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November – December 2012<br />
National <strong>variety</strong> <strong>trials</strong> supplement<br />
PAGE 3 NVT structure and operation<br />
PAGE 8 Data Delivery<br />
PAGE 10 Weeds and disease<br />
PAGE 13 Value-adding to NVT data
Change for<br />
the better<br />
Introduction<br />
2<br />
Tom Giles<br />
By Tom Giles<br />
Ground Cover is brought to you by growers and the Australian Government through the<br />
publisher, the <strong>Grains</strong> <strong>Research</strong> and Development Corporation (GRDC).<br />
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Cover photo by Paul Jones<br />
Yield is an important component of a grain<br />
business’s profitability. Selecting varieties that<br />
produce the best yield for a particular market from<br />
the same inputs is good business management.<br />
An economic assessment by Haydn Kuchel, Australian<br />
Grain Technologies, of the new and benchmark wheat<br />
varieties grown in National Variety Trials (NVT)<br />
in South Australia highlighted a $100 per hectare<br />
difference in income between top and bottom varieties.<br />
The assessment used yield data from each SA NVT<br />
site plus the data for screenings, and protein and hectolitre<br />
weight to calculate a relative return for each <strong>variety</strong>.<br />
It also took into account quality classification for each<br />
<strong>variety</strong> and inputs used at each site, including fungicide.<br />
Not only did this analysis indicate a large<br />
difference in margin, it also showed that in<br />
some regions selecting a wheat <strong>variety</strong> classified<br />
Australian Hard (AH) rather than Australian Prime<br />
White (APW) was costing growers income.<br />
This type of analysis demonstrates why it is important<br />
for growers to carefully consider their <strong>variety</strong> choices.<br />
The objective of the NVT program is to provide an<br />
independent <strong>variety</strong> evaluation program that accelerates<br />
the adoption of superior varieties. ‘Superior’ refers<br />
to varieties with improved yield, quality, disease<br />
resistance or a combination of these attributes.<br />
A recent grower survey commission by the GRDC, the<br />
sole funder of the NVT, identified positive uptake of new<br />
varieties of all major winter crops. For example, over the<br />
past five years 89 per cent of respondents (1203 grower<br />
participants) had grown a new winter cereal <strong>variety</strong> and 44<br />
per cent a new <strong>variety</strong> of pulse. Sixty per cent reported that<br />
new grain varieties are meeting their expectations well.<br />
The majority of respondents were aware<br />
of NVT, but only between 28 and 30 per cent<br />
attend field days and use NVT Online resources<br />
to assist their <strong>variety</strong> selection decisions.<br />
I encourage all growers to take advantage of the NVT<br />
resources when selecting varieties. NVT Online (www.<br />
nvtonline.com.au) is regularly reviewed and improved. In<br />
the past 12 months visits to the website have increased by<br />
about 28 per cent and page use has increased by 15 per<br />
cent compared to the previous year. Both figures indicate<br />
more growers are realising the value of NVT Online.<br />
To help increase use of NVT resources, the GRDC<br />
commissioned a pilot series of one-day workshops<br />
in the Southern Region. Titled ‘Variety selection and<br />
NVT – putting science into selection’, these workshops<br />
were rated highly by over 90 agronomists, consultants<br />
and plant breeders who attended the workshops.<br />
Since the previous NVT Ground Cover Supplement<br />
in 2008 there have been some other substantial changes<br />
to the NVT program. Perhaps the most significant is the<br />
use of fungicides to control disease in NVT <strong>trials</strong> and the<br />
establishment of regional NVT Advisory Committees.<br />
Value-adding to NVT through the <strong>variety</strong>-specific<br />
agronomy projects run across all three GRDC regions<br />
is another important initiative. These <strong>trials</strong> aim to<br />
reduce the risk and improve the reliability of varieties<br />
when grown under different management practices.<br />
Working with the NVT management team<br />
and Grower Advisory Committees the NVT<br />
program will continue to evolve and respond to<br />
the needs of Australian grain growers. □<br />
More information: Tom Giles, manager<br />
trial operations, GRDC, 02 6166 4500,<br />
tom.giles@grdc.com.au<br />
Supplement edited by<br />
Emma Leonard
How NVT<br />
works<br />
NVT is a national program<br />
providing comparative<br />
crop <strong>variety</strong> testing<br />
using standardised trial<br />
management and data<br />
generation, collection and<br />
dissemination<br />
By Tom Giles<br />
Since the GRDC established the<br />
National Variety Trials (NVT) in<br />
2005, the program has expanded and<br />
developed. While the size of the program<br />
has evolved, the underlying principles<br />
remain the same. The aim of the NVT is<br />
to generate independent information for<br />
growers about newly released varieties of<br />
winter field crops relative to the current<br />
commercial varieties grown in their area.<br />
Although the total number of <strong>trials</strong><br />
sown is much the same, the number<br />
reported increased to 653 in 2011, of<br />
which 91.7 per cent were published,<br />
compared to only 82.3 per cent in 2005.<br />
This difference reflects the seasonal<br />
conditions experienced in these years.<br />
Each year NVT <strong>trials</strong> are conducted on<br />
about 300 properties across Australia.<br />
The NVT program includes 10<br />
broadacre crops – wheat, barley,<br />
oats, triticale, canola, chickpeas, faba<br />
beans, lentils, field peas and lupins.<br />
Central to the success of the NVT<br />
program has been good communication<br />
between all parties involved in delivering<br />
the program (Figure 1) and the<br />
application of agreed protocols for trial<br />
management and for data generation,<br />
collection and dissemination.<br />
Submitting varieties<br />
The NVT is a voluntary system and<br />
all plant breeders are invited to submit<br />
seed for testing. Nominated lines must<br />
meet the NVT acceptance criteria of<br />
seed being available at a commercial<br />
scale for growers to purchase after<br />
two years of NVT testing.<br />
After a <strong>variety</strong> is released by a breeding<br />
company it can remain in the NVT testing<br />
process for up to five years, depending<br />
on the popularity of the <strong>variety</strong> with<br />
growers in a region. After five years,<br />
varieties that constitute less than three<br />
photo: Paul Jones<br />
Good communication<br />
has been central to the<br />
success of NVT program.<br />
Independent service providers run NVT <strong>trials</strong> in different regions based on a set of standard<br />
national protocols. Scott Boyd (left) and Don McCaffery from NSW DPI check data for the<br />
NVT wheat trial site at north west of Parkes, NSW.<br />
FIGURE 1 The operational structure of<br />
the National Variety Trials program<br />
Service<br />
Agreement<br />
Service Providers<br />
NVT Management<br />
committee<br />
(Service provider<br />
representatives)<br />
Material Transfer<br />
Agreement<br />
per cent of deliveries are withdrawn.<br />
Thus, NVT <strong>trials</strong> contain three<br />
types of breeding material: lines that<br />
are within two years of commercial<br />
release; lines that are being repeated for<br />
a second year, sometimes referred to<br />
as retentions; and released varieties.<br />
It is rare for a line or <strong>variety</strong> to be<br />
tested at every NVT location but entries<br />
are not restricted by state boundaries.<br />
However, few Queensland varieties<br />
are grown in Western Australia.<br />
Commercial varieties that are widely<br />
grown in a region are used as comparisons<br />
against which other material in NVT can<br />
be benchmarked. The commercial varieties<br />
grown at each site include those used as<br />
market classification quality standards.<br />
GRDC<br />
ACAS Limited<br />
• Trial management<br />
• Data collection<br />
• Data dissemination<br />
• NVT manager<br />
GROWERS<br />
NVT Advisory<br />
Committees<br />
Participation<br />
