Oat Breeding Newsletter. November Launching Kowari at the Royal Adelaide Show, September Compiled by Sue Hoppo and Pamela Zwer for the

Transcription

1 Oat Breeding Newsletter November 2017 Launching Kowari at the Royal Adelaide Show, September 2017 Compiled by Sue Hoppo and Pamela Zwer for the National Oat Breeding Program: Pamela Zwer (SARDI) Sue Hoppo (SARDI) Peter McCormack (SARDI) Michelle Williams (SARDI) Mahalakshmi Mahadevan (SARDI) Mark Hill (SARDI) Peter Wheeler (SARDI) KerryLee McMurray (SARDI) Pip Payne (DPIRD) Debra Donovan (DPIRD) Cody Hull (DPIRD) In conjunction with: SARDI New Variety Agronomy Group SARDI Gene Function Group SARDI Field Crops Pathology Centre for Bioinformatics and Biometrics (CBB) at the National Institute for Applied Statistics Research Australia (NIASRA) NVT Program DPIRD NVT and Agronomy Group Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP) Funded by: SARDI/PIRSA DPIRD GRDC Agrifutures Australia SAGIT Uncle Tobys Company AEXCO Pty Ltd Supported by: Oat grower co-operators across Australia Grains Industry Western Australia Oat Committee (GIWA) Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA)

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Entries for 2017 grain trials 2. Entries for 2017 hay trials 3. Breeding program developments 4. New varieties 5. Long term grain trial results 6. Long term hay trial results The DPIRD crew at the Dowerin Field Day, September 2017 Editors note: Just a reminder, this newsletter should not be quoted without consent from the authors. PIRSA disclaimer:

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4 1. Entries for 2017 Grain Trials 1.1 NVT and Stage 4 Grain Trials New in 2017 Stage 4 grain trial sown at Leeton in NSW Additional Stage 4 grain trial sown at Muresk in WA Pingelly Stage 4 grain trial relocated to Brookton in WA Kybybolite Stage 4 grain trial relocated to Padthaway in SA NVT15 trial at Pingelly relocated to Corrigin in WA NVT15 trial at Cuballing relocated to Wagin in WA NVT20 trial sites sown at both Bordertown and Frances as a back up to seed bulk up site sown at Wasleys for Uncle Tobys quality evaluation National Variety Testing (NVT) trials comprising either 20 or 15 entries were sown at a total of 27 locations throughout SA, Victoria, NSW and WA in 2016 (Table 1). Trial locations and plans can be found on the NVT website The Stage 4 grain trial further reduced back to 40 entries in Stage 4 grain trials were sown at four locations in SA, one location in NSW and four locations in WA (Table 2). The Stage 4 grain entries were sown in nurseries at Manjimup to evaluate leaf rust, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and septoria resistance and at Canarvon in a stem rust nursery. Stage 4 grain entries were also evaluated for CCN resistance at the Waite Campus in SA and for stem and leaf rust by the Australian Cereal Rust Control Program, the University of Sydney, at Cobbitty in NSW. Information about the grain yield and quality of named lines is included in section 6 of this newsletter. Trial plots at Turretfield Research Centre in August 2017 during early vigour scoring (spot the tractor in the background) Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 3

5 Table 1: NVT trial locations in South Australia Victoria New South Wales Western Australia NVT15 Diggora Dookie Eastville Hamilton Streatham NVT 15 Crystal Brook Paskeville Waikerie NVT 20 Bordertown Frances NVT 15 Condobolin Cowra Gerogery Oaklands Quandialla Wagga Wagga Wellington Table 2: Stage 4 grain trial and nursery locations in CVT15 Corrigin Cunderdin Dandaragan Esperance R.S. Holt Rock Merredin Pingelly Pingrup Rylington Park Wagin York South Australia New South Wales Western Australia Yield trials Riverton Pinery Turretfield Padthaway Seed increase Wasleys Nurseries Waite (CCN resistance) Yield trials Leeton irrigated trial Nurseries Rust evaluation at ACRCP Cobbitty Victoria - Yield trials Cunderdin Brookton Muresk Rylington Park Wongan Hills Nurseries Manjimup (BYDV, rust & septoria) Canarvon (rust) Growing single seed descent populations in the greenhouse at the Waite in January 2017 Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 4

