NatioNal variety trials supplemeNt - Grains Research ...

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used by growers, new protocols for disease management in the NVT have been established. These protocols include the use of fungicides to prevent or control diseases in NVT plots. At designated wheat (and, in South Australia, barley) sites, one of the four replicates remain unsprayed, allowing pathologists to use these controls to assist in the establishment of disease ratings. In addition to collecting yield, quality and agronomic data for each nomination, trial service providers record soil and rainfall data, minimum air temperatures, dates of sowing and harvest, fertiliser and chemical inputs and rotation information. Data from all sites across Australia is recorded in a single database. This uniform system of recording enables a variety’s performance to be compared across trial sites with similar characteristics. Data analysis is the responsibility of the five-year project ‘Statistics for the Australian Grains Industry’, led by CSIRO’s Professor Brian Cullis, whose team of statisticians work closely with the NVT program. NVT Online (www.nvtonline.com.au) is the central web-based repository for all NVT information. This website is regularly updated with new information and looks at better ways for growers to access the information most relevant to them. □ GRDC Research Code CAS00002 More information: Tom Giles, manager trial operations, GRDC, 02 6166 4500, tom.giles@grdc.com.au NVT structure and operation 4 NVT Advisory Committees In 2008, the NVT program was formally reviewed to assess its performance against the objective of delivering impartial varietal information to Australian grain growers. One of the key findings of the review was the need for a more formalised advisory and consultative mechanism for stakeholder involvement in NVT operations. Consequently, the GRDC established regional NVT Advisory Committees. Initially there were 15 regional NVT Advisory Committees (Figure 2), each comprising three growers and three agronomists from that region, a service provider and a representative from the appropriate GRDC Regional Panel. There are now 11 NVT Advisory Committees; in Western Australia there is now one committee with two representatives drawn from each of the five Regional Cropping Solutions Networks. Once a year the advisory committees meet face-to-face with the NVT manager. Additional meetings are held by teleconference if required. Specialists, such as industry experts and biometricians, may contribute to meetings if requested. These committees provide advice on the operation of the NVT, including issues such as the location and number of trial sites, changes to trial protocols and nomination and retention of commercial varieties. Recent issues raised for consideration by the advisory committees include the exclusion of wheat varieties that are very susceptible to stripe rust, the use of district practice for disease management, the increase in the dry sowing of crops and its implications for NVT trials, and the development of new analysis and reporting tables for long-term variety comparisons. The NVT Advisory Committees also help guide the service providers on the best options for keeping the trials pest and weed-free. FIGURE 2 Location of NVT Advisory Committees WA Northern WA Central WA Eastern WA Sandplain WA Mallee Eyre Peninsula Yorke Peninsula/ Mid-north SA Mallee There were originally five committees in WA but now there is one NVT advisory committee with two representatives drawn from each of the five Regional Cropping Solutions Networks. Central Queensland Southern Queensland Northern NSW Central NSW Southern NSW/North-east Vic Upper south-east SA/ Vic Wimmera High-rainfall zone Latest updates to NVT The GRDC and ACAS regularly review the NVT program and initiate changes based on feedback from growers and specialists By Alan Bedggood In the quest to deliver the most relevant variety information in a highly accessible format, the operation and grower use of data from the National Variety Trials (NVT) program is regularly reviewed. In response to these reviews, the GRDC and Australian Crop Accreditation Systems (ACAS), which manages the NVT program on behalf of the GRDC, have initiated some recent changes in the management and delivery of the NVT program. Disease management There has been much debate about the use of fungicides in variety testing programs. In one camp are those who want to see how the variety performs if attacked by pathogens. In the other camp are those who want to see how it performs when the disease is
NVT site managers are responsible for controlling weeds and disease at the site to minimise factors that could reduce yield potential. Scott Boyd from NSW DPI, Dubbo, looks over his trial sprayer. Variety choice at a touch 5 controlled by commercially available fungicides, as would occur on-farm. Disease ratings for wheat, barley and blackleg in canola are now covered by separate, nationally coordinated screening projects (see pages 10, 11). Consequently, site mangers are able to control or prevent the predominant fungal infections experienced in the region using commercially available fungicides for all crop types within the NVT. This not only enables varieties to achieve their potential more fully but also prevents the untreated variety plots being a source of infection in the district. At some wheat (and, in South Australia, barley) sites, an additional fourth replicate trial remains untreated with fungicide, allowing pathologist to assess the disease tolerance of those lines in the field. These unsprayed plots can also provide an early warning of a change in a variety’s disease rating due to the emergence of a new pathotype. NVT Online Between 2008 and 2011, 181 new winter crop varieties were released in Australia, including 47 wheat varieties, 14 barley varieties and 70 canola varieties. All were included in NVT trials and the data for them can be found on NVT Online (www.nvtonline.com.au). With such a diverse range of information, finding varieties that best suit your situation can be confusing. The NVT team are continually searching for better ways to present the data to help Developments in the management and delivery of NVT have been initiated. photo: Paul Jones growers make the best variety choices. Selecting ‘Site Near You’ through the interactive Google map helps to direct users to the required information (see pages 8 and 9). Users can further refine their search by crop and/or postcode. A new feature on NVT Online is the site ‘bubble’. Information and links in the bubble help users quickly find all the information that relates to that crop type for a chosen state. Information on disease ratings, end-point royalties, sowing guides and links to other useful information can all be located from the bubble. More specific yield data Statistical analysis is at the heart of the NVT and is the responsibility of biometricians. NVT statistical analysis is managed by Statistics for the Australian Grains Industry (SAGI) led by Professor Brian Cullis, CSIRO. The SAGI team, which includes Alison Kelly and Dr Alison Smith, has a worldwide reputation for excellence in this area. In recent years, the team at SAGI has been refining advanced statistical methods for use with NVT data. In 2013, it is hoped that growers will be able to reap the benefits of this new approach. With more reliable and specific data, growers should be better able to select varieties most suited to their conditions. □ GRDC Research Code CAS00002 More information: Alan Bedggood, NVT manager, ACAS, 03 5382 7200, alan@acaslimited.com.au 2011 saw the launch of the CropMate VarietyChooser app for iPhones, iPads and iPod touch by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (DPI). Based on the NSW DPI Winter crop variety sowing guide, the app is an extension of the CropMate variety selector system, which uses the latest NVT data. Following the success of this app, the GRDC has now commissioned Graeme McIntosh (pictured) and his colleagues at the NSW DPI Broadacre Cropping Unit to produce a national version relevant to all winter cropping regions. It is anticipated that the NVT variety chooser app will be available in 2013. □ GRDC Research Code DAN00102 More information: Graeme McIntosh, district agronomist, NSW DPI, 03 5019 8404, graeme.mcintosh@dpi.nsw.gov.au photo: Peter Jessop NVT structure and operation
Page 1 and 2: November - December 2012 National v
Page 3: How NVT works NVT is a national pro
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Page 11 and 12: A new pathotype of net blotch ident
Page 13 and 14: Pushing the yield frontier 13 Ident
Page 15 and 16: What if ... Working across the GRDC

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