Agreement<br />
Breeding Programs<br />
Trial management<br />
The objective of the NVT is to provide<br />
unbiased information on <strong>variety</strong><br />
performance across different environments.<br />
All trial management and data handling<br />
is run to a rigid timetable in order to rapidly<br />
deliver accurate information to assist<br />
growers with <strong>variety</strong> selection decisions.<br />
Standard outcome-based protocols<br />
have been established for NVT trial site<br />
selection and management. However,<br />
service providers have the flexibility to<br />
use fertiliser and pesticides as required.<br />
They can also apply district practices<br />
as recommended by the NVT<br />
Advisory Committees (see page 4).<br />
Following a review, commissioned<br />
by the GRDC, and to take account of the<br />
most common disease treatment practices<br />
3<br />
NVT structure and operation
used by growers, new protocols for disease<br />
management in the NVT have been<br />
established. These protocols include the use<br />
of fungicides to prevent or control diseases<br />
in NVT plots. At designated wheat (and,<br />
in South Australia, barley) sites, one of the<br />
four replicates remain unsprayed, allowing<br />
pathologists to use these controls to assist<br />
in the establishment of disease ratings.<br />
In addition to collecting yield, quality<br />
and agronomic data for each nomination,<br />
trial service providers record soil and<br />
rainfall data, minimum air temperatures,<br />
dates of sowing and harvest, fertiliser and<br />
chemical inputs and rotation information.<br />
Data from all sites across Australia is<br />
recorded in a single database. This uniform<br />
system of recording enables a <strong>variety</strong>’s<br />
performance to be compared across<br />
trial sites with similar characteristics.<br />
Data analysis is the responsibility of the<br />
five-year project ‘Statistics for the Australian<br />
<strong>Grains</strong> Industry’, led by CSIRO’s Professor<br />
Brian Cullis, whose team of statisticians<br />
work closely with the NVT program.<br />
NVT Online (www.nvtonline.com.au)<br />
is the central web-based repository for all<br />
NVT information. This website is regularly<br />
updated with new information and looks<br />
at better ways for growers to access the<br />
information most relevant to them. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Code CAS00002<br />
More information: Tom Giles, manager<br />
trial operations, GRDC, 02 6166 4500,<br />
tom.giles@grdc.com.au<br />
NVT structure and operation<br />
4<br />
NVT Advisory Committees<br />
In 2008, the NVT program was formally reviewed to assess its performance against the objective<br />
of delivering impartial varietal information to Australian grain growers.<br />
One of the key findings of the review was the need for a more formalised advisory and<br />
consultative mechanism for stakeholder involvement in NVT operations. Consequently, the GRDC<br />
established regional NVT Advisory Committees.<br />
Initially there were 15 regional NVT Advisory Committees (Figure 2), each comprising three<br />
growers and three agronomists from that region, a service provider and a representative from<br />
the appropriate GRDC Regional Panel. There are now 11 NVT Advisory Committees; in Western<br />
Australia there is now one committee with two representatives drawn from each of the five<br />
Regional Cropping Solutions Networks.<br />
Once a year the advisory committees meet face-to-face with the NVT manager. Additional<br />
meetings are held by teleconference if required. Specialists, such as industry experts and<br />
biometricians, may contribute to meetings if requested. These committees provide advice on the<br />
operation of the NVT, including issues such as the location and number of trial sites, changes to<br />
trial protocols and nomination and retention of commercial varieties.<br />
Recent issues raised for consideration by the advisory committees include the exclusion of<br />
wheat varieties that are very susceptible to stripe rust, the use of district practice for disease<br />
management, the increase in the dry sowing of crops and its implications for NVT <strong>trials</strong>, and the<br />
development of new analysis and reporting tables for long-term <strong>variety</strong> comparisons.<br />
The NVT Advisory Committees also help guide the service providers on the best options for<br />
keeping the <strong>trials</strong> pest and weed-free.<br />
FIGURE 2 Location of NVT Advisory Committees<br />
WA Northern<br />
WA Central<br />
WA Eastern<br />
WA Sandplain<br />
WA Mallee<br />
Eyre Peninsula<br />
Yorke Peninsula/<br />
Mid-north SA<br />
Mallee<br />
There were originally five committees in WA but now there is one NVT advisory committee with two<br />
representatives drawn from each of the five Regional Cropping Solutions Networks.<br />
Central Queensland<br />
Southern Queensland<br />
Northern NSW<br />
Central NSW<br />
Southern NSW/North-east Vic<br />
Upper south-east SA/<br />
Vic Wimmera<br />
High-rainfall zone<br />
Latest<br />
updates<br />
to NVT<br />
The GRDC and ACAS regularly<br />
review the NVT program and<br />
initiate changes based on<br />
feedback from growers and<br />
specialists<br />
By Alan Bedggood<br />
In the quest to deliver the most<br />
relevant <strong>variety</strong> information in a highly<br />
accessible format, the operation and grower<br />
use of data from the National Variety Trials<br />
(NVT) program is regularly reviewed.<br />
In response to these reviews,<br />
the GRDC and Australian Crop<br />
Accreditation Systems (ACAS), which<br />
manages the NVT program on behalf<br />
of the GRDC, have initiated some<br />
recent changes in the management<br />
and delivery of the NVT program.<br />
Disease management<br />
There has been much debate about the use<br />
of fungicides in <strong>variety</strong> testing programs.<br />
In one camp are those who want<br />
to see how the <strong>variety</strong> performs if<br />
attacked by pathogens. In the other<br />
camp are those who want to see<br />
how it performs when the disease is
NVT site managers are<br />
responsible for controlling<br />
weeds and disease at the site<br />
to minimise factors that could<br />
reduce yield potential. Scott<br />
Boyd from NSW DPI, Dubbo,<br />
looks over his trial sprayer.<br />
Variety<br />
choice at<br />
a touch<br />
5<br />
controlled by commercially available<br />
fungicides, as would occur on-farm.<br />
Disease ratings for wheat, barley<br />
and blackleg in canola are now covered<br />
by separate, nationally coordinated<br />
screening projects (see pages 10, 11).<br />
Consequently, site mangers are able<br />
to control or prevent the predominant<br />
fungal infections experienced in the<br />
region using commercially available<br />
fungicides for all crop types within the<br />
NVT. This not only enables varieties to<br />
achieve their potential more fully but<br />
also prevents the untreated <strong>variety</strong> plots<br />
being a source of infection in the district.<br />
At some wheat (and, in South<br />
Australia, barley) sites, an additional<br />
fourth replicate trial remains untreated<br />
with fungicide, allowing pathologist<br />
to assess the disease tolerance of those<br />
lines in the field. These unsprayed plots<br />
can also provide an early warning of a<br />
change in a <strong>variety</strong>’s disease rating due<br />
to the emergence of a new pathotype.<br />
NVT Online<br />
Between 2008 and 2011, 181 new winter<br />
crop varieties were released in Australia,<br />
including 47 wheat varieties, 14 barley<br />
varieties and 70 canola varieties. All<br />
were included in NVT <strong>trials</strong> and the<br />
data for them can be found on NVT<br />
Online (www.nvtonline.com.au).<br />
With such a diverse range of<br />
information, finding varieties that best<br />
suit your situation can be confusing. The<br />
NVT team are continually searching for<br />
better ways to present the data to help<br />
Developments in the<br />
management and delivery of<br />
NVT have been initiated.<br />
photo: Paul Jones<br />
growers make the best <strong>variety</strong> choices.<br />
Selecting ‘Site Near You’ through the<br />
interactive Google map helps to direct<br />
users to the required information (see<br />
pages 8 and 9). Users can further refine<br />