6 2. Entries for 2017 Hay Trials 2.1 Hay trials New in 2017 Stage 4 hay trial sown at Leeton NSW for observation Pingelly trial site moved to Brookton Stage 5 hay trial moved from Muresk to Cunderdin Stage 4 hay trial moved from Cunderdin to Muresk Stage 4 hay trial sown at Lake Grace & at Merredin in WA for observation The Stage 5 (S5) hay trial for 2017 reduced to 36 entries and was sown at Cunderdin and Wongan Hills in WA, Horsham and Elmore in Victoria, and Finley in NSW. Stage 4 (S4) hay trials include the 36 entries from the S5 trial and an additional 20 entries to make a total of 56 entries. Four late hay entries were again added to the Elmore trial for comparison. Hay and grain yield and quality assessment will be conducted at three locations in SA, two locations in Victoria, one location in NSW and three locations in WA (Table 3). The Stage 4 late hay trial for 2017 has 24 entries and was sown at three locations in SA and one location in WA. Late hay trials located at Riverton and Turretfield in SA will be cut for hay yield and quality assessments. All trials will be assessed for grain yield and grain quality. The Stage 4 entries from both the hay and late hay trials were also sown in nurseries to evaluate stem and leaf rust, BYDV and septoria resistance in WA, CCN resistance at the Waite Campus in SA and stem and leaf rust by the Australian Cereal Rust Control Program. Information about the hay yield and hay quality as well as grain yield of released lines is included in section 6 of this newsletter. Table 3: Stage 5 and Stage 4 hay and late hay trial and nursery locations in 2017 South Australia Victoria Western Australia Stage 4 trials Pinery (hay & late hay) Turretfield (hay & late hay) Riverton (hay & late hay) Seed increase Wasleys Nurseries Waite Campus (CCN resistance) Stage 5 Horsham (Longrenong) Elmore (44 entries including Forester, Kangaroo, Tammar & Tungoo) New South Wales Stage 5 Finley Nurseries Rust evaluation at ACRCP Cobbitty Stage 5 Cunderdin Wongan Hills Stage 4 Lake Grace (obs & grain harvest) Merredin (obs & grain harvest) Muresk (obs only) Brookton Rylington Park (late hayobservation and grain harvest only) Nurseries Manjimup (septoria, BYDV, stem and leaf rust) Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 5

7 3. Breeding Program Developments 3.1 New variety Kowari released in SA The new variety Kowari was released at the Golden Grain Pavilion, Royal Adelaide Show in September by the new Executive Director of SARDI Dr Peter Appleford, Heritage Seeds portfolio manager Steve Amery and R&D manager Uncle Tobys breakfast cereals, John Pitcher. Also in attendance were the SARDI Oat Breeding team, Ann-Marie Smith, Nestle Procurement Business Partner Oceania, Scott Coles, Nestle Business Executive Officer - Nutritious Snacks, Denis McGrath and Geoff Cooper from AEXCO, and the PIRSA communications team. A huge thankyou to everyone involved! Channel Nine news were also in attendance with this clip shown during the National Nine News that day Oats showcased as feature grain at the Royal Adelaide Show Thanks to the team of dedicated people who bring the Golden Grain Pavilion to the public every year and who did a fabulous job of putting together this year s feature oat display. A special thanks to Belinda Cay from Ag Communicators, Kate Fitton from Divine Space and to Kate Husband from PIRSA Communications. Thanks as well to Michelle Williams for setting up the oat display and to Kerry Lee McMurray for growing the oat plants. I m sure anyone who went would agree that the display looked fantastic. Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 6

8 3.3 Pip Payne appointed as new Research Officer for WA component of the program Pip Payne was appointed as the new Research Officer for the WA component of the program in Pip has been with DAFWA/DIPRD for over 20 years and has a wealth of experience in the plant pathology, GIS mapping, canola breeding, minimum tillage, animal production, and administrative activities. Congratulations Pip and welcome to the team! Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 7

9 3.4 SA program uses new tractor and seeder Seeding at Turretfield Research Centre was made all the easier this year with the new tractor with GPS guidance and new seeder. 3.5 Dr Zhouhaitao from Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences Dr Zhouhaitao from Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences visited our program for three months from June to August to study how we do things and take this knowledge back to the breeding program at the Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences in China. Joe as we called him helped out with all aspects of the program while he was visiting and was a great asset. We were sorry to see him go! Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 8

10 3.6 Project updates Oat Pre-Breeding Project SARDI s John Harris is working towards developing molecular markers to select for two CCN resistance genes found in NOBP material. Presently two populations, Kangaroo x Eurabbie and Mortlock x Potoroo, are being used to develop breeder markers for CCN resistance. Two distinct genetic locations are responsible for CCN resistance in Kangaroo, found on chromosomes 15A and 4C, and headway has been made in developing markers to follow the genes in the breeding program. However, the same genetic location on chromosome 15A is also responsible for CCN resistance in Potoroo yet gives the opposite response in our diagnostic tests. This phenomenon is being investigated further. Narrowing down of the genetic location on 4C for the second Kangaroo CCN resistance gene is underway and useful lines are being screened for CCN resistance through the SARDI Root Disease Testing Service (RDTS) platform. In addition a screen for root lesion nematode, Pratylenchus neglectus, was performed by the SARDI RDTS, analysed through SAGI, and funded by a Yitpi Foundation Research Award. Oat material tested included a range of NOBP lines alongside an international diversity set. In Australia, oat is generally regarded as a less suitable host of P. neglectus than either wheat or barley and while the lines originating from the NOBP uphold this assumption (ranging from Resistant (R) to Moderate Resistant- Moderate Susceptible (MR-MS)) international germplasm show a wide range in reaction (not shown). This pilot project showed that while ongoing screening for P. neglectus was not actively undertaken it is likely that moderate resistance is being maintained within the Australian NOBP through passive selection. The inclusion of the CORE germplasm enabled a broader assessment of P. neglectus within cultivated oat, that further indicates a passive selection of resistance for Australian conditions, and there is likely an oat P. neglectus resistance mechanism. Blue bars are oat varieties and orange bars are triticale/wheat checks Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 9

