South Perth, Australia
September 22, 2003

A new decision support tool has been developed for the Western Australia's wheat growers that allows them to easily compare 55 varieties.

The Western Australia Department of Agriculture developed the e-Variety Profiler, which is a Microsoft Excel based program and can be downloaded from the Department's web site. 

Department Research Officer Moin Salam said the e-Variety Profiler would assist growers to choose a variety to suit their circumstances.  Growers and consultants can use the information on the varieties in the Profiler to assist in decisions prior to harvest on which varieties to retain or acquire for the next season.

"The tool profiles the status of a variety in terms of its physical characteristics, disease risks, abiotic stresses, herbicide tolerance, yield and potential net return," Dr Salam said. 

"Up to six varieties can be compared side by side. The e-Variety Profiler also lists the recommended varieties for a locality," he said.

Department project manager for crop variety testing Jennifer Garlinge said e-Variety Profiler utilised information that was included in the Crop Variety Sowing Guide 2004 and previous versions. While the e-Variety Profiler is not intended as a substitute for the Crop Variety Sowing Guide, it offers variety-specific information in a more organised and user-friendly way. It also allows for easy updates and modifications.

The first version profiles 55 wheat varieties including the new varieties EGA Blanco, EGA Castle Rock and EGA Jitarning which have been released by Enterprise Grains Australia this month. The Profiler also includes information on recently released varieties from Grain Biotechnology Australia.

The e-Variety Profiler is only available for wheat, however variety information for other crops will soon be available in the electronic format.

This work is partly funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation.