SOW SUCCESS. - grainsearch.net.au

SOW SUCCESS.
Winter - Spring 2014
Adding value to your operation
through development of new and
improved, high-yielding
cereal varieties
In this issue

How to join the
GrainSearch
Variety Selection
Grower Network

New white wheat
release: Manning

Brewers, traders
demanding
Westminster
GRAINSEARCH.NET.AU
GRAINSEARCH VARIETY OVERVIEW
VARIETY
TYPE
WESTMINSTER
Malt barley
Main
Medium to tall, stiff straw and improved head retention.
Accredited as a malt variety.
All round disease resistance combined with excellent test weight.
Red
Long
High yielding late maturity dual purpose winter feed wheat.
Suited to early sowing and grazing. Early seedling vigour and good growth
rates give excellent dual purpose grazing potential.
Long
Strong seedling vigour, Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) resistance.
Excellent variety to sow early in the season or extend the grain filling capacity with irrigation. Dual purpose feed wheat.
Short
Suited to medium to high rainfall environments of Southern Australia.
A limited amount of Commercial Seed will be available to purchase in 2015
season (anticipated, see page 7 for details).
REVENUE
SEASON DESCRIPTION
grained
feed wheat
MANNING
White
grained
feed wheat
BEAUFORT
Red
grained
feed wheat
GrainSearch 2014 Season trial site locations
2014 NVT entries
Murnong Farming, Inverleigh
2705-26A
Full trial program plus mini-bulk up of NVT material
Potential new feed barley line entered into selected main and long
Horsham
season sites
Full trial program
Manning
Dookie
Our new white feed wheat contin-
Replicated trial of H45 type wheats
ued evaluation in key HRZ sites
Cobram/Barooga (NSW)
Replicated evaluation of the four leading H45 type wheat lines
Westminster
Now an NVT standard line at most
major main and long season barley
Mallee Region
Leading shortest season wheat and barley lines
growing sites
Boyanup/Manjimup region (WA)
Revenue
On-farm evaluation sites for Westminster Barley
Now an NVT standard line at most
main and long season and early
Werribee
Yield potential of Manning and Revenue wheats under irrigation
sowing sites
GRAINSEARCH CALENDAR
Aug 20
Oct 15-16
BCG Horsham Industry Field day
GrainSearch’s full evaluation trials
SFS ‘Agrifocus’ at Westmere
Oct
IKC Cobram/Barooga Trial Site
4 leading GrainSearch H45 type wheats
TBC*
GrainSearch Inverleigh
Trial Site Inspection day
TBC*
GrainSearch Dookie
Trial Site Inspection day
*Dates and further details will be posted on the GrainSearch website.
JOIN NOW!
GrainSearch Variety Selection
Grower Network
GrainSearch varieties are so successful because we
select them in close cooperation with both:
 Growers to ensure agronomic traits delivering
high, reliable yields; and
 The industry to meet their specifications for a
good uptake of the selected varieties
With GrainSearch’s rapid expansion we are looking to
further strengthen grower involvement in key growing regions. As a member of our “Variety Selection Grower Network”, you will access the newest promising varieties for evaluation with the aim to provide direct input into GrainSearch’s variety selection program.
If you would like to participate in any of the outlined programs, contact our Development Manager,
Philip Jobling on 0448 318 262 or [email protected] to discuss details of involvement.
Horsham (Wimmera)
Two new potential malt barley lines. Our collaboration with Barrett Burston Malting (BBM) provides us with an
ideal base to work toward meeting their malting needs, whilst delivering growers with higher yielding and
strong disease resistance traits.
Southern Riverina/NE Vic
GrainSearch is working with cereal breeders at UniQuest (University of Queensland) to release a new H45
type wheat with greatly improved yield potential and a full rust resistance package. Within the next couple
of seasons we will need larger, farm sized production trials to gather data and make the final variety selection from the remaining top potential lines.
HRZ (Including Western District Vic, Tasmania, SE SA, SW WA and regions with irrigation)
We are continuing to work with BBM to select at least one new HRZ malting barley line with a different end
use to the very successful Westminster. Once selections are narrowed to a few lines, we will need larger
farm scale production of grain to allow for a full malt accreditation assessment.
