South Perth, Western Australia
August 13, 2009
The impact of frost on wheat and
barley around Australia is being examined as part of a research
project that may eventually help to breed more frost tolerant
cereal varieties.
Frost damage cost Australian grain growers an estimated $109
million in the 2008 season.
The Department of
Agriculture and Food is working with the
University of Adelaide
and the Queensland
Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries on the four
year project, funded by the Grains Research and Development
Corporation.
The project is examining the performance of nine lines of barley
and three lines of wheat under local frost conditions and how
that relates to their genetic makeup.
A farm east of Cuballing, 192 kilometres south east of Perth, is
hosting the WA trial, which includes a weather station that
sends researchers a text message when a frost occurs.
Department research officer Ben Biddulph is travelling this
month from Cuballing to Toowoomba, to see collaborators’ work on
characterising frost events and their impacts on grain
sterility.
“Frost damage to cereal crops could occur at anytime but is most
devastating from August to September at or after heading as a
consequence of aborted florets, head damage and stem damage,” Dr
Biddulph said.
“Frost events that occur during grain fill also contribute to
significant losses through increased screenings and quality down
grading.”
Dr Biddulph said the project builds on South Australian and
Queensland work on frost tolerance.
“Each frost is different, so it is important to measure the
time, duration and severity of each event and how it relates to
the performance of the plant,” he said.
“By understanding how a range of material response with
different frosts will lead to a better understanding of the
mechanisms required for plant breeders to develop more frost
tolerant varieties.”
The barley varieties involved in the trial include Gairdner,
Kaputar (Qld), Stirling, Gilbert (Qld) and several pre-breeding
lines, while the wheat lines are Wyalkatchem, Young and Kite
(Qld).
“This project is not comparing varieties, rather it is looking
at how different varieties react to local conditions and the
relationship between different environments,” Dr Biddulph said.
“The first year of the trial last year revealed genetic
variation for frost tolerance with minor frosts but it is really
too early to provide any concrete information.”
A group of Japanese researchers recently visited the site to
examine the barley lines, some of which originally came from
Japanese plant material.
The Cuballing site can be viewed at the Facey Group Spring Field
Day on Wednesday, 16 September. For more information about the
field day contact Carmen Bayley on 9888 1223.
Picture caption: Department of Agriculture and Food research
officer Dr Ben Biddulph (left) and Dr Atsushi Oyangi, Senior
Researcher, National Institute of Crop Science, Tsukuba, Japan
at the WA national frost trial at Cuballing inspecting frost
damage in Japanese derived barley material during a field visit
in late July.
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