While several new varieties of winter crops will be released before next year’s crop, because of seed build-up needs, now is a good time to plan ahead in respect to choosing varieties. Variety advances are occurring each year in most crop types and there is a constant need to reassess for issues in addition to yield, such as changing disease resistance profiles.
Variety yield evaluations (over several years) and variety characteristics, including resistance levels to important diseases, as reported in the latest edition of the NSW DPI Winter Crop Variety Sowing Guide, is a good place to start from when assessing varieties for next season sowing. Note there have been some changes in wheat variety resistance rating to stripe rust because of a new rust strain identifies last year. Update reports will notify us as research provides more details on variety susceptibility.
For those that have not updated grain oat varieties for some time, a couple of newer lines have improved yield on Mitika (which several years ago surpassed Echidna as the leading grain variety). Kowari, a 2017 release, in five years of independent testing (GRDC funded National Variety Trials) has averaged 3.0 per cent higher yield. It is similar maturity to Mitika, dwarf type but a little taller but still with good straw, excellent grain quality and improved leaf rust resistance.
In southern NSW, Bannister has yielded 7.0pc better than Mitika over five years of assessment. It is taller, a few days later in maturity and has good leaf rust and bacterial blight resistance. Williams has also slightly out-yielded Mitika.
A “winter habit” oat breeding program has unfortunately not been in existence for some years in Australia and therefore varieties to supersede types like Eurabbie, Bimbil and Blackbutt are no longer coming through. “Winter habit” varieties are especially suited to early sowing and don’t run to head far too early, an important feature for maximum grazing recovery and quality winter feed when early sowing.
Breeding for varieties with “winter habit” is fortunately an important part of wheat and triticale breeding programs with several recent releases improving choice. Cartwheel triticale for example, a 2016 release, is a “winter habit” dual-purpose variety suited to early March onwards sowing. Its big advantage is stripe rust resistance (plus leaf and stem rust resistance), particularly important for early sown varieties. Cartwheel has good straw strength and yields well for grazing and grain.
Newer wheat varieties with “winter habit” include Longswood and Kittyhawk with at least one other new release (e.g. AGT 9150) expected later this year.
There are a host of slow maturing, but spring habit, oat varieties released in recent years, such as Warlock this year, mainly used for winter and spring grazing. Mostly new releases have improved leaf (crown) rust resistance. However because of often limited resistance genes a varieties resistance status constantly downgrades with evolving rust strains. Hence the need to constantly upgrade variety choice.
Astute, a 2015 grain triticale release, is the standout grain only variety with NVT trials showing it to be the best performer across the state. It particularly suits medium to higher rainfall areas, has good straw strength and resistance to the three rusts.
Durum variety upgrades were released in 2017. Bindaroi, early mid-season variety, in NVT trials has yielded better than Caparoi, better straw strength, improved quality and the first durum with a claim of improved crown rot tolerance (although low compared to better bread wheat varieties). Vittaroi is a new early maturing line especially suited to irrigation.
More variety details for winter crops are available from the NSW DPI “2018 Winter Crop Variety Guide” authored by Peter Matthews, Don McCaffery and Leigh Jenkins.
Next week: Grass weeds into good feed and control options.
- Bob Freebairn is an agricultural consultant based at Coonabarabran. Email robert.freebairn@bigpond.com or contact (0428) 752 149.
