Boost for rice breeding program at Yanco with new expert appointed

Ben Ovenden has been appointed as the new research agronomist rice breeder to join the Rice Breeding and Grain Quality Partnership team at NSW Department of Primary Industries’ (NSW DPI) Yanco Agricultural Institute.

NSW DPI Research Leader, Farming Systems South, Deb Slinger, said Mr Ovenden’s appointment will ensure the Department is providing the best possible services to rice farmers.

"As a former rice farmer, who is in the process of completing his postgraduate studies in quantitative genetics through Charles Sturt University, Ben brings with him practical and research experience that will greatly benefit rice growers in the region," Ms Slinger said.

Mr Ovenden said he was excited about working with the Rice Partnership team and other researchers at Yanco.

"Rice is such an exciting crop as it is often the model species used for research into genetics, which means rice breeders are in the best position to take advantage of new research.

"In particular, I hope to apply some of the new genomic selection technologies that have been recently developed to improve selection for hard to measure traits.

"I believe there is a big opportunity to collaborate with research organisations to take these new tools out of the lab and apply them in the field to benefit farmers."

Mr Ovenden will be involved in the task of breeding new fragrant varieties of rice to replace the current variety Kyeema.

"Currently 84,000 tonnes of jasmine rice are imported into Australia each year," Mr Ovenden said.

"With a higher-yielding, fragrant variety, Australian farmers will be able to produce a more competitive locally-grown product for Australian consumers.

"Jasmine rice commands a premium price on the world market, and a variety with comparable yields to our medium grain varieties should see farm gate returns lift significantly."

Mr Ovenden will also be investigating ways to improve seedling vigour in new varieties.

"Establishment issues are a perennial problem in the Australian rice industry, as unlike most other areas in the world, our rice is directly seeded into the field in the cooler temperatures of early spring," he said.

"Seedling vigour is a very important trait, as rapid early growth is essential for any new shorter season, lower water use variety.

"To achieve more tonnes of rice per megalitre of irrigation water, varieties will have to generate more biomass in a shorter time period to still achieve high yields."

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