Wheat variety trails on research stations, 1953 - Digital Library

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Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 3 Western Australia, Series 3

Volume 3

Number 3 May- June,1954 Article 19

5-1954

Wheat variety trails on research stations, 1953 Wheat variety trails on research stations, 1953

F L. Shier

Department of Agriculture J Reeves

Department of Agriculture

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation

Shier, F L. and Reeves, J (1954) "Wheat variety trails on research stations, 1953," Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 3: Vol. 3: No. 3, Article 19.

Available at: https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture3/vol3/iss3/19

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WHEAT VARIETY TRIALS ON RESEARCH STATIONS, 1953

By F. L. SHIER, Superintendent of Wheat Farming, and J. REEVES, Agricultural Adviser.

E

ACH season, wheat variety trials are carried out at the research stations to com- pare the yielding ability of new varieties produced in this and other Australian States with standard varieties under commercial cultivation. Locally-produced crossbreds included in these trials have been developed to meet the demand for high- yielding varieties suited to local conditions. Particular attention has been paid to better straw strength, disease resistance and to improved baking quality.

The rainfall figures for 1953 for each of the research stations are summarised in Table 1.

TABLE 1.

Rainfall at Research Stations, 1953/54 Season.

Station.

Avondale, 1953 Average, 27 years Chapman, 1953

Average, 48 years Esperance, 1953

Average, 4 years Merredin, 1953

Average, 43 years Salmon Gums, 1953 ...

Average, 28 years Wongan Hills, 1953...

Average, 28 years Mar.

48 85 203 64 155 60 374 91 231 128 234 91

Apr.

150 85 110 77 110 130 158 86 129 88 204 96

Growing Period Rainfall.

May.

410 216 414 233 277 329 279 137 103 129 386 188

June.

429 329 472 415 264 246 222 187 221 152 336 261

July.

236 296 276 387 125 234 185 182 135 143 224 260

Aug.

98 219 113 256 224 238 129 148 141 142 109 195

Sept.

59 102 92 142 148 314 46 78 88 102 30 90

Oct.

150 80 143 88 109 180 59 73 76 114 72 70

Total.

1,382 1,244 1,510 1,522 1,147 1,543 920 806 764 782 1,157 1,064

Annual Total.

1,646 1,567 1,890 1,789 1,732 2,066 1,523 1,175 1,360 1,340 1,680 1,406

All stations received heavy soaking rains in March and April, enabling an early start to be made with cultural operations preparatory to seeding.

At Avondale and Merredin, heavy rains were recorded in May followed by almost continuous falls in June, a n d the conse- quent waterlogged conditions delayed seeding. However, from t h e middle of July onwards, fine, mild weather and below average rainfall dried out the ground

enabling crops to recover from their earlier water-logging. Under more normal conditions the seeding was completed on time at the other stations.

Timely rains in September and early October provided a good finish to the season, resulting generally in above average yields a t all stations except at Mer- redin where yields were slightly below normal.

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DISEASE RESISTANCE

Flag Smut.—With the exception of Gabo a n d possibly Insignia 49, all varieties under trial are resistant to this disease. Aspects of flag s m u t control a n d t h e relative ef- ficiency of several fungicides are discussed elsewhere in this J o u r n a l .

Stem Rust.—Light infections of this disease developed in a number of districts a n d from these infections race identifica- tion studies showed no a p p a r e n t change in t h e races present in this State. The complex of rust races originating in the Eastern States in 1948 a n d since named races 222AB a n d 222BB have not been r e - corded here. Varieties such as Bencub- bin 48, Javelin 48, Insignia 49, Gabo and Sabre, which are susceptible to these two races can, therefore, still be regarded as resistant to rust in W.A. Dowerin, Fes- tival, P a n t h e r a n d the crossbreds M.107 to M.115 (inclusive) are resistant to all races of stem rust known to occur in Aus- tralia. Eureka a n d Wongoondy are susceptible to race 126B which has been recorded in this S t a t e but so far has not been observed in epidemic form on either variety.