their search by crop and/or postcode.<br />
A new feature on NVT Online is the<br />
site ‘bubble’. Information and links in<br />
the bubble help users quickly find all the<br />
information that relates to that crop type<br />
for a chosen state. Information on disease<br />
ratings, end-point royalties, sowing guides<br />
and links to other useful information<br />
can all be located from the bubble.<br />
More specific yield data<br />
Statistical analysis is at the heart of<br />
the NVT and is the responsibility of<br />
biometricians. NVT statistical analysis<br />
is managed by Statistics for the<br />
Australian <strong>Grains</strong> Industry (SAGI) led<br />
by Professor Brian Cullis, CSIRO. The<br />
SAGI team, which includes Alison Kelly<br />
and Dr Alison Smith, has a worldwide<br />
reputation for excellence in this area.<br />
In recent years, the team at SAGI has<br />
been refining advanced statistical methods<br />
for use with NVT data. In 2013, it is<br />
hoped that growers will be able to reap<br />
the benefits of this new approach. With<br />
more reliable and specific data, growers<br />
should be better able to select varieties<br />
most suited to their conditions. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Code CAS00002<br />
More information: Alan Bedggood,<br />
NVT manager, ACAS, 03 5382 7200,<br />
alan@acaslimited.com.au<br />
2011 saw the launch of the<br />
CropMate VarietyChooser<br />
app for iPhones, iPads and<br />
iPod touch by the New South<br />
Wales Department of Primary<br />
Industries (DPI).<br />
Based on the NSW DPI Winter<br />
crop <strong>variety</strong> sowing guide,<br />
the app is an extension of<br />
the CropMate <strong>variety</strong> selector<br />
system, which uses the latest<br />
NVT data.<br />
Following the success of<br />
this app, the GRDC has<br />
now commissioned Graeme<br />
McIntosh (pictured) and his<br />
colleagues at the NSW DPI<br />
Broadacre Cropping Unit to<br />
produce a national version<br />
relevant to all winter cropping<br />
regions.<br />
It is anticipated that the NVT<br />
<strong>variety</strong> chooser app will be<br />
available in 2013. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Code DAN00102<br />
More information: Graeme McIntosh,<br />
district agronomist, NSW DPI, 03 5019<br />
8404, graeme.mcintosh@dpi.nsw.gov.au<br />
photo: Peter Jessop<br />
NVT structure and operation
Trials with maximum value<br />
A series of FAQs can be found at NVT Online. Here, additional questions regularly posed<br />
to the NVT team, regional panel members and GRDC employees are explored<br />
To allow varieties to reach full potential, fertiliser inputs may be higher than those applied commercially.<br />
photo: Emma Leonard<br />
NVT structure and operation<br />
6<br />
By Tom Giles, Allan Bedggood<br />
and Alison Kelly<br />
Why are fertiliser rates applied<br />
to NVT <strong>trials</strong> often higher than<br />
those used in the district<br />
In NVT <strong>trials</strong> the objective is for all<br />
varieties to reach their water-limited<br />
yield potential (under the given<br />
management regime) to provide the<br />
best indication of performance.<br />
To achieve this, nutrition must not<br />
be limiting and so greater fertiliser rates<br />
than may be commercially viable can<br />
be applied. NVT <strong>trials</strong> should not be<br />
confused with gross margin <strong>trials</strong>.<br />
Why are the <strong>trials</strong> now<br />
treated with fungicide<br />
The objective of NVT is to provide<br />
data on the yield potential of a <strong>variety</strong>.<br />
Without disease control, <strong>variety</strong> rankings<br />
can be very different (Figure 1).<br />
Figure 1 shows varietal comparison<br />
from the 2010 NVT main-season<br />
wheat trial at Spring Ridge, New South<br />
Wales, with and without fungicide.<br />
Please note that error bars in Figure 1<br />
indicate the maximum standard error<br />
deviation (SED) for any combination<br />
of varietal yields. If any two error bars<br />
overlap yield difference is not significant.<br />
Disease ratings for wheat, barley<br />
and blackleg in canola are now covered<br />
by separate, nationally coordinated<br />
screening projects (see pages 10 and 11).<br />
For pulse crops, disease rating remains<br />
part of the public breeding programs.<br />
NVT site mangers are instructed to<br />
control or prevent the predominant fungal<br />
infections experienced in the locality using<br />
commercially available fungicides. This<br />
applies to all crop types within the NVT.<br />
If the site was frosted or had<br />
a significant weed presence<br />
what happens to the data<br />
Where <strong>trials</strong> are harvested but temperature<br />
data from the site indicates they have been<br />
badly frosted the trial result is flagged as<br />
‘invalid’ and not used in further analyses.<br />
Significant presence of weeds in a<br />
site, especially in patches of varying<br />
density, distorts relative varietal<br />
performances and the trial result is flagged<br />
as ‘invalid’ and not used in analyses.<br />
How can I arrange a visit<br />
to a NVT site<br />
At the NVT Online website (www.<br />
nvtonline.com.au) select the ‘Resources’<br />
tab and the link to ‘Trial sites’. All NVT<br />
sites across Australia are listed by state.<br />
For each site the name and contact number<br />
of the trial manager are provided.<br />
Contact the trial manager for a<br />
‘mud map’ and directions to the site.<br />
Trial managers can also provide the<br />
contact details of the farmer collaborator<br />
and indicate any access issues that<br />
may be associated with the site.<br />
Plot layouts are available at each site,<br />
usually located in a piece of white drainage<br />
pipe. A peg will indicate plot one.<br />
My closest site is more than<br />
40 kilometres away, how<br />
should I use the NVT results<br />
Trial results from one site in one year are<br />
interesting but those conditions may never<br />
occur again. This is also true for how a
<strong>variety</strong> will yield on-farm – it varies from<br />
paddock to paddock and year to year.<br />
The NVT trial network exposes varieties<br />
to a range of growing environments<br />
experienced across multiple sites and<br />
seasons. The analysis of data across<br />
multiple environments gives a ranking<br />
of how varieties perform in a given<br />
environment and shows how stable this<br />
ranking is across other environment types.<br />
Growers and advisers are encouraged<br />
to look at long-term data across a range<br />
of sites that are applicable to their own<br />
situation, irrespective of the distance<br />
of these sites from their property.<br />
How can small plot <strong>trials</strong> be<br />
accurate enough to inform<br />
<strong>variety</strong> decisions at farm-scale<br />
A fair comparison of varieties can<br />
only be made when they are grown<br />
under the same conditions. This is<br />
especially difficult in large-scale plots<br />
due to the extent of variation in soil<br />
characteristics across the paddock.<br />
Small plot <strong>trials</strong> provide the best<br />
opportunity to test varieties under<br />
similar conditions as it minimises the<br />
effect of large-scale field variation.<br />
Small plot <strong>trials</strong> in combination with<br />
modern statistical methods have been<br />
well established as the most accurate<br />
way of performing <strong>variety</strong> evaluation.<br />
Most of the district was sown<br />
dry. Why were the NVT <strong>trials</strong><br />
not dry-sown<br />
The biggest risk to dry seeding is a<br />
false break. Small amounts of rain<br />
may germinate the seed but then the<br />
soil dries out, causing the seedlings<br />
photo: Emma Leonard<br />
NVT site visits can be arranged by contacting the trial site manager. Details of the<br />
locations and contacts for all <strong>trials</strong> can be found at www.nvtonline.com.au<br />
to die. Often this happens to only part<br />
of the seed sown, with the remainder<br />
germinating following later rains.<br />
A trial with patchy establishment is<br />
useless for varietal yield comparison. In<br />
comparison, a patchy crop in a commercial<br />
paddock may allow plants to branch and<br />
compensate to achieve adequate yield.<br />
By mid-May, the likelihood of<br />
a false break is reduced; after this<br />
