Wheat variety trials reveal exciting future

NSW DPI researchers are predicting an exciting future and new levels of profitability for irrigated wheat following the results of a wheat variety trials.

In a 2007 Grains Research and Development Corporation irrigated cereal variety evaluation project, wheat yields averaged close to 10 tonnes a hectare, with the most revealing result that the popular commercial durum wheat variety, Bellaroi, averaged above 10t/ha.

A number of new genotypes yielded above 10t/ha.

The commercially released bread varieties such as Chara and Giles still yielded nine tonnes a hectare.

"Average temperatures in the post flowering period from the second to the last week in October averaged 20 degrees, so it was surprising the yields were so high," NSW DPI Industry rice farming systems leader, John Lacy, said.

"This was well above the desired 14 degrees, considered conducive to high yields."

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) researcher, Andrew Milgate, used the key checks in the department’s "eight tonne club" package in evaluating genotypes and identifying new higher yielding varieties.

They applied extra nitrogen and fungicides to target the 10 tonne threshold but Mr Lacy said profitability would have been even higher for farmer crops, since both inputs would be lower.

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