FLOUR STRENGTH

W h e a t breeders endeavour to combine in t h e one variety t h e two desirable char- acters, h i g h yield a n d superior flour quality. However, t h e i r efforts can be nulli-

fied if a short, fertility destroying rotation is practiced on the farm. A suitable long term rotation, particularly if it includes a period under a legume, such as subter- ranean clover or lupins has a very pro- nounced influence on both the quantity and quality of protein and the subsequent baking quality of the flour.

The influence of the type of rotation on yield, quantity of gluten (protein) and the baking strength of the flour is illustrated by the rotation experiment at Wongan Hills.

Average Figures for the Four Years, 1944-47.

Continuous Wheat....

Fallow, wheat Pasture, fallow, wheat Two years legumes,

fallow wheat

Yield.

bus/ac.

4-7 14-3 18-3

*19-3

Gluten Content.

%

6-9 7-4 7-5 8-2

Strength Figure.

Minutes.

5-3 6 1 6-8 8-8

* Affected by " take all " in 1944 and 1947.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The more important characteristics of the varieties under trial are tabulated in Table 2, while their yielding ability is summarised in Table 3. As in previous years, Bencubbin was used as the control variety in the early planted trials which

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Fig. 1.—A new wheat variety being developed by cross breeding at the Merredln Research Station.

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TABLE 2.

Characteristics of Varieties Under Trial.

Variety.

Bungulla ! Bencubbin Kondut

Wongoondy ....

Dowerin Eureka Festival Gabo ....

Insignia 49 ....

Javelin 48 Bencubbin 48....

Panther Sabre M. 107 M. 109 M. 112 M. 114 M. 115

Produced by.

j

W.A. Dept. of Agriculture

do. do.

N.S.W. Dept. of Agriculture

do. do.

Sydney University Waite Institute

do. do.

Roseworthy Col- lege

W.A. Dept. of Agriculture

do. do.

Maturity.

Very early Midseason Late midseason Early

Early midseason Midseason Early midseason Early

Early Midseason

do.

Late midseason Midseason

Early midseason do. do.

Midseason Early midseason Early

Stem Rust Resistance.

Susceptible do.

do.

do.*

Resistant Susceptible*

Resistant do.

do.

* See Text.

Flag Smut Resistance.

Resistant do.

do.

Highly resist.

do. do.

Susceptible Moderately sus.

Resistant do.

do.

Highly resist.

do. do.

Grain Quality.

F.A.Q.

do.

Medium strong Nearly strong Above F.A.Q.

Nearly strong Strong Nearly strong F.A.Q.

Medium strong F.A.Q.

Medium strong Medium strong Above F.A.Q.

Medium strong Strong Medium strong Nearly strong

included late mid-season and mid-season maturing varieties. For the late planted trials with early maturing varieties, Bun- gulla was the control.

VARIETIES FOR EARLY PLANTING As in previous trials the yields of Ben- cubbin 48 were somewhat disappointing.

Bencubbin outyielded it at Avondale, Mer- redin and Salmon Gums, while a t the other three stations the yields of these two varieties were the same. Bencubbin 48 can only be recommended for planting in areas where stem rust is an appreciable hazard.

Javelin 48 outyielded all other varieties a t both Avondale and Merredin, while on other stations its yield was equal to t h a t of Bencubbin. In last year's trials Javelin 48 showed considerable promise as a midseason variety for early planting.

Both Festival and P a n t h e r gave low yields and neither appears suited to local conditions, with the possible exception of the latter in the Esperance area where it has outyielded Bencubbin by 14% over a three year period.

Kondut and Eureka, as in previous years, have given satisfactory yields at both Avondale and Chapman, indicating their suitability for the higher rainfall areas.

A new variety Sabre, released by Rose- worthy College, South Australia, was under trial for the first time. It was only tested on the Esperance Station and was outyielded by Eureka, Bencubbin and Javelin 48.

The early planted trial at Wongan Hills was badly affected by "take-all" and the yields for 1953 have not been included in Table 3.

