Research conducted by The University of Western Australia (UWA) School of Plant Biology and Institute of Agriculture has demonstrated that several herbaceous legumes may be viable alternatives to lucerne under low phosphorus conditions for West Australian farmers in areas where lucerne performs poorly.

The research compared the growth of 10 native and exotic herbaceous legumes to lucerne growing in glasshouses, supplied with different levels of phosphorus.

The study found that four species, Bituminaria bituminosa, Glycine canescens, Kennedia prostrata, and K. prorepens, grew better than lucerne in low phosphorus conditions and that two species, B. bituminosa and G. canescens, used phosphorus applied to soil more efficiently than other species where low phosphorus was a problem.