It is hoped that all new pulse varieties will come complete with their own Pulse VMP (variety management package) as part of an approach by Pulse Australia and the Grains Research and Development Corporation to address the need for independent, objective assessment of new releases.

Each management package will be specific to the variety, will address much more than agronomy (such as pathology and market information) and is expected to be a ‘living document.'

Trevor Bray, development officer with Pulse Australia, said that the document will incorporate agronomic and pathology information from the breeding team, farmers involved in the initial seed increase, marketers and customers. He referred to the sort of practical experience provided by large-scale Western Australian pea producers as an example.

"Two years ago Western Australian farmers using large headers struck harvesting problems with the new Kaspa* variety," Mr Bray said. "They experienced difficulty getting it to feed into their headers. They used such modifications as cross augers and vertical knives to overcome the problem and that's the sort of information we want to make available to all other growers."

Intended to provide much more than agronomic advice, the management package will cover all aspects of the new variety from weed control, response to particular herbicide treatment and harvest management. Field pea researcher Dr Eric Armstrong, of the NSW Department of Primary Industries, said that even with the best will in the world, it had been difficult not to take a state-based approach to information about new varieties.

"This is a definite attempt to take a national approach streamlining the provision of information about the new varieties to all production regions across Australia," Dr Armstrong said.

Quizzed on how objective a breeder can be about a variety they've bred, Dr Armstrong points to the role Pulse Australia - and through it the GRDC - will play in the scheme.

"There's been a very rapid increase in the number of pulse varieties available," he said. "We came from a very small base but with field peas, for example, we've released 15 varieties since 1997 and I anticipate that we could release as many as another three in the next three years.

"We have to address new issues facing growers. They need information about seed dressings, the variety's response to herbicides, its shattering potential and other aspects - and it needs to be credible information.

"With the exception of an albus lupin program in Western Australia and some European pea varieties that have come into Australia, there are no private breeding companies involved in pulse breeding. Pulse Australia will guarantee the objectivity of the information released in the management packages."

The Pulse VMPs will also involve the commercial partners who market the new varieties and a VMP logo will identify the publications containing the agreed management packages. Work is progressing on packages to accompany soon-to-be-released varieties of chickpeas (with increased aschocyta resistance), mung beans and faba beans.

More detailed information on the Pulse VMP program will be available early in 2005 or by visiting the Pulse Australia website at www.pulseaus.com.au

* Varieties protected under the Plant Breeders Rights Act 1994.