time <strong>trials</strong> may be sown dry.<br />
How are NVT site locations<br />
selected<br />
The location of NVT sites evolved<br />
from the state department of agriculture<br />
<strong>variety</strong> <strong>trials</strong> that were conducted prior<br />
to 2005. Trials are generally located in<br />
each of the production zones of a state<br />
although not on a pro-rata basis.<br />
As well as providing regional<br />
adaptation information, the NVT trial<br />
sites also form a hub for many grower<br />
discussion groups and this can drive<br />
the choice of location for some sites.<br />
However, as new statistical<br />
technologies come online, the ability<br />
to define and maintain the ‘must-have’<br />
sites for the scientific evaluation of<br />
varieties will be greatly improved.<br />
This new analysis will provide greater<br />
flexibility for NVT sites to be located at<br />
grower group field day sites and other<br />
locations frequently visited by growers. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Codes CAS00002,<br />
UW00006<br />
More information: www.nvtonline.com.au<br />
7<br />
NVT structure and operation<br />
FIGURE 1 Varietal comparisons from the 2010 NVT main season wheat trial at Spring Ridge, NSW<br />
Yield (t/ha)<br />
8<br />
7<br />
6<br />
5<br />
4<br />
3<br />
2<br />
1<br />
0<br />
Sunstate<br />
Peake A<br />
Sprayed<br />
Lincoln A<br />
Orion A<br />
Dakota A<br />
Unsprayed<br />
EGA Bounty A<br />
Kennedy A<br />
Sunvale<br />
Janz<br />
Spitfire A<br />
EGA Wylie A<br />
Livingston A<br />
Ventura<br />
Error bars indicate the maximum SED for any combination of varietal yields. Consequently, a lack of overlap of any two error bars indicates a significant difference in yields.<br />
Ellison A<br />
Sunco<br />
Sunzell<br />
EGA Stampede A<br />
GBA Ruby A<br />
Sunvex A<br />
Lang A<br />
QAL2000<br />
Chara A<br />
GBA Hunter A<br />
EGA Wills A<br />
Merinda A<br />
EGA Gregory A<br />
Crusader A<br />
Gladius A
From the NVT Online home page<br />
(www.nvtonline.com.au)<br />
select ‘View latest results’<br />
or ‘Results and Reports’.<br />
This will take you to a map where<br />
you can refine your search<br />
by crop type and/or postcode.<br />
Each pin represents the location<br />
of a trial site. Pins are colourcoded<br />
and contain the initials of<br />
the crop types located at that<br />
site. In this search example only<br />
barley has been selected.<br />
If a crop type is not selected<br />
all crops in <strong>trials</strong> within your<br />
chosen postcode will be<br />
presented.<br />
Click on a pin to select<br />
your chosen location and<br />
an information ‘bubble’<br />
will appear.<br />
Data delivery<br />
8<br />
At a site<br />
near you<br />
NVT Online is a unique<br />
resource providing growers<br />
with all the information about<br />
current and emerging varieties<br />
in one place.<br />
By Greg Bowey<br />
The NVT team is continually<br />
improving NVT Online to enable users to<br />
quickly locate the information they seek.<br />
Two recent improvements include<br />
the ability to search Google maps on the<br />
website by postcode and crop type and<br />
the collation of all relevant information<br />
in a single information bubble. Each<br />
bubble includes information about<br />
yield and grain quality, disease ratings,<br />
end-point royalties, trial locations and<br />
links to other relevant information.<br />
The following information demonstrates<br />
these two developments. For more<br />
information view the ‘How to’ videos about<br />
a site near you. Other videos will soon be<br />
added, including one demonstrating how<br />
to locate information on new varieties and<br />
another on locating <strong>variety</strong> brochures. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Code CAS00002<br />
More information: www.nvtonline.com.au<br />
Before selecting varieties for next season visit www.nvtonline.com.au
This link provides the best estimate of the relative yield performance of<br />
varieties of the selected crop type in this region. Presented as a graph<br />
and a table, the data is based on the long-term analysis of all available<br />
trial yields. This information is vital to those considering new varieties.<br />
9<br />
In this example, selecting this option provides a snapshot of the<br />
performance of all barley varieties tested at this site in Wagga Wagga,<br />
NSW, in 2011. Data is provided on yield and grain quality as well as site<br />
data such as soil tests and monthly rainfall. Details of paddock<br />
rotations and chemical and fertiliser inputs are also provided.<br />
This information is helpful when evaluating the performance of<br />
a <strong>variety</strong> in relation to specific seasonal conditions.<br />
Data delivery<br />
Statewide<br />
tables of yield<br />
and grain quality<br />
Disease ratings<br />
EPR<br />
Location and<br />
fate of <strong>trials</strong><br />
Selecting this option will download an Excel spreadsheet containing<br />
tables of yield and quality data from locations across your state.<br />
Tables are provided for yield and each of the grain receival test results,<br />
for example, protein, 100 grain weight and screenings. This information<br />
is useful to review the performance of a <strong>variety</strong> across different regions.<br />
Tables of ratings for disease resistance on a crop-by-state basis.<br />
These tables should be considered in tandem with long-term trial<br />
results when selecting varieties.<br />
End-point royalties can vary considerably between varieties.<br />
This option is a link to the Variety Central webpage for your chosen<br />
crop. This is a quick way to identify the end-point royalty associated with<br />
varieties you may consider growing.<br />
This is a quick way to establish what happened to <strong>trials</strong> in your region<br />
as, due to seasonal conditions and other factors, not every site is<br />
harvested and reported. Contact details for the trial manager for each<br />
site can also be found here.<br />
Many other documents related to the region and crop type can be<br />
located from this link. A publications front cover has been used as the<br />
link to help quick identification of the available publications.
Coordinated disease assessment<br />
Disease ranking for wheat and barley lines and cultivars in NVT is now carried out<br />
independently through nationally coordinated projects<br />
Weeds and disease<br />
10<br />
By Emma Leonard<br />
The use of varietal resistance remains<br />
at the forefront for the management of<br />
most important diseases of cereals.<br />
To ensure growers have reliable<br />
disease ratings on newly released<br />
cereal cultivars, wheat and barley<br />
pathologists are taking a very proactive<br />
approach to gathering disease data from<br />
inclusions within the National Variety<br />
Trials (NVT) evaluation system.<br />
To provide an independent disease<br />
ranking system for the commercially bred<br />
winter crops – wheat, barley and canola – the<br />
GRDC has established several projects that<br />
are run by disease experts across Australia<br />
These screening and monitoring<br />
projects include all the NVT lines prior<br />
to commercialisation as well as an agreed<br />
set of commercial cultivars. While<br />
independence remains a cornerstone of<br />
this work, good collaboration with the<br />
breeding companies is also important.<br />
Disease screening remains part<br />
of the breeding programs run by<br />
Pulse Breeding Australia, which is<br />
an unincorporated joint venture.<br />
Wheat<br />
For the past five years a coordinated<br />
disease assessment project for<br />
wheat has been applied to NVT.<br />
The project is coordinated by Dr<br />
Grant Hollaway, senior plant pathologist<br />
at the Victorian Department of Primary<br />
Industries (DPI) and NVT. With his<br />
colleagues at Horsham he coordinates<br />
all the disease rankings work for wheat,<br />
which is carried out with seven other<br />
pathology teams across Australia.<br />
The seed distributed to all collaborators<br />
is from a single source for each <strong>variety</strong><br />
and supplied to the Victorian DPI by<br />
the breeding companies. In addition,<br />
the team maintains a current set of<br />
wheat varieties already available to<br />
growers, known as the AUSVAR set.<br />
“Each year we distribute seed for about<br />
