Developing acid-soil-tolerant faba bean varieties to expand faba bean adaption

Overview The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is seeking a research provider to undertake a four-year investment developing acid-soil-tolerant faba bean varieties, with the aim of expanding faba bean adaptation to acidic soil environments across Australian growing regions. About Faba bean is an important pulse crop in Australian farming systems, providing valuable rotational benefits through biological nitrogen fixation, disease breaks and improved productivity of subsequent crops. Production and expansion of the crop are constrained by soil acidity, particularly in Western Australia, South Australia, southern New South Wales and parts of Victoria, where acidic soils reduce root growth, nodulation, nitrogen fixation, crop vigour and grain yield. While liming remains an important soil management practice, sub-surface acidity is often difficult, slow and costly to remediate, creating a need for complementary genetic solutions. Recent GRDC investments have successfully delivered acid-tolerant rhizobia for faba bean, improving nodulation and nitrogen fixation under low pH conditions. However, the effectiveness of these inoculants depends on successful plant-rhizobia interactions, and current elite faba bean germplasm remains poorly adapted to acid soils (pH (CaCl2) below 5.0). Purpose Developing acid-soil-tolerant varieties is essential to fully realise the benefits of improved rhizobia strains and maximise productivity in acidic soil environments. The investment is intended to provide the germplasm, genetic knowledge and breeding tools required to support long-term genetic improvement of faba bean adaptation to acid soils, complementing existing soil amelioration practices and acid-tolerant rhizobia, supporting expansion into suitable regions, improving reliability on acid soils, and strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of the Australian faba bean industry. Objectives By 2033, Australian faba bean breeders have access to elite faba bean germplasm with a 10% yield gain when grown on acid soils By 2040, Australian faba bean growers have access to varieties with enhanced yield when grown on low pH soils (10% increase) Support expanded production into new regions and strengthen Australia's reputation as a supplier of high-quality faba beans to established and emerging markets Scope The scope includes: Identifying and validating novel sources of acid soil tolerance from Australian and international germplasm Improving understanding of the physiological, biochemical and genetic mechanisms underpinning acid soil tolerance Translating discoveries into practical breeding outcomes for Australian faba bean breeding programs Conducting controlled-environment screening and field-based validation to identify and characterise traits associated with improved performance on acidic soils, including traits linked to root growth, nodulation, nitrogen fixation, crop establishment and yield Addressing both surface and sub-surface soil acidity and generating robust, field-relevant data to support breeding and selection decisions across target production environments Developing validated high-throughput phenotyping methods, screening protocols and molecular markers that enable efficient selection for acid soil tolerance Delivering breeder-ready germplasm incorporating novel acid-soil-tolerance alleles, demonstrating improved performance under acidic soil conditions with a target yield advantage of at least 10% over benchmark varieties grown on acid soils of pH (CaCl2) below 5.0 Validating germplasm across representative production environments and supporting it with associated genetic, phenotypic and marker datasets to facilitate immediate use in breeding programs Contractor Requirements Strong collaboration with Australian commercial and public faba bean breeding programs throughout the project, to guide trait prioritisation, validation environments, phenotyping approaches and deployment pathways Ensure outputs align with breeding priorities and can be rapidly incorporated into breeding pipelines and early-generation selection programs Contract Terms and Conditions This is a four-year investment Offers will remain open for acceptance by the GRDC for a period of 6 months after the Closing Time Enquiries All requests for further information or clarification regarding this procurement must be made in writing (email) prior to 13 October 2026. Attention: Sarah Marchioro Organisation: Grains Research and Development Corporation Email: tenders@grdc.com.au