Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia
April 22, 2008
Zulu and Zebu; high yielding
feed durum and feed wheat varieties with top rust resistance.
Seed available for 2008 planting.
Australian Grain
Technologies (AGT) new Feed Grade durum wheat Zulu, and Feed
Grade bread wheat Zebu, combine very high grain yield, early to
mid maturity, good straw strength, excellent resistance to the
three rusts (stem leaf and stripe) and adequate yellow leaf spot
resistance. Agronomic type of both varieties is excellent and
maturity suits main season sowing.
A large portion of the Queensland and northern New South Wales
wheat crop (3.0 million tonnes average annual eastern states use
of feed wheat) traditionally supplies the various livestock
industries such as beef and lamb feed lotting, dairying, poultry
and pig meat. Zulu and Zebu represent a deliberate effort by AGT
to develop wheat varieties that focus on high yield and disease
resistance for this important and rapidly growing industry.
Pig and poultry industries tend to prefer bread wheat (Zebu)
while many of the ruminant (cattle and sheep) feeding industries
prefer durum wheat (Zulu).
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Kerrie Gleeson, General Manager – Seeds, AGT, and Peter
Wilson, former AGT Wheat breeder, checks the new high
yielding rust resistant Feed Grade varieties at the PBI
Narrabri field-day in spring 07. |
AGT former wheat breeder Peter
Wilson (photo, right), one of Australia’s most respected plant
breeders, identified the breeding lines that resulted in Zulu
and Zebu, from genetic material provided by the International
Centre for Wheat and Maize Improvement (CIMMYT), based in
Mexico. Peter Wilson, based in Tamworth, selected these lines to
be especially well suited to the high rainfall areas of northern
NSW, including the Liverpool Plains, where they have regularly
performed exceedingly well. They should also suit irrigation
areas and in preliminary trials have yielded high in the
southern NSW irrigation areas including the MIA.
For some years growers have been seeking varieties such as Zulu
and Zebu that can regularly produce high yields in areas where
intensive livestock feeding businesses are close by, and also
where seasonal conditions such as wet harvests commonly lead to
traditional bread and durum wheats being downgraded to feed
quality.
Extensive trialling in northern NSW by AGT, Agvance, and the
University of New England, between 2003 and 2007, and by the
national GRDC NVT evaluation program in 2007, indicate that Zulu
and Zebu yield very high in potential high yielding situations,
commonly in the range of 10 to up to 30 percent above current
important high yielding bread wheat varieties such as Ventura.
Zulu has a tendency to yield a few percentage points above Zebu
in high yielding situations. In lower yielding conditions both
generally yield similar to popular bread wheats.
Zulu and Zebu are two of only a few current varieties rated
Resistant (R or 9) against all three rusts; stem, leaf and
stripe rust, including the new WA+Yr17 stripe rust strain.
Zulu and Zebu also have useful levels of resistance (5 or MS
rating) to yellow leaf spot, a disease that can devastate high
yield potential crops in wetter years. In 1998 for example,
yellow leaf spot was responsible for more than 50 percent yield
loss in many susceptible (S or VS) varieties in northern
Australia. Varieties with a 5 or MS rating, similar to that of
Zulu and Zebu, generally suffered minor to significantly less
damage.
Agronomic attributes such as straw strength (medium height),
standability and tolerance to shattering, rate well with Zulu
and Zebu. Both are mid season varieties with Zulu 1 to 2 days
later maturing than Janz and Zebu 1 to 2 days earlier than Janz.
For most areas they suit the main season sowing window.
Zulu and Zebu seed is available through AGT Seeds, 026881 6210.
More details on variety information are available from 08 8308
7708.
Like most new variety releases Zulu and Zebu are subject to End
Point Royalty (EPR) which funds future wheat breeding research
and evaluation. Growers will be subject to a Growers Agreement
that acknowledges an EPR has to be paid on all production other
than seed retained for their own planting.
Zulu and Zebu were selected and evaluated under the experimental
designation TAMSR and TAMDK. Zebu and Zulu names were chosen in
reference to cattle, Zebu a popular breed, and Zulu a race of
people who’s livelihoods over many generations has relied on
cattle. |
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