120 NVT lines of bread wheat, durum<br />
and triticales as well as about 100 from<br />
the AUSVAR,” Dr Hollaway explains.<br />
“Just for the Victorian component of<br />
the project we are managing field nurseries<br />
for the three rusts (stripe, leaf and stem)<br />
and yellow leaf spot. In others states the<br />
pathology groups evaluate the set of wheat<br />
lines for diseases relevant to their district<br />
and within their area of specialisation.”<br />
In total, across Australia this<br />
network of plant pathologists annually<br />
evaluates the NVT lines against 14<br />
different diseases of wheat (Table 1).<br />
Within Australia the plant pathology<br />
groups involved in the screening include<br />
the state departments of agriculture in all<br />
mainland states and at the University of<br />
Sydney. The disease/s to be screened are<br />
agreed between the GRDC, the NVT trial<br />
management and the pathologists and are<br />
often based on the environment and the skills<br />
held by various pathologists around Australia.<br />
“Not every disease will be screened<br />
at every location, but duplicate locations<br />
help reduce the risk of unconducive<br />
seasons and enable better screening of<br />
diseases with multiple pathotypes.”<br />
In addition to <strong>trials</strong> in Australia,<br />
some material is screened in the UK,<br />
New Zealand and Mexico. This is to<br />
establish disease ratings for pathogens<br />
or pathotypes that pose potential<br />
biosecurity threats to Australia.<br />
While the pathologists observe the<br />
NVT trial plots, the data for disease<br />
ratings is collected from disease nurseries<br />
in the field, mini plots or glasshouse.<br />
To ensure the target diseases and<br />
pathotypes are present, the pathologist<br />
inoculates the <strong>trials</strong> with disease inoculum<br />
they have gathered, tested and multiplied.<br />
Data is recorded using a standard<br />
template and returned to the NVT manager.<br />
The whole process is run on a strict<br />
timetable to ensure data is available to<br />
growers at the start of the following year.<br />
A pathologist with specialist<br />
knowledge will nominate the ratings<br />
for specific diseases, based on the<br />
current and previous year’s data.<br />
Where possible, a single national<br />
rating will be assigned for each disease.<br />
Where there are pathotype differences then<br />
regional ratings are assigned as appropriate.<br />
All plant breeders and relevant<br />
parties are informed of the ratings<br />
photo: Emma Leonard<br />
Local agronomists are an important source<br />
of information about the emergence of new<br />
pathogens for pathologists. SARDI's Dr Hugh<br />
Walwork (left), who is involved in the wheat<br />
and barley screening work in South Australia,<br />
discusses a new pathotype identified by Yorke<br />
Peninsula agronomist Sam Holmes (right).<br />
Table 1 Wheat and barley<br />
diseases screened as part of<br />
the nationally coordinated,<br />
independent disease rating<br />
system for NVT<br />
Wheat<br />
Black point<br />
Bunt<br />
Cereal cyst nematode<br />
Crown rot<br />
Common root rot<br />
Flag smut<br />
Leaf rust<br />
Pratylenchus neglectus<br />
Pratylenchus thornei<br />
Powdery mildew<br />
Septoria nodorum blotch<br />
Stripe rust<br />
Septoria tritici blotch<br />
Yellow leaf spot<br />
Barley<br />
Barley yellow dwarf<br />
virus<br />
Cereal cyst nematode<br />
Common root rot<br />
(Bipolaris)<br />
Covered smut<br />
Net form net blotch<br />
Spot form net blotch<br />
Leaf rust<br />
Pratylenchus neglectus<br />
Pratylenchus thornei<br />
Barley grass stripe rust<br />
Barley stripe rust<br />
Powdery mildew<br />
Stem rust<br />
Scald<br />
Spot blotch
A new pathotype of net blotch identified on<br />
a previously resistant barley. Samples are<br />
gathered in the paddock and taken to the<br />
laboratory for multiplication and testing.<br />
prior to public release and there is a<br />
10-day review period in which they can<br />
provide feedback. A process has been<br />
established to reassess disputed ratings.<br />
Barley<br />
A coordinated disease assessment process<br />
was implemented for barley in 2012. Greg<br />
Platz, principal pathologist at Agri-Science<br />
Queensland, coordinates this project,<br />
following the model established for wheat.<br />
Across Australia a network of 11<br />
pathologists and technicians gather data<br />
on 15 diseases of barley (Table 1). With<br />
some of these diseases, such as leaf<br />
rust and net form net blotch, at least six<br />
different pathotypes are used, providing a<br />
comprehensive evaluation of resistance.<br />
The protocols for seed distribution,<br />
data collection and reporting mirror<br />
those used in the wheat disease screening<br />
project, although on a smaller scale. There<br />
are only 19 NVT lines and 48 released<br />
barley varieties (commonly referred to<br />
as the AUSBAR set) in the 2012 series.<br />
It is the responsibility of individual<br />
pathologists to ensure data is generated but<br />
how this is achieved is at their discretion.<br />
In disease-conducive environments<br />
natural infection will be used, while<br />
in other <strong>trials</strong>, and in the glasshouse,<br />
plants will be artificially inoculated.<br />
“We aim to characterise the diseases in<br />
as many individual nurseries as possible<br />
to understand which virulences are<br />
present. This will increase our confidence<br />
in how effective the resistances are<br />
in individual lines,” Mr Platz says.<br />
“Testing with multiple, known pathotypes<br />
also helps us determine the genes providing<br />
resistance to some pathogens. This<br />
information assists researchers in <strong>variety</strong><br />
development and sowing recommendations.<br />
The Plant Breeding Institute at Cobbitty,<br />
NSW, currently provides this service<br />
for leaf rust and it could be expanded<br />
to other diseases in the future.”<br />
Nationally coordinated NVT disease<br />
screenings provide a comparative evaluation<br />
of a line’s performance under different<br />
environments and disease epidemics,<br />
giving increased confidence to the disease<br />
ratings applied to new varieties. This<br />
assists growers in their varietal selection<br />
and management decisions and encourages<br />
breeding entities to develop varieties with<br />
adequate multiple-disease resistance. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Codes DAV00107,<br />
DAQ00161, DAS00057, DAW00199,<br />
DAQ00161<br />
More information: Dr Grant Hollaway,<br />
senior plant pathologist – cereals, Victorian<br />
Department of Primary Industries,<br />
03 5362 2111, grant.hollaway@dpi.vic.gov.<br />
au; Greg Platz, principal pathologist,<br />
Agri-Science Queensland, 07 4660 3633,<br />
greg.platz@daff.qld.gov.au<br />
11<br />
Weeds and disease<br />
Advances<br />
in blackleg<br />
management<br />
Practices to deal with the<br />
breakdown of blackleg<br />
resistance in intensive canola<br />
districts are based on large<br />
screening <strong>trials</strong><br />
By Dr Steve Marcroft<br />
Our understanding of the<br />
blackleg pathogen of canola has progressed<br />
substantially over the past few years. An<br />
important practical development from this<br />
work is that all current commercial cultivars<br />
and advanced breeding lines have been<br />
screened to determine their complement<br />
of blackleg resistance genes. This has<br />
enabled researchers to allocate cultivars<br />
into one of seven resistance groups.<br />
Growers are familiar with the rating<br />
of crop varieties for susceptibility (S)<br />
through to resistance (R) to a specific<br />
pathogen. However, the sexually<br />
reproducing pathogen blackleg is adept<br />
at overcoming cultivar resistance, which<br />
compromises a cultivar’s blackleg rating.<br />
Field observations have found blackleg<br />
resistance is often overcome when the same<br />
<strong>variety</strong> is regularly grown across large<br />
areas in a region for more than three years.<br />
Seven resistance rotation groups have<br />
been established, named A to G. If there is<br />
a risk of high blackleg severity in a location<br />
where the same cultivar has been grown<br />
for three or more years then a cultivar<br />
from a different resistance group needs<br />