11 3.6.2 Enhancing the Grain Yield and Quality of Oat under Water Deficits project funded by SAGIT, GRDC and SARDI (update thanks to Dr Mahalakshmi Mahadevan) Below are two abstracts from this work. One published in the Field Crops Research Journal and the other presented at the 18 th Australian Agronomy Conference held in Ballarat September, A link to the second abstract is - Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 10

12 . Shade trial at Turretfield Research Centre, 2017 Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 11

13 3.6.3 Sodicity tolerance in oats (update thanks to Dr Graham Lyons, Univ Adel) Oats: an underutilised cereal for saline-sodic soils About 60% of SA agricultural soils are sodic (high Na) or saline-sodic (high NaCl & Na), which reduces yield. In the SAGIT-funded study Identification of sodicity tolerant oat varieties, in order to identify oats with superior tolerance to these soils, we conducted two pot trials: 1) 78 overseas and 13 Australian varieties were screened for growth under sodicity; 2) the most interesting 16 were then tested more rigorously for growth under sodicity and salinity. This 12-month project was a collaboration between The University of Adelaide (Graham Lyons) and SARDI (Yusuf Genc, Pamela Zwer, John Harris). We discovered that: Although no varieties yielded close to controls when subjected to severe salt/sodicity stress, there was genotypic variation evident that would be useful for breeders (Fig 1) Several oat varieties yielded higher under salt/sodicity stress than representative bread wheat, durum wheat, triticale and barley varieties (Fig. 1) Figure 1. Oat varieties (n=16) and other cereal species (at right) grown in a glasshouse pot trial under control, saline (100mM NaCl) and sodic (10g/kg Na humate) conditions. Data are means of 3 replications. P=0.001 for variety; p<0.001 for treatment; nsd for interaction There is variation in oats for sodium uptake. Oats are mostly high in sodium, but some (e.g. Urano, from Chile and Mulgara, from Australia) are relatively low sodium accumulators (Fig. 2). This provides an opportunity to develop a mapping population that could lead to breeding lines that yield more under sodicity/salt stress than those already screened Calcium was significantly reduced in leaves under sodicity stress in all of the cereals studied (Fig. 2). Oats varied in levels of potassium, calcium and sulphur; e.g. in trial 1 there was a 6- fold range in calcium concentration under sodicity. Potassium, calcium and magnesium are involved in tolerance to sodicity and salinity Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 12

14 The most promising oats screened for growth under salt/sodicity were SARDI , Wintaroo, Mulgara (Australia) and Huazao 2, Urano and Bountiful (overseas). These include milling and feed grain/hay varieties. Oat varieties Mitika, Durack and Brusher did not grow well under sodic/non-saline conditions (probably due to poor tolerance of leaf tissue to high sodium), and Tungoo did not grow well under saline conditions (probably due to inefficient osmotic adjustment, the ability to extract water from a salty soil). Figure 2. Sodium and calcium concentration in indicator leaf for controls and plants subjected to salinity and sodicity stress for 16 oat varieties and 4 other cereals (at right). Na uptake and accumulation are greater, and Ca uptake and accumulation are lower under sodicity than under salinity. We concluded that: Oats are an underutilised cereal for saline/sodic soils The results of these controlled-environment screening trials are sufficiently encouraging to enable us to proceed to the next stage: the current project, also funded by SAGIT, includes evaluation and seed multiplication of 30 overseas varieties in the field at Waite Campus, a glasshouse trial to screen more varieties for growth under saline-sodic conditions, and field trials under saline-sodic and control conditions in 2018 and Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 13

15 Potential industry impact: The Australian oat varieties/lines identified in this study as growing better than other oats and cereals on saline-sodic soils have the potential to increase income for farmers by increasing production from problem paddocks affected by salt/sodicity. This also provides an opportunity to extend oat production into more marginal areas. The overseas varieties that performed well could be used by the SARDI Oat Breeding Group in crossing trials. Below are some photos from Graham s greenhouse trials Dwarf varieties/breeders lines tested for sodicity tolerance (middle pot) and salinity tolerance (right hand pot) for the more tolerant breeder s line (left hand photo) compared to Mitika (right hand photo) Tall varieties tested for sodicity tolerance (middle pot) and salinity tolerance (right hand pot) for the more tolerant Wintaroo (left hand photo) compared to Durack (right hand photo) Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 14

16 Overseas lines showing tolerance to sodicity and salinity. Huazao (China) in the right hand photo tested for sodicity tolerance (middle pot) and salinity tolerance (right hand pot) and Urano (Chile) in the left hand photo. A group of visitors from Lithgow Enterprises had a tour of our facilities in October. Included in the group was Guy Lithgow and Professor Yung from the College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University located in Beijing. Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 15