HRZ
A very high yielding and very strong disease resistant feed barley line is currently close to selection and we
would welcome the opportunity to do some farm scale production, to gather additional yield data to
strengthen GrainSearch’s marketing requirements.
HRZ - South West WA
We are assessing the potential of developing Westminster barley production for BBM to use in their malting
facility. In 2015 we will need key growers to commercially sow and harvest Westminster as a true longer season variety (early sowing).
Irrigation sites
MANNING and REVENUE feed wheats have the potential to provide ultra-high yields under irrigation. We
would welcome growers to run a full analysis on economic performance of these varieties using supplementary irrigation to extend their growing season.
Westminster domestic and export interest on the rise
barley
Over the past 12 months Westminster barley has
been increasingly purchased for both domestic malting purposes and for grain export to selected Asian
markets.
Westminster’s high extract levels are of particular
interest to the brewers and locally, Barrett Burston
Malting and CUB have continued to work with the
variety to evaluate its future within the extensive CUB
beer range.
Grain from the 2013 harvest has been purchased by
Barrett Burston Malting, GrainCorp, Riordan’s, Emerald and Malteurop. This increase in potential buyers
for Westminster malt grade grain, should result in an
upside for farmers wanting to sell/handle their grain
efficiently at harvest time and beyond.
Whilst GrainSearch cannot predict where receival
sites may be located each season, it is hoped that
this increased demand will see more storage facility
segregations for WSM 1. GrainSearch is also working
behind the scenes to increase interest in the variety
for malting purposes.
Westminster growers inspecting a 23,000t shipment from the
port of Melbourne
Minimising head loss in barley
All barley varieties will drop heads prior to harvest if
certain conditions apply. For some varieties the use of
a growth regulator, such as Modus Evo ®, is advised to
reduce the risk of losing heads. Growth regulators,
when applied at GS30, shorten the crop height and
increase the cell wall thickness. A growth regulator is
not usually required with Westminster grown on the
mainland, unless the crop is looking as though it could
be at risk (e.g.: a heavily tillering canopy with
high N reserves).
There are certain things that can be done to
reduce the risk of your barley variety dropping
heads.
Keep your nitrogen application under control. Too
much nitrogen can increase the crop canopy and
may reduce the thickness of the cell wall. A reduced
cell wall thickness may contribute to stem breaking
late in the season, particularly if the crop experiences
high winds. Too much nitrogen can also significantly
increase the height of the crop with the result that the
head can move more in the wind, increasing the risk
of stem breakage.
A frost or significant check to the crop may increase
the amount of late tillering. This can cause the crop to
have heads at different maturities. If you wait for the
latest heads to mature many of the early heads can
be over-ripe, with the result that these early heads can
break away. Make sure that you know at what moisture content you can deliver barley and harvest when
the crop is ready.
In a highly risky crop it may be worth investigating the
option of windrowing. This does add another cost,
however, it may be worth considering. A 5% loss
of heads in a 6t/ha crop worth $250/t amounts
to a loss of $75/ha.
Armyworms are often the culprit when it comes
to heads on the ground. Make sure that you regularly check your crop for these pests from head emergence onward.
Potassium is critical in maximising straw strength and it
is also crucial in water movement throughout the crop.
A crop deficient in Potassium will not be as drought
resistant and it may not have the same straw strength
as a crop with an ample supply of potassium. This element has possibly been overlooked for many years
throughout the Western Districts, so it may be worth
undertaking a tissue test in the crop to assess the levels.
Consult your agronomist for further information.
GrainSearch aims to undertake some research into
Potassium levels in barley.
barley
Promising new
versatile malt lines
Ralph Nischwitz (Barrett Burston Malting), James Wroth (Syngenta, UK), Paul Rigoni
(Barrett Burston Malting), Josh Walter (Murnong Farming), Col Hacking, Phil Jobling
(GrainSearch) reviewing the 2013 variety trials
GrainSearch is continuing to evaluate of a group of barley lines that
show promise to deliver a commercial variety that will be a domestic
malt grade variety, suited to the
Wimmera and/or spring sowing in
HRZ regions. We will report in more
detail on the progress of these lines
after we have the 2014 trials’ harvest results.
New Feed Barley shows early promise.