VARIETIES FOR LATE PLANTING Insignia 49 again yielded well; a t Chap- man and Salmon Gums it outyielded all other early maturing varieties, while at Avondale it was only outyielded by Gabo.

Unfortunately the flour quality of Insignia 49 is lower t h a n t h a t of Gabo and Won- goondy, whilst preliminary tests indicate it is only moderately resistant to flag smut.

Last season Gabo yielded better t h a n Wongoondy a t most stations. However, considering the results for the previous eight years, it will be seen t h a t the yields of these two varieties are approximately the same. At Avondale they both generally yield better t h a n Bungulla while at Chapman and Merredin the yields of all three are about the same. At Salmon Gums

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Fig. 2.—A general view of the variety trials at the Wongan Hills Research Station.

of an acre in area.

Each plot is one-tenth

Wongoondy outyields Bungulla and Gabo but at Wongan Hills the position is re- versed. Both Gabo and Wongoondy can be recommended for late planting in all wheat growing areas. Further, because of their good straw strength they are well suited for growing on the "lighter" soils, including the higher rainfall clover-ley areas.

CROSS-BRED VARIETIES Five un-named crossbred varieties, developed on the Merredin Research Station, were under test for yield. M.107 and M.109 are selections from a cross between Kenya C.6041 and Eureka 11; M.112 is a Eureka 11 x M.61 cross and M.114 and M.115 are both from Eureka 11 x M.60 (M.60 and M.61 are from the same cross, Sword x

Maturity Group.

Midseason and Late Mid- season

Early and Very Early

TABLE 4.

Recommended Varieties.

Zone 1 (Early).

Less than 14in.

Annual Rainfall.

Bencubbin

Bungulla Wongoondy Gabo

Zone 2 (Midseason).

14in. to ISin.

Annual Rainfall.

Kondut Eureka Bencubbin Bencubbin 48 * Gabo

Wongoondy Bungulla

Zone 3 (Late).

Above 18in.

Annual Rainfall.

Kondut Eureka Bencubbin Bencubbin 48 * Gabo

Wongoondy Bungulla

* Bencubbin 48 is recommended in preference to Bencubbin in districts with a high rust hazard.

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Kenya C.6041). The Eureka parent was used for its straw strength, flour quality and flag smut resistance and Kenya C.6041 for rust resistance. M.112 has generally given below average yields and has been discarded.

In the early mid-season trial both M.107 and M.109 appear to be at least equal to Bencubbin in yield, whilst from the limited data available M.114 appears better than the other three. Further trials are neces- sary before their relative yielding ability can be accurately assessed. This also ap- plies to M.115 which was only tested in the late planted trials at Wongan Hills and Merredin.

As a guide to planting, the recommended varieties, for each of the three major zones of the wheatbelt, are listed in order of preference in Table 4. Neither Javelin 48 nor Insignia 49 have been included in this list as they have not yet been tested for a sufficient number of years for their yielding ability to be accurately determined.

DAIRY CATTLE IMPROVEMENT ACT Bull Registration

T

HE Minister for Agriculture (Mr. E. K.

Hoar) has drawn attention to the requirements of the Dairy Cattle Improve- ment Act relative to the registration of bulls.

The Act provides that all bulls in the South-West division of the State must be registered, with the exception of pedigree beef strain animals kept solely for beef production, which may be exempted on application to the Director of Agriculture.

Certified pure-bred bulls are registered on payment of a fee of 10s. for life, but grade bulls must be registered annually and a fee of 5s. paid with each application.

Registration of grade bulls was due on the 1st of January (1954), and the Act stipulates that owners who have not com- plied with the regulations are liable to a penalty of not less than £20.

The Department should be notified im- mediately of the death or transfer of any registered bull.

v^.o.IVl.lj.

LIME SULPHUR SPRAY

AMPLE STOCKS FOR 1954 REQUIREMENTS

PACKED IN

5 gallon and 44 gallon Drums

INQUIRE THROUGH OUR DISTRIBUTORS or direct from

Cuming Smith & Mount Lyell Farmers Fertilisers Limited, 133 St. Georges Terrace, Perth,

Works Bassendean

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