17 3.6.4 WA program developments thanks to Georgina Troup, DPIRD Oat agronomy research continued to focus on the development of variety specific agronomy packages, addressing the challenges that some varieties face in the varying growing environments in WA. The team continues to evaluate best-practice herbicide options (rates and brews) to alleviate the limited herbicide options available to oat growers, looking at the tolerance (crop safety margin) of current and new varieties. Additionally we have added a late season fungicide trial in the southern part of the oat growing area now that the season has improved and brought with it the increased risk of disease. The variety specific agronomy trials have shifted from the lower rainfall areas to the higher rainfall areas in Successful trials (8) sown from in the lower rainfall areas provided the results needed to develop variety specific agronomy recommendations for milling oat and export hay production from Williams, Bannister and Durack. The trials also enabled the team to find the fit for recently released varieties Williams, Bannister, and Durack. Finding the fit resulted in a shift in area sown to these varieties, and an improvement in grower likelihood of meeting quality specifications at harvest, returning increased profitability. A new trial series in 2017 is the blending oat varieties series. This trial series (3 trials) is driven by the lower hectolitre weight and higher screenings of recently released highyielding variety Williams. Growers are looking to maximise the benefit of the highyield, without the penalty of lower quality. This trial series has treatments where a) two varieties (high-yielding lower quality variety + lower-yielding high quality variety) are blending prior to sowing in different ratios, and b) two varieties are blending postharvest. Disease scoring commenced in this trial series, which will evaluate if blending is impacting the % leaf infected area. Another new trial is answering growers queries about how different varieties stack-up when there is a strong wind event at harvest. Localised shedding events in 2015 and 2016 sparked interest in the topic as a result of growers observations. Which varieties are more likely to shed? To answer this we have a variety trial near Northam which has randomised harvest dates; a) at maturity, b) three weeks after maturity, and c) 6 weeks after maturity, to determine yield loss and quality changes as a result of delaying harvest. We are looking forward to hand harvesting this trial and being able to provide answers the growers are looking for, which will help them prioritise which crops to harvest first. Evaluating the response and sensitivity of newly released varieties to nitrogen and plant density at Yerecoin, WA (13 weeks after seeding). Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 16

18 3.6.5 Red Leather Leaf Control using fungicides courtesy John Both, Nufarm Below are a series of graphs provided by John Both of Nufarm showing results from a Cooke Plains and Saddleworth trial site in Good control of red leather leaf was achieved, particularly at the Saddleworth site with a range of fungicides. John is working to get fungicide registered for RLL control in oats. If you would like more information about this work please contact John on or john.both@au.nufarm.com Wintaroo oats - Cookes Plains Flag-2 Leaf UTC 500mL TZ + Banjo 1L TZ + Banjo % Incidence % Infection 500mL Opera + BS1000 1L Opera + BS1000 UTC = untreated control, TZ =Tazer Xpert Wintaroo oats - Cookes Plains Flag-3 Leaf 400mL Amistar Xtra + oil UTC 500mL TZ + Banjo 1L TZ + Banjo % Incidence % Infection 500mL Opera + BS1000 1L Opera + BS mL Amistar Xtra + oil Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 17

19 Red Leather Leaf - Flag Mulgara Oats, Saddleworth SA a c bc ab c a abc bc abc bc c bc abc bc abc abc ab abc a c % Infection %GLA GLA = Green Leaf Area Red Leather Leaf - Flag-1 Mulgara Oats, Saddleworth SA a b b a b a ab ab ab ab b b b b b ab ab ab b b % Infection %GLA Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 18

20 Red Leather Leaf - Flag-2 Mulgara Oats, Saddleworth SA a b bc a c a bc a c a bc a bc a bc a a a bc b % Infection %GLA GLA = Green Leaf Area Dylan Williams a work experience student who helped us with data recording Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 19

21 4. New varieties & advanced breeder s lines Key to diseases SRR = stem rust resistance, LRR = leaf (crown) rust resistance, BYDV = barley yellow dwarf virus, RLL = red leather leaf, CCN = cereal cyst nematode and SN = stem nematode. Key to disease ratings - R= resistant, MR=moderately resistant, MS=moderately susceptible, S= susceptible, VS=very susceptible, 2 T=tolerant, MT= moderately tolerant, MI=moderately intolerant, I=intolerant. Kowari (previously ) new potential milling grain variety This line was launched at the Royal Adelaide Show in September and seed will be available to growers in 2018 through Heritage Seeds. For more information about this new variety please refer to the description in section 5.1. To download the Heritage Seeds brochure based on National Oat Breeding Program results for this variety go to Please note: There is also a triticale variety called Kowari so be aware to confirm the seed is oat seed potential new grain variety This breeder s line is a dwarf, early-mid season (similar to Possum) potential milling oat. It has excellent grain yield but is susceptible to CCN (no rating available for tolerance). It is SRR MS-S, LRR R, BYDV MS-S, bacterial blight MS, Septoria MS-S with no CCNT, RLL or SN rating. Quality is good but hectolitre weight can be a bit low (similar to Wombat), grain weight is excellent (same as Mitika), screenings percent is low and similar to Mitika, groat % is excellent and an improvement compared to Mitika has high B-glucan with bright grain and is a complex cross with a Quaker line, Potoroo, Euro and other advanced dwarf milling breeder s lines in it s pedigree. The comparative attributes of this breeder s line are available in the tables in section 5. A commercial seed increase was sown in 2017 with a second one planned for The expected release for this variety is in potential new hay variety This line is a mid tall potential hay variety with early mid to mid season maturity. It is similar in height, 2 to 4 days later in maturity and has similar grain yield and stem diameter compared to Yallara. Hay yield is slightly higher than Carrolup, but lower than Yallara and Brusher. It has improved disease and grain quality compared to other current varieties and combines improved septoria resistance with good rust and bacterial blight resistances. It is CCN MS, no tolerance rating, SRR R-S in SA/Vic and R in WA, LRR MS-S in SA/Vic and R-MR in WA, BYDV MS-S, bacterial blight MR, SNMI, Septoria MR in WA. It has excellent hay colour Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 20

