Australian commercial wheat breeding continues to evolve with the launch of an interstate and international collaboration aiming to derive an extra eight million tonnes of milling quality wheat from Australian agro-ecological zones receiving more than 600 mm of annual rainfall.

Incorporated in October and launched today, HRZ Wheats Pty Ltd is an alliance of the Western Australia-based Export Grains Centre (EGC), CSIRO and New Zealand Crop and Food Research (NZCFR).

“Disease has limited productivity and therefore adoption of wheat crops in high rainfall zones (HRZ), while quality falls short of milling market specifications, leaving growers to resort largely to lower earning feed wheats,” EGC and HRZ Wheats Chairman, David Crawford (photo) explained.

“Advances in high rainfall cropping technology have generally come from programs for low and medium rainfall zones.”

Limited by shares, the company will operate on a commercial basis and aims to release its first high rainfall suited varieties by 2008.

Eight million of Australia’s 22 million hectares of HRZ farmland is believed suitable for cropping, but despite enjoying reliable rainfall, these areas average yields of only 0.8 t/ha more than the 1.8 t/ha harvested in drought-prone wheatbelt cropping zones. Some HRZ shires, however, have achieved yields of more than 4 t/ha.

CSIRO and the NZCFR had earlier formed AUSGRAINZ, which stockpiled a comprehensive catalogue of international germplasm, which CSIRO and HRZ Wheats researcher, Mick Poole, said would be incorporated quickly into Australian varieties.

“Research began in April after all the participants reached in-principle agreement to proceed,” he said.

“AUSGRAINZ has access to new resistances for HRZ pests such as Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), which are yet to be used in Australia.

“When long season adapted varieties are grown with suitable agronomy, yields above 6 t/ha have been achieved in field trials.”

HRZ Wheats aims to lift Australian HRZ cropping from 0.8 million ha per year to two million ha per year with varieties yielding at least 4 t/ha.

Although no specialised breeding program had previously targeted HRZ milling wheats, the Grains Research and Development Corporation has supported CSIRO research to develop HRZ feed wheats in a sustained project which has delivered seven varieties in the past eight years.

Each subsequent variety displayed superior yield and disease resistance to its predecessor, culminating in the release of ‘Mackellar’, Australia’s first winter wheat combining resistance to leaf, stem and stripe rust with BYDV resistance.

HRZ Wheats will be administered from the EGC offices in South Perth, WA, with research conducted around Australia and in Christchurch (NZ). 

The HRZ Wheats Board includes David Crawford (EGC), Dr Jane Gibbs (EGC), Dr John Hamblin (EGC), Peter Neilson (NZCFR) and Dr Jim Peacock (CSIRO), while Dr Richard Richards (CSIRO) has been appointed Principal Research Scientist.

Backgrounder

Australia has 22 million hectares of farmland receiving 600 mm or more of annual rainfall.

Eight million of those hectares are suitable for cropping, but adoption has been stymied by unsuitable wheat varieties. Where cropping has been practiced, growers have generally been limited to oats or feed wheats.

EGC Chairman, David Crawford and CSIRO Chief of Plant Industries, Jim Peacock discussed the need for a commercial company to breed high rainfall zone (HRZ) milling quality wheat varieties during Grains Week 2002. 

An existing joint venture between CSIRO and New Zealand Crop and Food Research (NZCFR) had formed AUSGRAINZ, which combined the skills and germplasm resources of both organisations.

In April, the EGC, CSIRO and NZCFR reached an in-principle agreement to form a commercial breeding company specialising in the development of milling wheats for high rainfall zones.

The new company would have access to the resources accrued under the AUSGRAINZ banner.

The company began research following the in-principle agreement of its partners, more than six months ago, to make use of the 2003 season.

HRZ Wheats Pty Ltd was officially incorporated on Tuesday, October 7, 2003, with equity split between the Export Grains Centre Ltd (62%), CSIRO (25.5%) and NZCFR (12.5%), with a mission to:

Create a vibrant, commercially focused and viable wheat breeding company whose long-term success is achieved by delivering high value and profitable new milling wheat varieties to farmers in the high rainfall zones of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania and comparable environments overseas.

HRZ Wheats hopes to release its first milling quality HRZ wheat by 2008.

CSIRO has succeeded in developing and releasing seven HRZ feed wheat varieties during the past eight years.