The time it takes for a single breeding cross of wheat to become a commercially grown variety can be long, but reducing this time is the aim of two trials at the BCG main research site at Narraport this season.
La Trobe University PhD student, David Cann, is trying to answer the question, why does a high yielding winter wheat have a high yield?
Supervised by Dr James Hunt, Mr Cann is aiming to make the process of identifying lines more efficient and effective thus providing the greatest opportunity to growers, therefore identifying a winter wheat variety suited to the Mallee system.
BCG extension officer, Jemma Pearl, caught up with Mr Cann to discuss the research and to understand how this research will benefit Mallee growers.
Mr Cann said the complexity is that breeding for higher yielding varieties can be costly and time consuming due to the nature of genetic traits.
“We can’t test for yield until a wheat is in its fifth or sixth generation and all of the genes have started to stabilise,” Mr Cann explained.
“I am trying to high jack the process and come up with a short-cut that breeders will be able to use to identify traits in early generation wheats that then can be identified as going to be a higher yielding variety in future generations,” Mr Cann elaborated.
This speedy research could provide a huge benefit to growers.
“Ideally if we are able to fast track this process it will mean more time and money can be invested in higher yielding candidates, reducing the time and money between the initial cross and the farmers sowing an actual released cultivar,” Mr Cann said.
Mr Cann will be discussing this research and the results of his honours project ‘the profit and risk benefits of long fallows in the Mallee’ at the 2018 BCG Main Field Day.
The BCG Main Field Day is on Wednesday 12 September at the BCG main research site at Narraport, on the Nullawil-Birchip Rd. For more information about the event visit www.bcg.org.au/events or phone 03 5492 2787.
To hear more about the research conducted by Mr Cann, listen to the link below, or search for ‘BCG in Focus’ on Soundcloud or iTunes.
https://soundcloud.com/bcg-birchip/bcg-in-focus-research-to-benefit-mallee-growers