22 and hay quality is similar to Wintaroo across all traits except water soluble carbohydrates which averages slightly lower in Victoria and WA. Grain quality is similar to Yallara but with a lower groat%. It has low oil and bright grain. This line is a cross between two WA breeder s lines. A commercial seed increase was sown in 2017 with a second one planned for The expected release for this variety is in potential new hay variety This breeder s line has been reassessed as potential hay line and has been included in the 2017 hay trial series. It is an early-mid season maturing short tall line which averages 10cm shorter than Yallara, similar height as Dunnart and 15cm taller than Mitika. This line has CCN resistance and tolerance and stem nematode tolerance. It is also SRR MR-MS, LRR MR-MS, BYDV MR-MS, bacterial blight MR, Septoria MR-MS, RLL MR-MS and has excellent early vigour and colour. This variety is a substantial improvement for grain quality when compared with other CCNR and T lines and has improved hectolitre weight and groat percent even when compared to Mitika. It averages slightly lower grain size than Mitika but is comparable for screenings percent and lower in oil and has brighter grain. It has high hull lignin and Euro s low oil percent. This is a complex cross with a Euro backcross and New Zealand breeder s line in it s pedigree. The comparative attributes of this breeder s line are available in the tables in section 5. Breeder s seed is being grown in Pamela talking at the Diggora Field Days in September Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 21

23 5. Long term grain trial results Results for individual NVT trials are not presented in this newsletter. However, they are incorporated into the long term performance of varieties and advanced breeding lines which are presented in this newsletter in Tables 4 to 8. Grain yield and grain quality information for individual sites is available at the NVT web site: Table 4 shows the relative yield performance of new varieties compared to existing varieties for four different states and Tables 5 to 8 show the relative yield performance of new varieties compared to existing varieties for regions within states. An updated analysis for grain quality was available for this newsletter. Tables 9 and 10 show the relative grain quality across all states and Tables 11 to 16 show the relative grain quality parameters by state. Tables 17 to 19 show the relative disease resistance characteristics for these varieties in different regions. Care needs to be taken to look at not only grain yield but grain quality and disease resistance characteristics to determine if a variety is suitable for your region. Please note: Stem and leaf rust reactions reported for all oat varieties will vary by region due to genetic variation in the pathogen population. A pathotype that overcomes most resistance genes for stem rust is now present in southern Australia. Hence it is important to monitor oat crops for early detection of rust, so fungicide applications can be applied to control the disease. Brochures are available for new varieties from the website, the SA and WA components of the NOBP and our commercial partners; AEXCO who commercialises the hay varieties and Seednet and Heritage who commercialise the milling varieties from the SARDI node of the National Oat Breeding Program and Seednet for Bannister and Heritage Seeds for Williams and Durack. 5.1 Grain Variety Summary Kowari ( ) Kowari, previously the breeding line, , has dwarf stature measuring 65 to 70 cm. It is slightly taller than Mitika. It has a maturity similar to Mitika, but is 2 to 8 days earlier to head than Yallara, 8 to 10 days earlier than Bannister and 3 to 10 days earlier than Williams is 4 to 8 days later to head than Durack has similar grain yield to Mitika and Kojonup, but lower than Bannister and Williams. The grain quality is excellent has slightly lower hectolitre weight than Mitika, but it has higher 1000 grain weight compared to Mitika. It has the lowest screenings percent of the varieties, high protein, and slightly higher groat percent compared to Mitika. The trait of interest for this variety is improved β-glucan content. The β-glucan content was measured using a the megazyme method has 5.2% (dm basis) compared to 4.4% for Mitika and Kojonup. The β-glucan content is the same as Williams, however the groat percent for is significantly higher than Williams is a cross between Mitika and a WA breeder s line. Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 22

24 Durack Durack is a moderately tall variety similar in height to Carrolup and Yallara measuring between 80 and 90 cm. Check out this new variety as it is a minimum of one week earlier than any other variety released from the program. Durack has good lodging and shattering resistance and good early vigour. Grain yield is similar to the tall varieties Carrolup and Yallara across all states and an improvement compared to tall varieties bred for hay. Grain quality for this line is excellent. Hay yield averaged over low, medium, and high rainfall sites is lower than other longer season varieties. Care will need to be taken to cut this very early maturing variety at the correct growth stage. Monitoring the crop will be the key to achieving the highest hay quality. The 2017 Durack crop will be reassessed for B-glucan content in WA. A decision will be made regarding potential assignment to WA milling class 1. Heritage Seeds brochure based on National Oat Breeding Program results available at Bannister A Bannister is a tall dwarf milling variety with high grain yield released for Western Australia in Bannister is suited to eastern Australia as well as Western Australia. It is adapted to low, medium, and high rainfall zones of southern Australia. It is 13 cm taller than Mitika and heads about 3 to 4 days later than Mitika. Seednet is the commercial partner. Bannister is resistant to leaf rust and moderately resistant to bacterial blight. It is susceptible and intolerant to CCN. Bannister has slightly lower hectolitre weight and slightly higher screenings compared to Mitika. It is similar to Mitika for groat percent. Bannister Fact Sheet based on National Oat Breeding Program results available from Seednet - Williams A Williams is a tall milling variety commercialised by Heritage. Williams formerly known as the breeding line, WA2332, is an early to midseason variety similar to Yallara, but three to seven days later than Mitika. Williams is 15 cm taller than Mitika, 5 cm taller than Bannister, and 15 cm shorter than Yallara. Although classified as MS for septoria, Williams has the highest level of septoria resistance compared to all other current oat varieties. It is resistant to leaf rust and depending on the Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 23

