Case Study Details
- Trial: Demonstration of promising international cereal lines (bread wheat, durum wheat, and barley)
- Location: Nullawil
- Crop year rainfall (Nov–Oct): 361mm
- GSR (Apr–Oct): 178mm
- Soil type: Loamy clay
- Paddock History: Vetch brown manure
What is the CAIGE Project?
The CAIGE (CIMMYT and ICARDA Germplasm Evaluation) project assesses the yield performance and disease resistance of diverse genetics from the two International CGIARs (Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research). This includes CIMMYT International (the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre) and ICARDA (the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas). BCG collaborated with the University of Sydney GRDC-led project, CAIGE, to establish a demonstration trial at the 2024 BCG Main Research Site of some of the promising high-yielding adapted germplasm from both international centres using Australian commercial check varieties as a comparison.
Funded by GRDC, the International CAIGE project was established in 2006 by The University of Sydney. Initially, the project only considered bread and durum wheat. Barley, led by the University of Queensland, was added in 2012.
At the same time the yield data is collected in Australia, complementary pathology testing for disease occurs with Australian partners. Once the trials are harvested, field yield data and genomic data is assembled and analysed by the University of Queensland in multi-environmental trials over three years. The CAIGE core team then pulls all the data together, along with data from the consultative group and CAIGE partners. The most promising international lines are used by private breeding companies for developing new commercial varieties, or straight releases, such as the bread wheat Borlaug 100.
A paper published in the July 2024 edition of Frontiers in Plant Science by the CAIGE core team (https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1435837) provided a benefit-cost analysis indicating the economic value of the project was 20:1, and the contribution of the CAIGE genetics in commercial varieties has been significantly increasing over time.
CAIGE is a complex project with many moving parts and multiple partners, which makes it unique. Partners include the private breeding sector, and they work together to share data collected on these international materials for the benefit of their breeding companies and the broader Australian grains industry. The international genetics provides adapted cereal lines for a wide range of diverse environments, which are high-yielding and have valuable disease resistances. The lines come from diverse genetic backgrounds that are providing new genetics to the Australian gene pool. Many of the lines have been identified to perform well across a range of environments – exhibiting a degree of resilience – and some are better suited to specific regions such as the Victorian Mallee. The way the project shares the data enables plant breeders to select the materials most appropriate for their need and purpose.
Who Are CIMMYT and ICARDA?
Both CIMMYT International and ICARDA belong to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and have a mandate to improve agricultural systems in the developing world, working in collaboration with key stakeholders and advanced research institutions. Their key mission is to improve food security in their mandated regions and promote sustainable agricultural systems.
ICARDA (icarda.org) has headquarters in Morocco and regional offices throughout North Africa and West Asia. It has a regional focus working in dryland agricultural systems. ICARDA is a key partner with CAIGE and shares bread wheat, durum wheat, and barley genetic materials in the project.
CIMMYT International (cimmyt.org) has a global mandate to work on wheat and maize improvement in developing countries with national project partners and advanced research institutions. It is headquartered in Mexico and has regional offices across the developing world where wheat and maize are staple foods. Its contribution to the project includes developing high-yielding, sustainable bread and durum wheat lines.
Trial Details
The demonstration trial involved nine lines – three each of bread wheat, durum wheat, and barley. For each crop, there was a representative check Australian variety (Calibre for bread wheat, Bitalli for durum wheat and Cyclops for barley). Two diverse ICARDA barley lines were selected, and one bread and durum wheat from ICARDA and CIMMYT (Figure 2). The trial was dry sown on 2 May into vetch hay stubble; at sowing 60kg/ha of Granulock SZ was applied and treated with Flutriafol. All varieties established evenly throughout the plot. The trial was managed as per best practice; 70kg/ha of urea was spread and necessary broadleaf, fungicide and insecticide sprays applied.
Australian Checks and CIMMYT and ICRADA Lines Used
Durum wheat
AGT Bitalli: this wheat has established itself as one of the most reliable and highest-yielding varieties available for the southern cropping region. It is a ‘low risk’ durum variety, combining adaptation to a range of environments and growing conditions, with excellent grain quality and low screening risk. It also has good resistance to foliar diseases.
CIMMYT – 37:ZDG21: is a high-yielding durum wheat with genetic diversity from North Africa and Mexico. It brings genetic diversity along with foliar disease resistance and has been found to perform well in dryland environments.
ICARDA – 61:ZDL22: is high-yielding, being a landrace (wild relative) crossed with Spanish durum wheat. This wheat has foliar disease resistance and brings genetic diversity.