to be sown (see Blackleg Management<br />
Guide Fact Sheet, www.grdc.com.au/<br />
GRDC-FS-BlacklegManagementGuide).<br />
One canola cultivar from each of the<br />
seven resistance groups has been sown<br />
adjacent to National Variety Trials (NVT)<br />
sites to monitor how blackleg populations<br />
evolve to overcome cultivar resistance.<br />
In 2011, this blackleg monitoring<br />
identified regional differences in infection<br />
levels between resistance groups. This<br />
information was used as the basis of a<br />
pre-sowing early warning system to alert<br />
growers in a region to the potentially high<br />
level of blackleg inoculum able to attack<br />
cultivars in a specific resistance group.<br />
There are 32 blackleg monitoring<br />
sites across Australia located in<br />
New South Wales, South Australia,<br />
Victoria and Western Australia.<br />
Blackleg Management Guide<br />
Blackleg spores are released from<br />
canola stubble and spread extensively by<br />
wind and rain splash. Therefore disease<br />
pressure is higher in areas of intensive<br />
canola production and higher rainfall.<br />
The Blackleg Management Guide,<br />
which was released as a GRDC Fact<br />
Sheet in July 2012 (www.grdc.com.au/<br />
GRDC-FS-BlacklegManagementGuide),<br />
provides a four-step process to help<br />
growers identify and manage the risk of<br />
blackleg on a paddock-by-paddock basis.<br />
Step 1. Determine the risk for your region;<br />
Step 2. Identify the blackleg severity<br />
in each of your paddocks;<br />
Step 3. Select management practices<br />
to reduce the risk including<br />
cultivar resistance, distance from<br />
old canola stubble, fungicide<br />
use, years of the same cultivar<br />
and time of sowing; and<br />
Step 4. If you are seeing disease levels<br />
increasing in a third year of growing<br />
the same cultivar then select a cultivar<br />
from a different resistance group. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Code UM00042<br />
More information: Dr Steve Marcroft,<br />
Marcroft <strong>Grains</strong> Pathology, 03 5381 2294,<br />
steve@grainspathology.com.au
Weed kill without crop damage<br />
Before spraying, growers and agronomists are encouraged to check NVT Online for<br />
information on the safety of herbicide use on their varieties<br />
Weeds and disease<br />
12<br />
By Emma Leonard<br />
Crop yield can be compromised<br />
by damage from herbicides, even when<br />
products are applied appropriately at<br />
the label rate. Varieties are known to<br />
differ in their tolerance to herbicides<br />
and this can vary between regions.<br />
The good news is that more than 70<br />
per cent of all crop varieties are tolerant to<br />
most herbicides. The remaining varieties<br />
can experience yield losses of 10 to 30 per<br />
cent and, in some cases, 50 per cent yield<br />
loss has been recorded. This occurs with<br />
the use of registered herbicides applied at<br />
label rates under good spraying conditions<br />
at the appropriate crop growth stage.<br />
To provide growers with clear<br />
information about the herbicide interactions<br />
of a <strong>variety</strong> for their region, four regionally<br />
based herbicide-tolerance screening projects<br />
have been established. The projects are<br />
run by Jenny Garlange and Harmohinder<br />
Dhammu, Department of Agriculture and<br />
Food, Western Australia, Rob Wheeler and<br />
Michael Zerner, South Australian <strong>Research</strong><br />
and Development Institute, Peter Lockley,<br />
New South Wales Department of Primary<br />
Industries, Steve Walker, the University<br />
of Queensland and John Churchett,<br />
Queensland Department of Agriculture,<br />
Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).<br />
The four projects have recently been<br />
combined under a national program,<br />
coordinated by Mr Wheeler.<br />
Results from all the herbicide tolerance<br />
<strong>trials</strong> can be easily accessed via NVT<br />
Online (www.nvtonline.com.au).<br />
National approach<br />
Screening of varieties for herbicide<br />
tolerance has been undertaken in most<br />
states since the early 1990s. The main crop<br />
varieties tested were in wheat and barley.<br />
The new coordinated approach<br />
tests the tolerance to commonly used<br />
in-crop herbicides of wheat, barley,<br />
oats, peas, lentils, faba beans, chickpeas<br />
and lupin varieties emerging from the<br />
NVT. This will ensure that the tolerance<br />
to important herbicides is known at<br />
the time of a new <strong>variety</strong>’s release.<br />
Crop types tested vary between regions<br />
in relation to their importance in a region.<br />
For example, lupins are only tested in WA.<br />
Varieties and advanced lines are generally<br />
tested for two or more years to validate<br />
varietal responses and to minimise the<br />
seasonal influences on herbicide tolerance.<br />
The project also tests new chemistries<br />
in collaboration with chemical companies.<br />
“Independently testing a <strong>variety</strong>’s<br />
herbicide tolerance before its market release,<br />
ensures growers have the most relevant<br />
information available to them when selecting<br />
new varieties,” Mr Wheeler explains.<br />
Herbicides are applied individually<br />
and in tank mixes at label and above label<br />
rates in weed-free field sites. Treated plots<br />
are monitored for crop damage (colour<br />
change, necrosis, biomass and stunting)<br />
and compared to unsprayed plots.<br />
Crop damage and retardation is assessed<br />
visually and with crop sensors that measure<br />
crop greenness using the normalised<br />
difference vegetation index (NDVI).<br />
These measurements help to establish if<br />
observed damage results in yield loss.<br />
Bringing these projects together in a<br />
coordinated national program has enabled<br />
research approaches to be standardised.<br />
It has also facilitated collaboration on<br />
projects such as those assessing genotype,<br />
environment and herbicide interactions.<br />
A significant step in the research has<br />
been the development of a simple rating<br />
system using symbols to categorise the<br />
sensitivity of varieties, based on the<br />
yield responses across all <strong>trials</strong>. Tables of<br />
herbicide tolerance ratings can be found<br />
at NVT Online (www.nvtonline.com.au).<br />
A <strong>variety</strong> that has no significant yield<br />
reduction from both the label recommended<br />
rates and higher rates is marked with ‘’.<br />
An ‘N’, indicating a narrow safety<br />
margin, denotes significant yield reductions<br />
at the higher-than-label-recommended<br />
rate, but not at the recommended rate,<br />
and these varieties are shaded in yellow.<br />
When there is a significant yield<br />
reduction at the recommended rate,<br />
a warning is noted if recorded in one<br />
trial only (shaded in brown) or in<br />
two or more <strong>trials</strong> (shaded in red). In<br />
these instances the magnitude of yield<br />
reductions are noted in the table.<br />
photo: Steve Walker<br />
<strong>Research</strong>ers involved in the herbicide tolerance<br />
screening work at an annual review meeting<br />
in Birchip, Victoria. (From left) Hanwen Wu,<br />
Kaylene Nuscke, Peter Lockley, Rob Wheeler,<br />
Harmohinder Dhammu, Courtney Ramsey and<br />
Steve Walker.<br />
Regional application<br />
Variety herbicide-tolerance testing for<br />
wheat and barley has been carried out in<br />
Queensland since 1999. More recently<br />
chickpeas have been added to the project,<br />
which is run by John Churchett, principal<br />
experimentalist, Queensland DAFF.<br />
In 2011, 22 <strong>trials</strong> were sown, treated<br />
and harvested in the northern herbicide<br />
tolerance project. This figure hides the<br />
size of the project, which included the<br />
testing of 32 NVT wheat lines with 12<br />
herbicides (those considered to be the<br />
most commonly used) in three <strong>trials</strong> and<br />
the testing of 20 NVT barley lines with<br />
eight common herbicides in two <strong>trials</strong>.<br />
A further seven <strong>trials</strong> assessed advanced<br />
wheat lines and new varieties that had<br />
shown potential sensitivity to specific<br />
herbicides in the previous season. In a<br />
further two <strong>trials</strong>, the sensitivity of three<br />
varieties and two lines of chickpeas<br />