25 stem rust pathotype present can range from moderately resistant to susceptible. Williams is resistant to bacterial blight and moderately resistant to moderately susceptible for BYDV. It is susceptible and intolerant to CCN. Williams has grain yield similar to Bannister except in the lower rainfall regions where it yielded less. Williams yielded similar to Mitika except in the Mid North where it yielded significantly more grain. Grain quality is lower than Mitika. Williams has higher screenings than Mitika, Yallara, and Bannister, especially in the low rainfall regions. Williams had similar hay yield compared to other hay varieties at Pinery and Turretfield, but lower hay yield at Riverton. Hay quality is also similar to hay varieties, except for slightly higher crude protein. Care must be taken to achieve high plant populations to reduce stem thickness. Heritage Seeds brochure based on National Oat Breeding Program results available at Wombat A Wombat is a dwarf milling variety that was commercialised by Seednet. It is similar in height to Possum and slightly taller than Mitika. It is a midseason variety flowering about six days later than Mitika. Wombat is the first dwarf milling variety with CCN resistance and tolerance. It is also moderately tolerant to stem nematode. Wombat has high hectolitre weight and low screenings compared to the feed variety Potoroo, which was the first dwarf variety with CCN resistance and tolerance. It also has high groat percent, slightly higher than Mitika. Wombat Fact Sheet based on National Oat Breeding Program results available from Seednet - Yallara A Yallara is a medium tall early to midseason variety similar to Euro for flowering and maturity. Yallara, released in 2009, is a milling line with slightly better grain quality than Euro but not as susceptible to stem rust. It has bright, plump grain suitable for the milling industry and specialised feed end-uses. Seednet is the commercial partner. Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 24

26 Yallara is a Euro look alike with improved leaf rust resistance. It is resistant but intolerant to CCN. It is moderately susceptible to BYDV, bacterial blight, and septoria. Yallara is susceptible and intolerant to stem nematode and susceptible to red leather leaf. Yallara has excellent grain quality. It has high hectolitre weight, low screenings, and high groat percent. The grain is plump and bright and could suit niche markets like the horse racing industry in addition to human consumption. Yallara was evaluated for hay production and hay yield is similar to popular hay varieties with excellent hay quality. Yallara Fact Sheet based on National Oat Breeding Program results available from Seednet - Mitika A Mitika is a dwarf milling oat commercialised in 2005 by Heritage Seeds. It is earlier maturing than Possum and Echidna and this trait favours Mitika in a dry finish. Mitika is moderately resistant to leaf rust. It has improved resistance to bacterial blight and is superior to Echidna for septoria resistance. Mitika is similar to Echidna for BYDV and red leather leaf resistance. It is very susceptible and intolerant to cereal cyst nematode (CCN) and moderately intolerant of stem nematode (SN) and is not recommended in areas where either of these nematodes are a problem. Mitika has high hectolitre weight, low screenings, and high groat percent compared to Echidna. It also has higher levels of β-glucan than current varieties. Mitika also has improved feed quality with low husk lignin and high grain digestibility. Heritage Seeds brochure based on National Oat Breeding Program results available at Fantastic pictures showing the rust present in the Carnarvon stem rust nursery in October Photos courtesy DPIRD. Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 25

27 Table 4. Average grain yield (t/ha) in four states and the average for all states for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2012 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program, NVT Programs in SA, Vic and NSW and CVT Program in WA. Analysis by Jess Meza, Centre for Bioinformatics and Biometrics (CBB) Variety State All NSW SA VIC WA Zones Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Table 5. Average grain yield (t/ha) by site in South Australia for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2012 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program, NVT Programs in SA, Vic and NSW and CVT Program in WA. Analysis by Jess Meza, Centre for Bioinformatics and Biometrics (CBB) South Australia Variety Lower EP Upper EP Yorke Peninsula Mid North South East Murray Mallee Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 26

28 Table 6. Average grain yield (t/ha) by site in Victoria for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2012 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program, NVT Programs in SA, Vic and NSW and CVT Program in WA. Analysis by Jess Meza, Centre for Bioinformatics and Biometrics (CBB) Variety Victoria North Central North East South West Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Table 7. Average grain yield (t/ha) by site of New South Wales for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2012 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program, NVT Programs in SA, Vic and NSW and CVT Program in WA. Analysis by Jess Meza, Centre for Bioinformatics and Biometrics (CBB) Variety New South Wales South West South East North East Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 27