GrainSearch has submitted a potential new feed barley line into a limited
number of NVT sites this season (2014, Vic & Tas), to check its adaptability
to a range of alternate climate zones. Although the line is in the early stages of evaluation, the extremely promising results from the GrainSearch Evaluation Trials at Inverleigh and Marnoo in 2013 have encouraged
GrainSearch to commit to a mini-bulk up of the seed line in anticipation of
continued positive trial results in 2014 and 2015. Further details will be announced by GrainSearch at the end of this harvest season.
Westminster around Australia
GrainSearch has recently provided trial seed to 4
key growers in the HRZ of south east of WA, with
the aim of testing Westminster’s capability in this
region. BBM will use samples from the harvest to
check the malting performance of the grain
grown in this region.
Barrett Burston (BBM) is working toward
securing a reliable annual supply of
Westminster malting grade grain from
growers in QLD (Toowoomba) for delivery into their Brisbane malting facility.
In Tasmania both Cascade Brewery
(CUB) and Boag’s Brewery (Lion Nathan) have made the switch to using
Westminster for their malting purposes
starting from the 2014 harvest intake.
Westminster will replace Gairdner.
wheat
Revenue dual purpose wheat
testimonial:
Roger and Nadine Blanch, Blanch
Farming
Roger and Nadine Blanch run a dairy and cropping
enterprise at Millbrook, Clifton in south east Queensland.
Two years ago, on advice from their agronomist Donald
McMurrich of Felton Produce, they decided to try Revenue, a dual purpose graze and grain feed wheat. While
the crop is more commonly seen in Southern NSW and
Victoria it is now being successfully grown in south east
Queensland.
In the 2013 season their crop was sown in early May at
conventional seeding rates (55kg/ha) and fertilizer
(55kg/N/ha) applied pre-plant, with the omission of
starter fertilizer. A weed and disease control treatment
of MCPA and Flagship, with Bumper fungicide was applied in early June.
After favorable growing conditions (a warm winter and
above average rainfall) the Revenue was cut for hay
around the 25th July, producing 9.4 (4x4) bales/ha (est.
240kg). The hay was cleared by early August and the
intention was to apply urea on the cut area of crop, in
front of rain. This opportunity failed to eventuate as the
rainfall vanished.
September and October were dry months with no rain
until the 14th November when we had 25mm, minimally
helping with grain fill. The grain portion of the crop was
harvested on the 29th November.
Revenue yielded 2.47t/ha at harvest in contrast to a
standard bread wheat grown on another part of the
same paddock which yielded 2.89t/ha.
In summary of the 2013 Revenue crop Roger said “given
the season with limited rainfall from July onwards the
crop did considerably better than expected”.
With their dairy cows winter grazing the 2012 Revenue
crop Nadine noticed an improved milk yield compared
to grazing on forage oats.
The quality of the forage produced by Revenue is one
of the strengths of the variety, with Roger and Nadine
confirming this through nutritional analysis (see table).
Tim Ford, CEO of Feed Central, agreed with the
Blanch’s assessment of Revenue:
“Year in year out we find that wheat hay, silage
will test higher in both ME (energy) and protein
than oats and importantly more often than not
has better digestibility.”
Roger and Nadine have grown the variety for various
end uses including hay and silage making, grazing and
harvesting for grain.
After experiencing Revenue dual purpose wheat for the
last two seasons the Blanch’s have decided to replace
grazing oats in their farming system with Revenue as it
has proven to be a more versatile and profitable option.
(Thanks to Felton Produce for supplying this article.)
Revenue Forage Test
DM
Revenue Silage Test
26.1% DM
41.8%
NDF
43.1
NDF
54.7
ME
12.04
ME
10
Protein
31.3% Protein
Digestible DM
Relative Feed Value
159
9.3%
Digestible DM
67.6
Relative Feed Value
112
Revenue tops SFS Rural Finance
Crop Challenge results at Inverleigh in 2013
In the final year of the SFS Rural Finance Crop Challenge, GrainSearch’s Revenue proved a highly profitable crop to grow for the Landmark team, lifting them
over the line to win the three year Crop Challenge
Award.
The Landmark team grew an impressive 7.38t/ha Revenue crop with a Gross Margin of $1,853/ha. The key to
their success was being able to keep input costs low
and take advantage of the ability to graze the Revenue for added income.
