How well do you know your nodules? Land owners learn the role of legumes

Workshops are running across the South East and ACT this spring to educate land managers about the importance of legumes.

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South East Local Land Services will provide information about the role of legumes, why they are important and how legume nodules are formed.

There's plenty to learn about what can influence nodule health, how to assess nodules in the field and how to improve nodulation.

Local Land Services say legumes play an important role in pasture systems providing high quality feed and fixing nitrogen in the soil.

"Pasture legumes play a crucial role in a healthy and sustainable pasture, but only if they are well nodulated and if the nodules are functioning properly," Local Land Services senior agriculture advisor Jo Powells said.

"Nodulation occurs when a specific type of bacteria in the soil called rhizobia infect the roots of a legume plant forming a small lump or nodule at the point of contact.

"The rhizobia and legume form a symbiotic relationship but soil conditions such as acidity, fertility and moisture can influence how successful the relationship is."

"Well nodulated legumes provide a biologically sustainable source of soil nitrogen that can be used to promote the growth of our pastures, consequently providing more feed of higher quality for our livestock."

"We have learnt a lot over the past ten or so years about the factors that influence legume nodulation and nitrogen fixation and these workshops will focus on what land managers can do to assist with their pasture legume performance," she said.

Legumes play an important role in healthy and sustainable pastures.

The Knowing Your Nodules workshops will commence in late September, running from 10am to 2pm at the following locations:

Milton - Thursday, September 26

Berry - Friday, September 27

Southern Highlands - Thursday, October 3

Goulburn - Friday, October 4

Bungendore - Saturday, October 12

Braidwood - Monday, October 14

Bega - Thursday, October 24

Moruya - Friday, October 25

ACT - Saturday, October 26

Bombala - Thursday, October 31

Cooma - Friday, November 1

Contact your nearest Local Land Services office for details and to RSVP.

The Knowing Your Nodules workshop has been developed by South East Local Land Services and incorporates findings from recent pasture legume nodule surveys undertaken by Local Land Services staff from across southern NSW and the ACT, and also encompasses recent work from NSW Department of Primary Industries, GRDC, the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food and CSIRO.

Knowing Your Nodules workshops are supported by Local Land Services through funding provided by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.