29 Table 8. Average grain yield (t/ha) by site for Western Australia for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2012 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program, NVT Programs in SA, Vic and NSW and CVT Program in WA. Analysis by Jess Meza, Centre for Bioinformatics and Biometrics (CBB) Variety Western Australia Agzone 2 Agzone 3 Agzone 4 Agzone 5 Agzone 6 Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Table 9. Average physical and chemical grain quality (measured using NIR) characteristics for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (combined SA, WA and NSW data), 2011 to Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program. Analysis by Jess Meza, CBB Variety Hectolitre weight kg/hl 1000 grain weight g Screenings %<2 mm* NIR Protein % NIR Oil % NIR Groat % Minolta L Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 28

30 Table 10. Average hectolitre weight (kg/hl) in three states and the average for all states for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2011 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program. Analysis by Jess Meza, CBB. Variety State NSW SA WA Vic All Zones Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Table 11. Average 1000 grain weight (g) in three states and the average for all states for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2011 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding ProgramAnalysis by Jess Meza, CBB. Variety State NSW SA WA Vic All zones Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 29

31 Table 12. Average screenings percent (% < 2mm) in three states and an average for all states for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2011 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program. Analysis by Jess Meza, CBB. Variety State NSW SA WA Vic All Zones Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Table 13. Average NIR protein (% dm) in four states and the average for all states for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2011 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program. Analysis by Jess Meza, CBB. Variety State NSW SA WA Vic All Zones Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 30

32 Table 14. Average NIR oil (% dm) in four states and the average for all states for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2011 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program. Analysis by Jess Meza, CBB. Variety State NSW SA WA Vic All Zones Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Table 15. Average NIR groat percent in four states and the average for all states for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines (2011 to 2016). Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program. Analysis by Jess Meza, CBB. Variety State NSW SA WA Vic All Zones Bannister Carrolup (tall) Dunnart Durack (tall) Echidna Kojonup Mitika Possum Kowari (was ) (tall) (tall) Wandering Williams (tall) Wombat Yallara (tall) No. trials Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 31

33 Table 16. NIR measured Minolta L ( ) and hull lignin characteristics for thirteen oat varieties and three breeder s lines. Data courtesy National Oat Breeding Program. Analysis by Jess Meza, CBB Variety State NSW SA WA Vic All zones Hull lignin Bannister High Carrolup (tall) High Dunnart High Durack (tall) High Echidna High Kojonup High Mitika Low Possum High Kowari (was ) Low (tall) High (tall) High High Wandering High Williams (tall) High Wombat High Yallara (tall) Mod high No. trials Table 17. Stem rust and leaf rust reactions for thirteen grain varieties and three breeder s lines in South Australia and Victoria and in New South Wales. SA and Victoria New South Wales Variety Stem rust 1 Leaf rust 1 Stem rust 1 Leaf rust 1 Field Field Field Field Bannister MR-S R MS-S MR-S Carrolup (tall) S VS S S-VS Dunnart MR-S MR MR-MS R-S Durack (tall) S-VS R-S R-S MR-MS Echidna S S S S Kojonup S VS S MS-VS Mitika MR-S R MR-S MS-S Possum MS-S MS S MS-S Kowari (was ) S R MR-S MR MS MS MR-S MR R-S MS-S S R - - Wandering S VS S VS Williams (tall) MR-S R MR MR Wombat MS-S MS MS-S MS-S Yallara (tall) MR-S R MR-MS MS-S 1 Disease reactions from field trials conducted in SA, Victoria and New South Wales where R= resistant, MR=moderately resistant, MS=moderately susceptible, S= susceptible, VS=very susceptible. Rust reactions may vary in different regions depending on the prevailing pathotypes. None of these varieties are resistant to the Pga virulent pathotype of stem rust which can be found in New South Wales, Victoria and parts of South Australia. Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 32

34 Table 18. Stem rust, leaf rust, BYDV and septoria reactions for thirteen grain varieties and three breeder s lines in Western Australia. Western Australia Variety Stem rust 1 Leaf rust 1 BYDV 2 Septoria 1 Field Field Field Field Bannister R-MR R MS S Carrolup (tall) MS S MS S-VS Dunnart MR MR MR S Durack (tall) MR-MS R-S MS-S S-VS Echidna S S MS S-VS Kojonup R-MS S MS S-VS Mitika MR-S R S S-VS Possum MR-S MR S S-VS Kowari (was ) S R MS S MR MR MR-MS MR-S R R-MR MS-S MR MS R MR-S MS-S Wandering MS VS MR-MS S-VS Williams (tall) MR R MR-MS MS Wombat MR-S S MR S Yallara (tall) MR-MS R MR-MS MS-S 1 Disease reactions from field trials conducted in WA where R= resistant, MR=moderately resistant, MS=moderately susceptible, S= susceptible, VS=very susceptible. Rust reactions may vary in different regions depending on the prevailing pathotypes. Table 19. Septoria, bacterial blight, CCN, stem nematode and red leather leaf (spermospora) disease reactions for thirteen grain varieties and three breeder s lines grown in South Australia and Victoria. Variety Septoria 1 Bacterial blight 1 Red leather leaf 1 CCN R 1 CCN T 2 Stem Nematode 2 Bannister - MR-S MS VS I MI Carrolup (tall) MR MR-S S S I VI Dunnart MS MR-S MS R MT MT Durack (tall) MS MR-S MS R MI-MT I Echidna S S MS S I MT Kojonup MR MS-S MS VS I MI Mitika S MR S VS I I Possum MS S MS-S VS I I S MR MS VS -- I MR-S MR MR-MS R MT MT MR - S - MI MS - S - - Wandering S MR-S MS VS I I Williams (tall) - R MS S I I Wombat MS MS MS R MT MT Yallara (tall) MS MR-MS MS R I I 1 Disease reactions where R= resistant, MR=moderately resistant, MS=moderately susceptible, S= susceptible, VS=very susceptible, 2 T=tolerant, MT= moderately tolerant, MI=moderately intolerant, I=intolerant Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 33