were tested with four herbicides.<br />
Trials are located at sites across<br />
southern Queensland to ensure<br />
regional environmental influences<br />
on herbicide–<strong>variety</strong> interactions are<br />
also identified in this project.<br />
The importance of conducting <strong>trials</strong><br />
across Australia has been emphasised<br />
by the identification of different levels<br />
of crop sensitivity to some herbicides<br />
in the Northern Region <strong>trials</strong> compared<br />
with results in the south and west.<br />
This indicates a strong environmental<br />
influence on herbicide tolerance. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Codes DAS00100,<br />
DAN00142, UQ00059, DAW00191<br />
More information: Rob Wheeler, SARDI,<br />
0401 148 935, rob.wheeler@sa.gov.au
Pushing the yield frontier<br />
13<br />
Identifying the varieties best suited to certain combinations of environments<br />
and management regimes is the aim of this CSIRO-led project<br />
By Dr Zvi Hochman<br />
As growers improve their wheat<br />
crop management practices a new<br />
opportunity is provided for discovery<br />
of genotype, environment, management<br />
(G×E×M) interactions that will push<br />
yields beyond the current frontier.<br />
This GRDC-funded, CSIRO-led<br />
project aims to capture the G×E×M<br />
impacts through field meaurement<br />
and cropping systems simulation.<br />
The results of the National Variety<br />
Trials (NVT) can be difficult to relate<br />
to an individual farm or paddock due<br />
to differences in soil type, rainfall,<br />
temperature and management practices.<br />
Currently, a <strong>variety</strong>’s estimated genetic<br />
value (EGV) is calculated to provide a<br />
prediction of the yield (tonnes per hectare)<br />
of the <strong>variety</strong> in a specified environment<br />
as defined by a geographic region. To help<br />
improve the assessment of varieties across<br />
trial sites, this project aims to establish a<br />
process to account for a site’s environment<br />
on the basis of its water-limited yield<br />
potential, rather than its location. This<br />
estimate requires the research team to factor<br />
in specific differences in soil type, climate<br />
and environmental stresses at each site.<br />
By fully characterising the<br />
environments (soil and climate) of the<br />
NVT sites and applying management<br />
that allows the site potential to be fully<br />
expressed, we can better understand<br />
how varieties differ in their response<br />
to environmental stresses and provide<br />
growers with <strong>variety</strong> data that is more<br />
appropriate to their specific situation.<br />
The project has established 11 field<br />
sites (at least two for each mainland<br />
state) alongside NVT sites. At each site<br />
seven current spring wheat varieties<br />
suited to the agro-ecological zone were<br />
selected, with the <strong>variety</strong> Janz sown<br />
at all sites as a reference <strong>variety</strong>.<br />
Three sowing times are being assessed<br />
over three seasons with management<br />
practices that will enable the expression<br />
of yield potential. For example, additional<br />
nitrogen fertiliser is top-dressed if, based<br />
on Yield Prophet ® , it appears likely<br />
that soil fertility might prevent the crop<br />
photo: Belinda Walters, CSIRO<br />
Eleven field<br />
sites have been<br />
established<br />
alongside NVT<br />
sites.<br />
Rain-out shelters are one of the tools being used to establish which varieties are best suited to the<br />
various combinations of environments and management regimes in the Australian wheat zone.<br />
from achieving its yield potential. Crop<br />
development (Zadoks growth stages),<br />
total dry matter, yield components<br />
and grain yield are also assessed.<br />
The soils at each of these sites are<br />
being characterised using electromagnetic<br />
mapping and soil coring for chemical and<br />
soil moisture analysis. Soils are also<br />
being tested for root diseases using the<br />
PreDicta B ® analysis.<br />
Rain-out shelters and ponds are<br />
being used to assess the influence of<br />
soil water-holding capacity and soil<br />
water stress. Automatic temperature and<br />
rainfall loggers have been installed to<br />
measure the environmental factors that<br />
influence crop growth and development.<br />
Data from the first two years of this<br />
four-year project are being used in crop<br />
simulation models to capture the measured<br />
<strong>variety</strong>, site and time of sowing effects.<br />
By using simulation models, the detailed<br />
G×E×M information can be extended<br />
across a wide range of locations and<br />
seasons. Simulation modelling also enables<br />
the timing and severity of water stress<br />
to be related to specific <strong>variety</strong> yields.<br />
Ultimately, the project aims to<br />
establish which varieties are best<br />
suited to the various combinations of<br />
environments and management regimes<br />
in the Australian wheat zone. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Code CSA00027<br />
More information: Dr Zvi Hochman, CSIRO,<br />
07 3833 5733, zvi.hochman@csiro.au<br />
Value-adding to NVT data
Variety-specific agronomy<br />
Agronomy <strong>trials</strong> to look at the interaction of <strong>variety</strong> and environment<br />
compliment the NVT program<br />
Value-adding NVT<br />
14<br />
By Blakely Paynter and Ben Curtis<br />
Answering the myriad ‘what if’<br />
agronomy questions posed by growers at<br />
NVT field days was part of the stimulus<br />
for the GRDC to continue investment in a<br />
series of <strong>variety</strong>-specific agronomy projects<br />
across western and southern Australia.<br />
NVT <strong>trials</strong> aim to provide relative grain<br />
yield data for varieties. Variety-specific<br />
agronomy package (VSAP) <strong>trials</strong> examine<br />
varieties and determine how to optimise<br />
their grain yield and their grain quality,<br />
as well as minimise their weaknesses.<br />
VSAP <strong>trials</strong> aim to answer the questions<br />
that relate to <strong>variety</strong> management on-farm.<br />
These questions include:<br />
• What varieties are best suited<br />
to continuous wheat<br />
• What are the most suitable<br />
seeding rates for my environment<br />
and the varieties I grow<br />
• What are the differences between<br />
varieties in their flowering date,<br />
grain yield and grain quality at<br />
different dates of seeding<br />
• What are the differences between<br />
varieties in their responsiveness<br />
to nitrogen and phosphorus<br />
• What are the best management<br />
packages for my new varieties<br />
The focus of VSAP is on genotype,<br />
environment, management interactions<br />
(G×E×M) rather than only genotype by<br />
environment (G×E). In <strong>variety</strong>-specific<br />
agronomy <strong>trials</strong> attention is paid to<br />
impacts on agronomic traits and grain<br />
quality in addition to grain yield.<br />
VSAP in the west<br />
In Western Australia, <strong>variety</strong>-specific<br />
agronomy projects are co-funded by the<br />
GRDC and the Department of Agriculture<br />
and Food, WA (DAFWA). These projects<br />
include ‘Wheat agronomy – building<br />
system profitability in the Western Region’<br />
and ‘Management of barley and barley<br />
cultivars in Western Australia’. The<br />
outputs of these projects complement<br />
data produced from the NVT program.<br />
An example of this ‘what-if’ analysis<br />
comes from two previous GRDC–DAFWA<br />
co-funded projects that focused on the<br />
agronomy of barley in WA. The projects<br />
tackled the questions ‘if seeding rate is<br />
changed what is the impact on grain yield<br />
and grain quality and do varieties differ’<br />
In those two projects, malting barley<br />
varieties (three varieties in low-rainfall<br />
areas and eight varieties in higher-rainfall<br />
areas) were evaluated for their response to<br />
increasing plant density (70 to 230 plants<br />
per square metre). Two or three rates of<br />
nitrogen were applied and the <strong>trials</strong> were<br />
run across 13 locations in low-rainfall areas<br />
and 14 locations in higher-rainfall areas.<br />
In 92 per cent of the <strong>trials</strong>, the grain<br />
yield response to increasing plant<br />