Grazing of Revenue wheat crop
Refer to the SFS Trial Results (Vic 2013), pages 54-63.
New feed wheat launched:
Manning
GrainSearch launched Manning as a new long season,
white-grained feed wheat in the 2014 sowing season.
Manning was bred by CSIRO under the Dual Purpose
Feed Wheat Breeding Program and is ideally suited to
early sowing due to its BYDV Resistance.
Manning is a winter wheat variety that has proven to be
highly adaptable to a range of seasonal conditions and
offers growers the key traits:
 White grained Feed Wheat – suits those farmers
looking to sell feed grain to intensive feed industries
 BYDV Resistant – less need for insecticide based
seed treatments
 Grazing tolerant – good tillering for excellent early
feed production
 Long maturity – utilises late moisture or irrigation
wheat
Revenue Frost tolerance
The May 2014 edition of GRDC Ground Cover reports an
interesting finding by researcher Dr Ben Trevaskis.
Following a severe frost event in his NSW trial site in October 2013, Dr Trevaskis noted that SQP Revenue was
one of only two wheat varieties that remained relatively
unscathed following a strong frost event (-5 degrees C
for 3 hours) at Greenthrope (NSW).
Dr Trevaskis will further explore SQP Revenue’s ability to
handle frost events in the 2014 trial season and if successful, will use Revenue as a potential source of frost
tolerance genetics to introduce into the Australian
Wheat breeding programs.
For full details please visit the GRDC website at
www.grdc.com.au.
 Tough – once established, Manning has shown that
it can cope with very tough conditions – such as
drying soils and heavy grazing – and still pull through
to produce a grain harvest. (Note: Manning before
reaching GS 30, is not considered tolerant of heavy
water logging conditions)
 Ideally suited to irrigation situations to maximise
grain filling potential
Certified Manning Wheat Seed will be readily available
for the 2015 sowing season and farmers should contact
their local agricultural retail store, to secure their seed
order.
Saving money with Revenue
As the rust season is upon us, it is timely to remind growers that Revenue’s disease resistance profile for rust is
very strong. Growers may not need to jump immediately into a full fungicide spray program for Revenue –
compared to many other susceptible and highly susceptible varieties.
Careful monitoring of any rust development in your
paddocks could see you saving money by avoiding
early sprays. Of course, the main
yield of Revenue comes from the
flag leaf and emerging head,
so a fungicide at or soon after
GS39 (flag leaf emergence)
can help to maximise green
leaf retention thereby protecting Revenue’s high yield potential.
Beaufort wheat commercial seed
on its way
Beaufort Wheat (main season red-grained feed wheat)
continues to deliver strong yields for many growers in
Victoria and Tasmania. With on-going interest in the
variety, GrainSearch has embarked on a three stage
strategy to produce a cleaner seed line to market.
 AGFseeds (Vic) and Roberts Ltd (Tas) will grow a
limited amount of seed this season. This seed should
be used by growers to grow grain crops but is not
recommended to retain any seed for future production
 GrainSearch has sown a small scale production site
with the aim of heavily cleaning the Beaufort seed
to greatly reduce the incidence of the awned offtype wheat line that has been in present at low levels since the variety was first released
 GrainSearch will attempt to rapidly develop sufficient seed of the new line to pass on to AGF seeds
and Roberts for their bulking up requirements
We are doing our best to have the new ‘clean’ seed
line of Beaufort ready for the 2016
season.
Commercial Seed is grown by GrainSearch's Key Affiliate Network partners. These Affiliates are dedicated to producing high quality commercial
seed.
AGFseeds (Smeaton, Vic)
Call us for more
information about our
varieties or visit our
website
2015
Hart Bros Seeds (Junee, NSW)
GrainSearch Pty Ltd
PO Box 1106
Wendouree Village
VIC 3355
Naracoorte Seeds (Naracoorte, SA)
Bell Pasture Seeds (Boyanup, WA)
Tel.: (03) 5329 2000
Fax: (03) 5329 2099
pbAgrifood (Orange NSW)
TP Jones (Youngtown, Tas)
Roberts Pty Ltd (Tas)
[email protected]
2015
Seed can be purchased from your local agricultural reseller, or directly
Or visit our website
grainsearch.net.au
from one of these Affiliates.
GRAINSEARCH.NET.AU
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