Western Australia
June 3, 2008
Source:
GRDC's The Crop Doctor
New lupin varieties released in
Australia continue to result from national collaboration and
represent many years of dedicated research, screening and
breeding in order to incorporate desirable traits.
Grains Research and Development
Corporation (GRDC) supported lupin collaborators from WA,
SA, Victoria and NSW met recently in Adelaide and pooled
information to determine which breeding lines were performing
well in each lupin growing state.
WA is the number one producer of narrow-leafed lupin, with
280,000 hectares sown this year, down from a high of 755,000
hectares in 2005.
Alan Meldrum of Pulse Australia says this figure is 50 per cent
less than last year, due to strong cereal and oilseed prices
providing a likely bigger short-term profit outcome and
therefore greater incentive to plant.
Senior Lupin Breeder, Dr Bevan Buirchell of the Department of
Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA), says he has high hopes for
southern areas and low rainfall areas of WA for the recently
released narrow-leafed lupin Jenabillup .
Jenabillup was 12 years in the development phase, from
the first cross through to release, in the GRDC supported DAFWA
lupin breeding program.
According to Dr Buirchell, Jenabillup has resistance to aphid
colonisation similar to Kalya and Tanjil , moderate resistance
to brown spot and is less susceptible to black pod or unfilled
pod syndrome prevalent in WA’s south and south east coastal
areas.
Dr Buirchell said promising WA lines are quarantined and bulked
up at the NSW Department of Primary Industries in Yanco. If
anthracnose resistant, they are then sent to Victoria and SA for
testing in parallel with tests in WA and NSW.
Lupin collaborators decide what cultivars to promote in their
respective states.
The WA narrow-leafed lupin Coromup , released in 2006,
was bred as a specific purpose variety for WA, rather than as a
widely adapted higher yielding replacement for Mandelup .
According to Dr Buirchell, WA growers have not yet tested the
new variety Jenabillup , but will be able to grow it in 2008 if
they can obtain seed.
Jenabillup has performed better than Mandelup on the south coast
and in low rainfall regions, especially if black pod syndrome is
present.
Jim Egan of the South Australian Research and Development
Institute (SARDI), reports that in SA field trials in 2007,
Jenabillup was the top or equal top yielding variety at four of
six evaluation sites, giving a cross-sites average yield
advantage of six per cent above Mandelup .
Coromup , the top or equal top variety at two sites, equalled
Mandelup for its cross-sites average.
It is a high quality narrow-leafed lupin with large, uniform
high protein seeds, excellent attributes for dehulling and
developing premium stockfeed markets.
Mr Egan suggests that in the absence of bonus payments for
higher protein in eastern Australia, the main role for Coromup
may be on-farm feed use.
No decision has yet been made to release either Jenabillup or
Coromup in eastern Australia, pending the results of further
field testing in 2008.
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The Crop Doctor is
GRDC Managing Director,
Peter Reading |
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