Summary

The project will research hay yield and quality of new varieties of dual purpose awnless wheat. The second component will research dual purpose awnless barley varieties in Australia and overseas. If suitable genetic material is located it will be included in the yield and quality assessments in 2020 assuming quarantine requirements are met. Awnlessness is a market preferred option for wheat hay and allows for disease and weed control unavailable in oats hay. Farmers have requested awnless wheat to complement oat hay, to provide grass weed control, to maintain hay quality at high hay yield and to provide a wider range of sowing and maturity options because of its genetic diversity. Wheat is better adapted to dry, windy and hot conditions and there is evidence that hay quality does not decline rapidly as yield increases compared to oats.

Potential dual purpose, and varieties with adequate hay yield, have been initially assessed and will be released to the market in 2020. Other awnless varieties have been developed for grain and are untested for hay yield and quality. Until recently the grain quality of most awnless wheat varieties was inferior to awned wheat so adoption was limited. With the potential of higher grain yield and better grain quality the interest in dual purpose awnless wheat is gaining momentum.

Program

Export Fodder

Research Organisation

Agrilink Agricultural Consultants (Australia) Pty Ltd

Objective Summary

The project aim is to provide growers, processors and exporters with hay yield and quality data of new and potential awnless wheat in order to diversify hay production, increase hay yield, control problem and contaminant grass weeds, provide a pathway to market and increase exports.