density of the barley varieties sown was<br />
similar across sites, but the grain quality<br />
response often differed. In 50 per cent of<br />
the <strong>trials</strong>, the impact of seeding rate on<br />
screenings varied with <strong>variety</strong>. In 45 per<br />
cent of <strong>trials</strong>, the impact of seeding rate<br />
on grain brightness varied with <strong>variety</strong>.<br />
The focus of VSAP is on<br />
genotype, environment,<br />
management interactions.<br />
These results demonstrate the type of<br />
questions and additional information that<br />
VSAP <strong>trials</strong> can provide to help growers<br />
select the most appropriate <strong>variety</strong> for their<br />
region, management and potential market.<br />
VSAP <strong>trials</strong> also look to add value to<br />
the data generated by NVT. The current<br />
wheat agronomy project is assessing wheat<br />
lines in NVT <strong>trials</strong> for their tolerance to<br />
aluminium and boron toxicity in solution<br />
culture and their tolerance to pre-harvest<br />
sprouting (low falling number risk).<br />
This information is being combined<br />
with the G×E×M information and NVT<br />
information in the development of <strong>variety</strong>specific<br />
management guidelines and annual<br />
<strong>variety</strong> sowing guides for wheat and barley.<br />
The information from VSAP <strong>trials</strong> is<br />
also being used in the development and<br />
improvement of decision-support models<br />
such as Flower Power, which predicts the<br />
effect of management and environment on<br />
flowering time of new varieties and the risk<br />
of frost and terminal drought. Other tools<br />
under development are an electronic <strong>variety</strong><br />
selector and a seeding-rate calculator.<br />
photo: Blakely Paynter, DAFWA photo: DAFWA<br />
(From left) Christine Zaicou-Kunesch, DAFWA<br />
research officer (Wheat agronomy systems<br />
profitability), Ben Cripps, Ogilvie, Northern<br />
Agri Group, and Matu Peipi, LongReach Plant<br />
Breeders at the Mingenew-Irwin Group field<br />
day in September. The wheat agronomy trial<br />
behind them is looking at the value of fungicide<br />
and nitrogen to wheat profitability in a wheat-onwheat<br />
system.<br />
Barley agronomy trial at Merredin, WA. What<br />
is the optimum seeding rate for barley Using<br />
irrigation to simulate different seasons and<br />
determine how the optimum seeding rate to<br />
maximise grain yield may differ with season and<br />
impact on grain quality.<br />
Agronomy projects provide growers<br />
with greater confidence in selecting the<br />
<strong>variety</strong> or varieties that best suit their<br />
business needs and the management<br />
required to optimise production<br />
and meet market demand. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Codes DAW00218,<br />
DAW00224, DAW00148, DAW00190<br />
More information: Blakely Paynter, senior<br />
research officer, DAFWA, 08 9690 2115,<br />
blakely.paynter@agric.wa.gov.au; Ben<br />
Curtis, development officer, DAFWA, 08<br />
9083 1105, ben.curtis@agric.wa.gov.au
What if ...<br />
Working across the GRDC’s Southern and Northern regions, the team running<br />
<strong>variety</strong>-specific agronomy packages in New South Wales is providing answers<br />
to <strong>variety</strong> agronomy questions for wheat, canola, lupins and barley<br />
15<br />
By Dr Peter Martin,<br />
Dr Matt Gardner and Rick Graham<br />
In NSW, <strong>variety</strong>-specific agronomy<br />
packages (VSAP) supported by the GRDC<br />
have been in full swing since 2006.<br />
Many <strong>trials</strong> have been made possible<br />
by collaboration and co-location with a<br />
range of other groups in NSW including<br />
National Variety Trials (NVT). This<br />
provides efficiencies and cost savings as<br />
well as improved research outcomes.<br />
A management committee made up of<br />
NSW Department of Primary Industries<br />
(DPI) research agronomists and district<br />
agronomists has ensured projects reflect<br />
the needs of growers and agronomists.<br />
A significant output has been the<br />
detailed work on yield response of wheat<br />
varieties to sowing time. This combines<br />
VSAP and NVT data in a single analysis.<br />
Communicated through a range of reports,<br />
field days and NSW DPI fact sheets, this<br />
work provides yield response curves for<br />
56 main season varieties sown between<br />
20 April and 19 July. Similar data is<br />
presented for 22 early-sown varieties.<br />
In 2012, the program investigated a<br />
range of ‘what-if’ agronomy questions in<br />
canola, wheat, barley and lupins at multiple<br />
locations across NSW. In previous years<br />
these and other questions had been tackled.<br />
Canola sowing time by seeding rate<br />
– 15 canola varieties, three sowing times<br />
and three seeding rates aiming to establish<br />
15, 30 and 45 plants per square metre.<br />
Canola establishment – six canola<br />
varieties, three sowing depths and interactions<br />
with stubble cover and sowing time.<br />
Canola fertiliser – the response<br />
differences of six varieties (hybrid<br />
and open pollinated) to five nitrogen<br />
fertiliser rates (zero, 15, 30, 60, 120<br />
kilograms of nitrogen per hectare).<br />
Fertiliser was either separated from the<br />
seed by deep banding or drilled prior to<br />
sowing. In addition, northern <strong>trials</strong> also<br />
included sulfur rates ranging from 0 to<br />
40 kilograms of sulfur per hectare.<br />
Wheat sowing time – at seven<br />
locations (Wagga Wagga, Deniliquin,<br />
Cowra, Forbes, Condobolin, Tamworth and<br />
Trangie), 30 near-release and established<br />
Peter Martin scoring canola time of sowing trial at Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute in 2012.<br />
varieties were sown at three sowing dates<br />
and compared to established varieties.<br />
Wheat fertiliser – differences in<br />
grain protein and yield responses of six<br />
varieties that represent a range of maturity<br />
and plant types. Nitrogen fertiliser<br />
rates were determined by location but<br />
ranged from zero to 120kg N/ha.<br />
Wheat and barley delayed harvest<br />
– the impact on grain quality parameters<br />
in different varieties due to delayed<br />
harvest across 19 varieties, four harvest<br />
dates at Condobolin and Tamworth.<br />
Wheat row spacing – at Deniliquin,<br />
this trial is evaluating six commercial<br />
varieties at three row spacings (18,<br />
24 and 36 centimetres) and three seed<br />
densities (80, 120, 160 plants/m 2 ).<br />
Lupin <strong>trials</strong> – at Merriwagga and<br />
Wagga Wagga three varieties of narrow<br />
and three of broad leaf lupins, six possible<br />
row spacing (25, 50 and 75cm and 18, 24<br />
and 36cm) and fertiliser treatments (nil,<br />
sown with the seed, pre-drilled or banded).<br />
Crown rot by sowing time –<br />
in collaboration with Dr Steven<br />
Simpfendorfer, 18 wheat varieties (nine<br />
bread wheats, five barley and four durum),<br />
plus or minus crown rot inoculum and two<br />
sowing times are being assessed at Walgett.<br />
Crown rot by row spacing – similarly<br />
at Walgett and Gurley, three wheat varieties,<br />
high and low population, plus or minus<br />
crown rot inoculum and three row spacings<br />
(30, 40 and 50cm) are the treatments.<br />
Barley lodging management – four<br />
plant growth regulator treatments,<br />
plus or minus slashing are under<br />
scrutiny on two varieties at Moree and<br />
Gurley, Bithramere and Breeza.<br />
Barley nitrogen management – in the<br />
northern region, four varieties tested with<br />
four nitrogen rates (zero to 120kg N/ha)<br />
and two in-crop application treatments.<br />
National barley trial – at Gurley<br />
and Spring Ridge, a collaboration<br />
with the Western and Southern<br />
Barley Agronomy Projects is looking<br />
at G×E×M interactions. □<br />
GRDC <strong>Research</strong> Code DAN00167<br />
More information: Dr Peter Martin, special<br />
research agronomist, Wagga Wagga,<br />
02 6938 1833, peter.martin@dpi.nsw.gov.<br />
au; Dr Matt Gardner, research agronomist,<br />
Tamworth 02 6763 1138, matthew.gardner@<br />
dpi.nsw.gov.au; Rick Graham, research<br />
agronomist, Condobolin, 02 6895 1009<br />
Value-adding NVT
www.nvtonline.com.au<br />
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