mostly the quantity of organic substrate you add to the soil (or that you add in fertilizer) and the N, P, K, and micronutrients that come along with it that are relatively easily cycled through soil microbes and liberated to plant roots at some point along the way...
--AND/OR (prob. more AND than OR) are there particular species with qualities of doing a really good job of accumulating P (or N or K), from either native, tough to get at sources, or applied organic/inorganic NPK. People seem excited about Tithonia/P in this regard, no?
-- AND/OR are the rhizosphere effects of particular species of legumes, grasses etc. effective in making nutrients more available, independent of the nutrients accumulated in the roots or aboveground biomass -- for example white lupine with proteoid roots, that would leave zones of soil with P that has been solubilized by chelation activity of organic acids, and has even been shown to be able to "feed" P to wheat plants in association where the roots overlap.
-- There are a lot of fancy mechanisms that have been suggested about plants/P (proteoid roots, soil acidification by N-fixing legumes, mycorrhizae), However Roland's suggestion that presence or "just plain quantity" of organic matter (and P content, it would seem) is one of the largest factors, makes a lot of sense to me and is supported by lots of experiences in lots of places. P associated with organic matter has a "slow, but not too slow", pattern of release and OM in general is likely able to block the fixing ability of aluminum and iron oxides in soil.
-- White, blue, and several other lupines I think have proteoid roots, but from what I've read so far, Tarwi is not thought to have this adaptation (Sooner rather than later I'll go looking for some on tarwi). To me that doesn't make me positive that something interesting isn't going on with Tarwi and P. It seems to be able to accumulate large amounts of P (just based on typical harvests and grain P content) in soil situations that are far from optimal. Soils in the Bolivian highlands are of course a lot younger than some in Australia, but can also be quite depleted.
- I'd love to hear more about the P/eucalyptus story-- another plant besides Tarwi that surprises one with an ability to survive in relatively low P soils. Mycorrhizae might be part of the story there?
- An interesting and lengthy review of what we know and don't know about plants relation to soil P is
Hinsinger, Philippe. Bioavailability of soil inorganic P in the rhizosphere as affected by root-induced chemical changes: a review. Plant and Soil 237: 173195, 2001.
Best to all,
Steve______________________________________________________________