New Grain Variety

A team of Adelaide University scientists has produced a low toxin white-vetch grain that has offers health benefits and economic possibilities.

Common vetch is useful to farmers as a versatile nitrogen-fixing crop in cereal crop rotations. The plant grows well in southern Australia and has been used as feed for cattle and other ruminants. Unfortunately, its seeds contain about 1.1% of a known nerve toxin that is harmful to monogastric (single stomach) species such as pigs and poultry.

Classic Mendelian plant breeding techniques have allowed researchers to reduce the toxicity of the grain by nearly two thirds to 0.4%, using a rapid selection procedure to produce a series of easily recognised white seeded varieties that cannot be confused with red lentils. In the past, red lentils have caused more than a few problems.

Dr Max Tate who heads the research, first voiced concernw in the 1990s at the export of a toxic Australian feed vetch as a cheap substitute for food grade lentils. This stalled the vetch grain export industry in 1993, with import bans imposed by India, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In 1998/99, another outbreak of orange-vetch exports caused Sri-Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh to ban importations of Australian vetch.

Researchers expect that fully adapted, high yielding, low toxin white-vetch varieties could supersede the current orange seeded lines. This could enable Australia's vetch grain production industry to expand, putting a stop to the substitution of the toxic orange-vetch grain for food-grade red lentils in overseas markets.

Feeding trials at the Pig and Poultry Production Institute on Adelaide University's Roseworthy campus have shown that low toxin (<0.45%) lines of common vetch, can be tolerated by three week old chicks. The team researchers have also developed a fast infrared analysis system and tested over 3000 accessions from around the world in a search for naturally occurring low toxin vetches.