35 6. Long term hay trial results Tables 20 to 27 show the long term hay yield and hay quality of varieties in the hay series. Tables 28 and 29 show the disease reactions of current and new hay varieties in SA and Victoria and in WA. Please note: Stem and leaf rust reactions reported for all oat varieties will vary by region due to genetic variation in the pathogen population. A pathotype that overcomes most resistance genes for stem rust is now present in southern Australia. Hence it is important to monitor oat crops for early detection of rust, so fungicide applications can be applied to control the diseases. Grain quality data is a simple mean for the five year period Table 30 to 32 show grain yield and grain quality for hay varieties. The Breeding Program sincerely thanks AEXCO for funding the analysis of our hay yield and quality data and for their support of our breeding program. 6.1 Hay Variety Summary Forester A Forester is a very late hay variety adapted to high rainfall and irrigated cropping regions that was released in It is seven to 10 days later than Glider, three days later than Riel, two days later than Targa, and three weeks later than Wintaroo. Forester has excellent early vigour and is an improvement compared to Glider. It has excellent lodging and shattering resistance. Forester has an excellent foliar disease resistance spectrum. It is moderately susceptible to CCN. It has good hay colour, but like all late hay varieties may not resist hot dry winds as well as earlier varieties. Forester has excellent hay quality and is an improvement compared to Glider, Tammar, Targa, and Vasse, but similar to Riel. Seed of Forester is available from AGF Seeds, Smeaton, Victoria. Tammar A Tammar is a medium tall late variety that was released in 2012 and commercialised by AEXCO. It is four to seven days later than Tungoo to cut. Tammar also has an excellent disease resistance profile. It is moderately resistant to stem and leaf rust, septoria, BYDV, and bacterial blight. Tammar is the first late variety available with resistance to CCN and SN, tolerance to CCN, and moderate tolerance to SN. Tammar has improved hay quality compared to Kangaroo. It has high crude protein and hay digestibility with lower WSC than Mulgara and Brusher, but higher than Kangaroo. Mulgara A Mulgara was released in 2009 and commercialised by AEXCO. It is a tall mid season variety with excellent early vigour and good straw strength. Hay yield is lower than Wintaroo, but hay quality is better than Wintaroo. Mulgara also retains good hay colour and resists brown leaf tipping. Grain yield is similar to Wintaroo, but Mulgara has slightly better grain quality with the exception of high Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 34

36 hull lignin. The seed size of Mulgara is larger than other hay varieties and similar to Swan. Care should be taken to sow this variety at the correct seed density taking into account its seed weight. Mulgara has excellent disease resistance. It is resistant and tolerant to CCN and SN. Compared to Wintaroo, Mulgara has improved leaf rust, bacterial blight, and red leather leaf resistance. Tungoo A Tungoo was released in It is a medium tall mid to late season variety and seed is available through AEXCO. Tungoo has an excellent disease resistance profile. It combines resistance and moderate tolerance to CCN and SN. It also is resistant to leaf rust and the only variety with red leather leaf resistance. Tungoo is moderately resistant to BYDV, septoria, and bacterial blight and moderately susceptible to stem rust. It has the best combination of disease resistance compared to all other varieties except Tammar. Hay yield is slightly lower than Kangaroo, but Tungoo s hay quality is an improvement compared to Kangaroo. Tungoo has grain quality similar to Kangaroo, but the grain size is smaller resulting in higher screenings. Tungoo has low hull lignin which improves feed grain quality. Brusher A Brusher is an early-mid season hay variety commercialised by AEXCO. Brusher is a tall line about three to seven days earlier to head than Wintaroo. It has good early vigour, but slightly less than Wintaroo. Brusher has excellent hay yield in low to medium rainfall zones and has consistently had excellent hay quality to match the yield. Brusher is an improvement compared to Wintaroo for hay quality, stem rust, leaf rust, bacterial blight and septoria resistance. It is resistant but moderately intolerant to CCN and stem nematode. Brusher has proved to be a popular variety in the earlier regions of SA, WA, and VIC. Yallara A and Durack (WA02Q302-9) See section 5.1 Visit to JT Johnson s hay plant at Kapunda in August Thanks to Rob Diekman, Corey Ryan and Sally Wu for their time. Oat Breeding Newsletter, November, 2017 Page 35