Bread wheat
AGT Calibre: a higher yielding and longer coleoptile variety than Scepter, its most obvious comparison. Calibre adapts well in medium yielding environments and is AH quality.
CIMMYT – 290:ZWB21: a high-yielding competitive bread wheat from Mexico. It brings genetic diversity from Mexico and Spain. 290:ZWB21 also has good-to-moderate disease resistance to several foliar diseases, such as rusts and Septoria nodorum (leaf spot).
ICARDA – 1:ZIZ22: a competitive bread wheat from Morocco which is high yielding. Genetics are diverse, from North Africa and the cross includes the Australian variety Excalibur. It has good‑to‑moderate disease resistance to several diseases.
Barley
AGT Cyclops: Cyclops has an erect semi-dwarf growth habit, derived from the Hindmarsh and La Trobe family of lines. It has the potential to yield well. This was demonstrated in the CAIGE trials and in the 2023 NVT trials at Birchip, when Cyclops yielded 24 per cent above the trial mean. It is very susceptible to both powdery mildew and barley leaf rust but has useful levels of resistance to spot form of net blotch and net form of net blotch.
ICARDA Nursery – 122:ZBS19 and 8:MMB21: both 8:MMB21 and 122:ZBS19 are lines derived from parents identified when the CGIAR barley program was being run in Mexico. This program focused on breeding for high-input environments and malt quality. These two lines share a common parent in the Mexican variety Conchita. 122:ZBS19 is crossed with European variety Henley, and 8:8MMB21 is crossed with Keops in Syria in 2012. The progeny of Keops has demonstrated heat tolerance in ICARDA trials. Both lines have shown consistently high yield potential in the CAIGE trials as well as an excellent package of resistance to multiple foliar pathogens. They are both moderately resistant (MR) or better for barley leaf rust, powdery mildew, and net form of net blotch.
All the international lines tested by BCG in 2024 were competitive for yield with the Australian check varieties, in addition to providing useful resistance to several economically important diseases in Australia.
Importance to Australian Farming Systems
CIMMYT and ICARDA focus their projects on dry and lower-income areas, selecting germplasm specifically for developing countries. However, through the CAIGE project, this initiative also offers significant benefits for Australian agriculture. The program is diverse and aims to produce both high‑yielding and disease-resistant varieties. Plant breeders in Australia are able to access CAIGE genetic diversity to develop new and improved varieties that are desirable for their stress tolerance, disease resistance, and high yields.
Many Australian varieties have been developed from CIMMYT or ICARDA lineage, as well as direct releases from CIMMYT. This emphasises the value of international partnerships in improving crop yields and disease resistance as Australian farming systems change.
References
Agriculture Victoria, 29 July 2024, ‘Growing wheat in Victoria’. <https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/crops-andhorticulture/grains-pulses-and-cereals/growing-grains-pulses-and-cereals/growing-wheat-in-victoria>.
CAIGE CIMMYT and ICARDA germplasm evaluation, 2024, ‘CIMMYT’. <https://www.caigeproject.org.au/about/cimmyt/>.
CAIGE CIMMYT and ICARDA germplasm evaluation, 2024, ‘ICARDA’. <https://www.caigeproject.org.au/about/icarda/>.
CAIGE CIMMYT and ICARDA germplasm evaluation, 2024, ‘Our project’. <https://www.caigeproject.org.au/about/our-projects/>.
CIMMYT, 2024, ‘About us’. <https://www.cimmyt.org/about/>. GRDC, 2022, ‘Capturing global diversity and international genetic gains of wheat and barley: CAIGE 2022–2026’. <https://grdc.com.au/grdc-investments/investments/investment?code=UOS2203004RTX>.
ICARDA, 2024, ‘Staying ahead of climate change’. https://www.icarda.org/about-us/strategic-plan
Knights S., 30 Aug 2024, GRDC Ground-Cover, ‘Analytics identifying valuable new genetics’. <https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/crops/cereals/analytics-identifying-valuable-new-genetics>.
Trethowan RM., Nicol JM., Singh A., Singh RP., Tadesse W., Govidan V., Crespo-Herrera L., Cullis B., Mazur L., Dieters M., Micallef S., Farrell T., Wilson R., and Mathews K., (2024) Frontiers in Plant Science, ‘The CIMMYT Australia ICARDA Germplasm Evaluation concept: a model for international cooperation and impact’ 15:1435837. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1435837
Acknowledgements
The CAIGE project team gratefully acknowledges the long-term strategic investment from GRDC and co-investment by the Australian private plant breeding community.
BCG sincerely thanks the Watts family for generously hosting the trial site at Nullawil and for their support throughout the project.
